Meet Cute: Abby Monteil on Frazzled Journalists, Nancy Meyers's Kitchens, and 'Set it Up'
"I once drunkenly called Ethan Hawke my lesbian husband! And I’d do it again."
meet cute is a segment where we talk to folks about their favorite rom-coms, their hearty hot takes, and more. this week, we talked with entertainment writer ABBY MONTEIL about her faves: including, but not limited to, Nancy Meyers’s kitchens, Meg Ryan’s outfits, Set it Up, and more…
Hi! I’m Abby Monteil. I’m an entertainment writer for Elite Daily, and a contract freelance writer at a data-based media site called Stacker Media, and also a contributing film critic at The Pitch. And once in a while I get to freelance at cool places like Thrillist and The Daily Beast. So basically the frazzled journalist woman at the beginning of a rom-com, except I’m gay and can’t learn to walk in stilettos (but hey! We’re in a pandemic, so it’s fine).
My portfolio with select clips is here! My social media handles are all @abbyemonteil, and for the rest, I think it should all show up on Google? I still need to build a professional website! I thought everyone was just joking about those.
SO, WHAT’S TO LOVE ABOUT ROM-COMS?
So I was first really introduced into the genre and the Nancy Meyers white kitchen cinematic universe from early childhood, when I obsessively watched the 1998 Parent Trap over and over and over. It’s very iconic to me! And, as a certain recently contested The Cut article mentions, it’s a great gateway into her movies — ridiculously beautiful houses! Precocious kids! A neurotic career woman! Cream outfits!
To be honest, the movie that made me get more intentionally into the genre as a teenager (as in, not mainly watching the ones that we owned on DVD, or that my mom would leave on on Sunday afternoons) was The Proposal, which I became obsessed with after my friend forced me to watch it at a sleepover. I literally looked at Sandra Bullock’s character with the bad attitude and high-powered Manhattan publishing job and emotional constipation in a perfect apartment, and I took the completely wrong message away — like, that’s my aesthetic, that is what I want to achieve!
I should probably be more ashamed to admit this than I am, but when I was on a lovely rom-com podcast called You Should See the Other Guy, I accidentally performed a queer reading of it — I’m not saying that it is on paper, but I just know that something about the fake dating trope, having to hide things around family, the dom/sub relationship between Margaret and Andrew, and the most key scenes revolving not around just sex but of them holding each other and sharing their innermost emotional vulnerabilities? It struck a nerve in my gay little brain, and I have some friends who feel the same way!
Since getting more into other genre classics (Nora Ephron autumn, give us EVERYTHING!), I’ve come to really appreciate it much more than I did when I had good old internalized misogyny as a kid, and equated a lot of rom-coms as “lesser” because they’ve traditionally been associated with women and their interests. I’m a kind-of-secret sap! I like when the two people flirting and getting into ridiculous situations kiss!
I really love existential rom-coms (Palm Springs was one of my fave movies this year!), and the ones where they’re really allowed to monologue and traipse around New York and maybe not breach journalistic ethics too much. Also trying to figure out ways to fit movies and shows that I love into the genre. Phantom Thread is a rom-com! The Venom lobster tank scene? Definitely a rom-com. Tom and Greg in Succession? Rom-com.
FAVORITE ROM-COM HITS
Most importantly: best meet cute?
These are probably examples of films that straddle the lines of what constitutes a “traditional rom-com,” but for me, it’s the two meet-cutes at the beginning of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Ever since I first watched the trilogy, I’ve been in awe of how all three movies are able to expertly balance romantic tension and growth with conversations that seem so natural, and that’s evident from Jesse and Celine’s first meeting on that train from Budapest.
Most movies that would start with a random American guy chatting up a girl just trying to read on a train would make me cringe, but it’s great enough that I once drunkenly called Ethan Hawke my lesbian husband! And I’d do it again.
Full disclosure: when I was a kid and first got into the trilogy, I mistakenly thought that Before Sunset was the first movie and watched it before I saw Before Sunrise. Even then, the scene where Jesse is reading in the Parisian bookstore and freezes when he sees Celine made me gasp! Icons, legends, and they are the moment!
Who’s the #1 rom-com character that you identify with?
I struggle with this question sometimes when I’m watching rom-coms, since many of the characters in the genre fall into or subvert beloved archetypes that I just get too sleepy to embody a lot of the time. But in terms of where I’m currently at in life, I definitely relate to Harper from Set It Up. Twenty-something recent journalism grad who’s kind of shocked at being a *real* adult, hyper fixated on her goals and passions, and is willing to get walked all over by Lucy Liu in hopes of learning how to write stuff that makes people cry? Definitely same.
And I don’t relate to this character as a whole, but Cary Grant’s The Philadelphia Story character, C.K. Dexter Haven, saying, “Hello, friends and enemies” is something that I think about every day. Me coming online!
Relatedly, who’s the best rom-com journalist?
