Top 5 Songs From Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 1!

If you follow me on twitter, you will perhaps have noticed that over the past couple of weeks, I developed somewhat of an obsession with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. While it took me longer than it should have to start it (so many shows, so little time), once I got past the first few episodes it was a classic binge-watching affair, not stopping to watch anything else with the exception of the PLL midseason finale (thoughts on that here), until season one was done.

If the show has managed to escape your attention until now, a brief overview - Rebecca Bunch is a kick ass lawyer in her late twenties, working a high pay/high pressure job in New York City and killing it. In the process, however, she is also killing her soul. A chance encounter with her summer camp boyfriend of over a decade ago, leads to an impulsive move from the Big Apple to the small town of West Covina, California, where, as the ever so catchy title song explains, she lands a new job, meets an interesting group of new friends, and begins an ill-advised quest to win back Josh Chan.

The show is incredibly clever, exploring serious issues such as depression and anxiety, in amongst the many laughs. The acting is fantastic - Rebecca, played by the incredible Rachel Bloom (who is also co-creator of the show), is a vibrant, flawed and complex character, and the group of friends she surrounds herself with are portrayed beautifully by a stellar ensemble cast. If you haven't watched the show yet, I'd suggest stopping reading here, popping on over to Netflix if you have it and getting started with episode one! If, however, you've had the joy of experiencing the entire season already, click that more button and I'll share with you my top 5 songs from season one!

My Top 5 Rom-Coms of the 21st Century (so far)...

As many of you will know from previous posts, I am a rom-com addict. I love any sort of romantic story, so when paired with some laughs and, usually, some of my favourite actors, this is a genre that I will never get bored of. ''But they're so predictable'', I hear so many people cry... but that's half of the fun of it! The realisation after five minutes of screen time that the two people, no matter how ridiculous the situation may be, will inevitably end up together. That's a nice, hopeful sort of movie. And so I thought I'd pick my top five from the twenty first century thus far, and share them with you! So, in no particular order, they are as follows:

The Holiday (d. Nancy Meyers, 2006)

One of my favourite Christmas movies, The Holiday is the ultimate feel good rom com. Ultr-likeable Kate Winslet shows us that you really can get over the one person who has always had a hold over you, while Cameron Diaz and Jude Law pull off the perfect ''falling in love on screen within a matter of days'' storyline. Great performance from all three, and the other leading man, Mr Jack Black, and a fantastic sub-plot with Kate Winslet's character Iris befriending an elderly neighbour of Cameron Diaz, who happens to be a very famous script writer from the Golden Age of Hollywood - this storyline always makes me cry.

The Proposal (d. Anne Fletcher, 2009)

Sandra Bullock is one of my favourite actresses, and while it is easy to see from the start of this film where it is going, I will never ever get sick of it. In terms of the 'comedy' part of rom-coms, this is one of my favourites. The chemistry between Sandra and Ryan Reynolds (who, if you ask me, were perfect for each other in real life too - thanks Blake Lively for ruining that dream for me!) is palpable! This film has all the elements required for it to be a hit - great casting (Betty White is brilliant as usual), excellent script, gorgeous location, a cute puppy and a naked Ryan Reynolds. Of course it was going to be popular.

Crazy, Stupid, Love (d. Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, 2011)

Ahhh, Crazy, Stupid, Love. I had been told by so many people that this film was brilliant, but I ended up not seeing it till about a year after it was released. I finally got the dvd in the sale in HMV last year, and I love it! Love the bizarre bromance between Steve Carrell and the gorgeous Ryan Gosling, love that it stars Emma Stone (another of my favourite actresses) and it really is the perfect blend of humour and romance. I also love the way it examines the 'idea' of love in general, and what it means to different people.

Just Like Heaven (d. Mark Waters, 2005)

I can still remember going to see Just Like Heaven in the cinema and loving it to pieces. I think it's a really underrated romcom. It came out at the height of my Reese Witherspoon adoration, and it was the first film I ever saw Mark Ruffalo in, and I instantly loved him. This film has it's slightly daft elements, but it also has some proper tear-jerker moments. Again, I love the chemistry between Reese and Mark, and Jon Heder is on hand to provide some laughs any time he is on screen. If you are a fan of romcoms and haven't seen this one, you really should!

Silver Linings Playbook (d. David O. Russell, 2012)

Now, Silver Linings Playbook is in a slightly different category to the others. Technically it is a romcom, but the way I would differentiate it is to say that there is no way in hell my mum would manage to convince my dad to watch any of the other four films on this list (with the possible exception of The Holiday, but even that's pushing it), but I gave them Silver Linings to watch and they both loved it! There is nothing I don't love about this film. It's funny, touching, thought provoking, romantic and has an incredible cast. Jennifer Lawrence won her Best Actress Oscar for her performance in this film, and Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver were all nominated, while the film itself was nominated for Best Film. Of all the movies in this top 5, this is the one I recommend you check out first!!

So there we go, my top 5 favourite rom coms of the twenty first century... so far! What are some of yours? Or, if you don't like romantic comedies, what is your favourite genre?

Thanks for reading!

Jumping on the 'Top 5' Bandwagon!

I have been watching and reading a lot of 'top 5' or 'top 10' posts recently and it put me in the mood to do a little mini series of my own! I still hadn't got around to it though when I read the lovely Gillian's Top 5 Books post the other day and decided this was the push I needed to film this video!

As I've mentioned about a million times before, I'm a little bit obsessed with TV, particularly of the American variety (although not exclusively!). With my dvd boxset collection continuing to expand, I thought I'd do a top 5 of X genre series, inspired by this video here from Michelle from SweetBookReviews on youtube - I found her top 10 characters in X genre video really interesting!

So, here is the first instalment - my Top 5 Teen/Post Teen TV Dramas! Sorry it's a bit lengthy - this is a subject I love to ramble on about!! What are some of your favourite shows from the teen tv genre, or some of your favourite teen films? I'd love to know, recommendations are always welcome round about here :) The next video will either be my Top 5 TV Comedies or Top 5 TV Dramas (not of the teen variety!).

For now I'm off to hit the shops to get a card and present for one of my oldest and best friends who got engaged at the end of January (eeeeek, proper grown up stuff happening people!) and is moving to Russia for a year with her fiance - she and I are both jetting off on our adventures just three days apart! Hope you are all having a great Friday and looking forward to the weekend and hope to see some of you Scottish Bloggers at tomorrow night's SBValentines Party in Edinburgh, I can't wait!!


Finally, a custom thumbnail!!