The Problematic Movie Romances We Secretly Love

We’ve spent the week spiralling over the Suddenly 30 reboot, and it’s led us down a rabbit hole of our favourite romcoms with problematic premises, that we love wholeheartedly nonetheless. It turns out "romance" in the 90s and early 2000s was often just a crime set to a peppy soundtrack, and we're here to admit it.

We're unpacking the supposed romantic "grand gestures" and breaking down the gap between what we want in real life and what we find "hot" on film, from the sex work of Pretty Woman to to why the teacher-student plot in Never Been Kissed still stops us in our tracks.

Plus, we have thoughts on the 2026 "Whimsy Drought." We’re unpacking why modern movies feel too polished and why we’re self-medicating with the messy, high-stakes lying of movies like How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. It’s a deep dive into the absolute classics that might just save you from a boring weekend.

Love binge-watching TV? The Spill has launched Watch Party — spoiler-filled episode deep dives into the shows everyone’s talking about. Find the feed on Apple or Spotify.

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CREDITS
Hosts: Laura Brodnik & Bree Player 
Executive Producer: Monisha Iswaran
Audio Producer: Scott Stronach

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