September 5, 2025 • 33 mins
Everyone in the world is currently obsessed with a new movie called The Map That Leads to You, a romance starring two actors from iconic teen shows that ends with a love story…and a just a touch of devastation.This movie got us thinking about the other iconic romances that also culminated in a plot twist that left us sobbing.
From a history making movie from the 70s that is still quoted to this day, to another sweet teen romance that has stood the test of time, and even a childhood favourite that will bring a tear to your eye, these romantic movies are here to break your heart and make you believe in true love.
LISTEN TO MORE OF OUR MOVIE ROUND-UP EPISODES HERE:
A Truly Unhinged Movie Chat With Laura And Em
The Most Scandalous Sibling Love Triangles In TV & Film
READ
Check out the death trope romances you need to know about here.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
So much you're listening to Amma Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Mamma Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and borders
that this podcast is recorded on. From Mamma Mia. Welcome
to this spill your daily pop culture fix. I'm Laura Brodney.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
And I'm Cassanula Kitch.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
And because it is Friday, our favorite day of the
week where we love to deep dive into movies and
TV shows, today we're going to be having a bit
of a tragic turn with some love stories.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
And we're going to lean into our sadness and into
having a good cry.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yes, well, yes, hopefully there'll be many tears in this
episode because we are talking about the most tragic love
stories that's been committed to film, and not just tragic
love stories, love stories that ended in death and or sickness.
And while that might sound like a bit of a downer,
this is like a common trope in romance stories and
love stories that have been, you know, shaping Hollywood for decades,
(01:11):
because there's nothing more beautiful than watching two hot people
fall in love and then watching one of them die
tragically to make you feel alife.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I think it's also just like sometimes you need a
really good cry and I'm just pray warning everyone, I'm
a little bit pay messy, so there might base some
tears that I got stopped.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
All right. Well, in that case, head over to our
vodkas and I watch us on YouTube to see because
then you cry.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
This is the perfect episode for me, Shay.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
So the reason we're talking about this, I didn't just
pick this topic out of the air to make you cry. Yeah,
I just love to talk about death and illness and
romance and all in one go. No, it's off the
back of the fact this new movie has premiered a
few weeks ago, so many people are talking about it,
so many people are watching it. And it's called The
Map that Leads to You that came out recently on
Prime Video.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Tell me about the boy that was following us out
of the tream sushing, I'm Jack. Will he the question?
Speaker 4 (02:10):
They kissed Castro and she is just now telling us that.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Just sophing it doesn't like Jne out to be a
serial killer.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Yes, So this is another great little romance movie, of course,
adapted from a book which had a big fan base,
and it's got Kiwi kJ Apper in it from Riverdale,
and it's kind of been getting quite a lot of buzz.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yeah, it's had like a lot of people were excited
about it. One because a lot of people had read
the book by JP Monier, but also because of the casting.
So it stars, as you said, kJ Apper, our favorite
New Zealand actor who's been on the TV show The
Teen Sensation Rivedale for many years, but also Madeline Klein,
who people would know from Outer Bank. So it brought
together two hot people from two beloved and crazy teen
(02:57):
shows and put them together in this romance. And I
think a lot of people tuned in for that, but
they sort of if you hadn't read the book, weren't
sure where the story was going. And I had to say,
first of all, I really loved this movie.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Okay, I haven't seen it yet and I don't really
know much about it, so I'm going to like lean
into you to give me the telling you too many spoilers.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
I'm going to spoil some other movies later in the
show that have been out for twenty years, and I
feel like that's fair, but this one has been out
for a few weeks, so I'll give people a grace period.
But yes, it came out on Prime video. I watched it.
I really loved it. I posted about it on Instagram
just to let the world know it was out there.
I was flooded with replies of people saying that they
had watched off the back of that or were watching it,
and people were falling in love with it one because
(03:37):
you know, I think people are so desperate for some
like cute love stories all sorts of a bit tragic. Also,
it's set across this beautiful backdrop of Europe. Okay, So
Madeline Klein plays Heather. So Heather is kind of a
girl who always, you know, plays by the rules her
whole life. She's got like a twenty year life plan, right,
And so she's just graduated from college and she's got
herself set up with this fancy finance job in New York.
(03:58):
But before she starts her new job, she and her
two best friends from college do like the normal kind
of early girl in your twenties thing. They set off
on this backpacking trip around Europe and they're having a
wild time. Even though Heather's very much like I've got
an itinerary planned, we have to go here at this time.
EETs today like she's the one who's keeping her friends together.
One night. On an overnight train, she meets Jack played
(04:20):
by kJ Appa, who's this wild and footloose, fancy free
guy in his twenties who's just aimlessly wandering around Europe.