Hildy from His Girl Friday has a special place in my heart. First of all, actors should fake transatlantic accents again, especially in dialogue-heavy rom-coms — it’s fun! Even though she didn’t file her big story before the movie’s over, Hildy’s still one of the better female rom-com journalists — she’s good at her job, doesn’t give it up for the guy, and has a fun hat to boot. She’s not immune to breaching ethics to get a story, but at least her escapades are interesting. Stealing a stomach from a coroner’s office? Sorry, but the other rom-com girls can’t say the same!
Who’s your fave rom-com director?
I’m so predictable, but it’s absolutely Nora Ephron. I’m obsessed with all of the trademarks of her work, from New York journalism to the abundance of turtlenecks to witty dialogue and references to old books and movies that are just pretentious enough. I love the female friendships throughout, the outfits, all of it. I’d even rewatch Bewitched.
What’s the best rom-com speech?
I’m a sucker for that bit in Moonstruck when Nicolas Cage says, “We aren’t here to make things perfect. The snowflakes are perfect, the stars are perfect...not us! We’re here to ruin ourselves, and break our hearts, and love the wrong people.” Makes me feral!
It’s probably tied with the “I love that” speech from When Harry Met Sally, too, which also makes me the perfect degree of unhinged.
What’s the best needle drop in a rom-com?
You guys did a Twilight newsletter, so that technically counts as one, right? In that case, the “Super Massive Black Hole” needle drop from the baseball scene gets endlessly shared on the timeline for good reason.
Who’s the leader of the rom-com world — actor, director, writer, etc.?
All of us would and should make a deal with the devil to have an ounce of the charisma that Meg Ryan and her hair had in the ‘90s. Also, if ghost Katharine Hepburn is reading this in her impeccable trousers, I’m free on Thursday night and would like to hang out.
Best rom-com outfit? Any idea on where to find it?
Just one?! Okay, my favorite might be a little basic, but Meg Ryan in the chunky red sweater with the brown blazer and wide-rimmed glasses? In my head RENT FREE. I do it all for her! It’s instantly iconic, but like the movie itself, feels so lived-in — you could find all the basic pieces in an H&M or Saks Fifth Avenue, and get the full effect — Meg Ryan effervescence not included.
STUDYING ROM-COM THEORY
Toughie, but important: to you, what makes a rom-com a rom-com?
This is a tough one! I’m not too rigid about categorizing rom-coms, mostly since like I said, I’m obsessed with trying to find ways of fitting media that I love into the genre. I’d say that to be a rom-com, a piece of media should have a major storyline about the lead falling in love (if it’s not the main plotline). There should be plenty of funny moments, even if it’s not meant to strictly be a comedy. They face some screwball challenges and obstacles, before usually (but not always) ending up together. Lots of good banter is key!
You’re also a TV pro. Can TV shows be rom-coms? What about reality TV?
Absolutely! Sex in the City is one of the prime examples, but there have honestly been so many great recent rom-com shows — Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Jane the Virgin, Hulu’s High Fidelity reboot, and The Mindy Project, just to name a few. I really enjoy when rom-com shows incorporate other elements and genres to pad out a full season, like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend unfolding as a musical tragicomedy or Jane the Virgin riffing on telenovela tropes.
As for reality TV, that’s a more slippery slope. I feel like more structured reality romance shows like The Bachelor or Love Is Blind move too quickly and are too produced to consistently have the snappiness and satisfying character beats of a rom-com. More relaxed, Love Island-esque shows are definitely sold situational comedies at best, though.
Best MPAA rating for a rom-com?
Probably PG-13! Adult enough to push the boundaries of your jokes, but still accessible to kids who want to forever rewire their brains by discovering Clueless.
What’s the best genre to pair with a rom-com? (i.e. zom-rom-com via Shaun of the Dead or corporate rom-com via Greg and Tom on Succession)
I have a few favorites! I love how teen rom-coms suit the genre, since rom-coms are big and fun and dramatic, and having romantic feelings as a teen is big and dramatic. Palm Springs reinvigorated my fondness for time loop rom-coms, and the importance of finding new ways to love and contextualize your relationship with someone over time. And I’d like to officially petition for more rom-com musicals! I’ll always take more content of hot people singing about their feelings to each other, but this genre seems like an especially strong place to start.
AND NOW, ABBY MONTEIL’S VERY OWN ROM-COM
Chasing Abby
“Read the fine print…”
Beloved-yet-frazzled journalist Abby Monteil (Haley Lu Richardson) always takes her subjects to the same New York cafe: the Affleck. She loves the music, the coffee is always prepared perfectly, and it’s quiet enough to conduct a quick interview. But the manager of the cafe, Amy (Lana Condor), despises her. The interviewing is much too loud, and occasionally, Abby brings in buzzy celebs that cause quite the ruckus. When the Affleck’s lead investor — Ben Affleck, of course — returns to New York to check up on the cafe, Amy and Abby strike a deal. If Abby promises to never return to the cafe in 2022, Amy will snag her key interview with Ben Affleck himself. They’ll just have to pretend they’re dating to woo Ben into the rare interview — because he’s a romantic, he’ll fall head over the heels for the couple. Or will they fall head over heels for each other instead?