“Materialists,” “Too Much,” and the Modern Rom-Com

Audiences have been bemoaning the death of the romantic comedy for years, but the genre persists—albeit often in a different form from the screwballs of the nineteen-forties or the “chick flicks” of the eighties and nineties. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss their all-time favorite rom-coms and two new projects marketed as contemporary successors to the greats: Celine Song’s “Materialists” and Lena Dunham’s “Too Much.” Do these depictions of modern love—or at least the search for it—evoke the same breathless feeling as the classics do? “I wonder if the crisis in rom-coms has to do with a crisis in how adult women want to be or want to see themselves,” Schwartz says. “I think both of these projects are basically trying to speak to the fact that everyone's ideals are in question.”

Read, watch, and listen with the critics:

“Sex, Love, and the State of the Rom-Com” (The New Yorker)

“Materialists” (2025)

“Too Much” (2025)

“Working Girl” (1988)

“You’ve Got Mail” (1998)

“When Harry Met Sally” (1989)

“Love & Basketball” (2000)

“The Best Man” (1999)

“Our Romance with Jane Austen” (The New Yorker)

“Girls” (2012-17)

“Adam’s Rib” (1949)

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Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker that explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture.

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