And he's following his great grandfather's journal that has a
map of all the places that he went in Europe.
So that's cute, a classic, like little meat cute on
a train in Europe.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I don't think I ever had any mate cutes on trains,
just I only ever met creepy guys.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
I had a lot of meat every time I've had
a wild backtracking trip. I have had a few like
quick Eupeian romances, but I've never had a hot guy
come up and hit on me on a train and
then followed me to a club in a non creepy way,
which is what happens here now. It's the whole thing,
like pickpockets and like yeah, or creepy junk guys on
a train or something like that. This is the classic.
Like it's cute because he's cute that he kind of
(05:03):
just comes up to her on this train and like
gets into the luggage kind of carriage thing above where
she's trying to read on this overnight train just keep
talking to her, and afterwards he and his friend follow
her and her friends to a club to meet up
with them. In any other movie a serial killer, Yeah,
this could have gone a really different ways. kJ Apper
and he's really cute. It's so romantic. So Heather and
(05:24):
Jack go and have this wild night out together in Europe.
They start to fall in love. The friendship groups all
split up. She instead of flying to New York to
start to her job, she stays in Europe a few
more weeks with him, and they gone this venture together.
And I won't spoil what's happening at the end, but
Jack has some bad health news and I think that
throws the story into disarray and their love story. These
(05:45):
kinds of.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Movies, I feel like, honest common these days. And I
think like gen Z now are really discovering that type
of t jerk or romance, that tragic love story. You know,
you're Romeo and Juliet for the modern age. It's like
it was really really popular in like the twenty ten.
So we kind of picked some of our favorites while
(06:07):
I was doing the research with this, Honestly, like could
barely keep my.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, well we went through a time where if you
went to the movies to watch a romance and it
didn't end tragically with one of the couple dying, you
were like, what am I spending my money for? Like,
that's what you went to the movies to see. So
I think maybe we don't do it now as much
because we went too hard and too fast for a
few years with the sick lit stories.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Yeah, and I mean like it's all that sort of
you know, it's the Greek tragedy, it's versus the Greek comedy.
You know, it's actually very historic and important. So I'm
going to go first with my favorite one. Yes, well
I've got a couple of favorites, but I'm going to
start here. So this one is called PS I Love
You from two thousand and seven, and it stars Hillary
(06:51):
Swank as Holly and Grard Butler as Jerry.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
My hotel was thirty five years old.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
He wasn't supposed to die, surprise.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I have a plan.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
I've written your letters, letters that will be coming to
you all sorts of ways.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Now you must do what I say. Okay, Jerry and
Holly are married, they're you know, really really happy. But
within the first ten minutes bang were at a funeral
and Jerry is dead. This is not like a slow
lead up. This is a straight away, Oh my god,
what has happened?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Now?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Jerry is Irish.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Jerry and Holly fell in love really young, and they're
married now and sort of trying to figure out the
next stage of their lives.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
They're going to buy a house, so they're going to
have children. And after Jerry dies, he dies of a
brain t tumor.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Obviously, Holly is distraught, and she all of a sudden
a few months later, is like severely depressed, like dancing
around her apartment.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Drinking and smelling and you know, just in that real
state of grief.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
And her friends and her mum come over and they
share this little clip that Jerry has saved for her.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Honestly, I don't know happing to get to this episode, and.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
He basically starts to write her a series of letters
that get seeded out through the course of I think
a year, and each of these letters ends with PS
I love you, yeah, And it's his way of trying
to help Holly get over the grief. Now, the reason
why this movie is so great is one Irish Irish
(08:27):
men and Irish accents. Now, Gerard Butler did get a
little bit of flack for his not so great Irish accent,
but because he's Scottish.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
But I mean, I didn't notice.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
And also this particular time, so two thousand and seven
was right when I finished high school and my English
teacher was Irish and I had a massive crush on him. Oh,
here's a saucy story, obviously, like, do you watch this
movie around the time of my big Irish crush on
my teacher?
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Are you looking at Joe Butler on screen picturing your teacher?
Speaker 1 (08:55):
No, I just the accent was so ingrained in my
brain that I just think it really like hit me
in a really different place.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
And so she goes to Ireland.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
She meets another hot Irish guy played by Jeffrey D. Williams,
and if you are a fan of The Walking Dead
you will know him.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Oh, I'm intimately equated with this man.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
He's also a beautiful what's his name in Walking Dead again, Megannagan?
Speaker 2 (09:18):
That's right. But also a lot of people know him
as Denny from Gray's Anatomy. Yes, yeah, as the dad
from Supernatural. Oh, Denny is the perfect Yeah, Okay, so
he knows how to make the ladies cry.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Yeah, so, I mean they have this kind of fleeing
and it's really sweet.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I think the reason why this hits hard so much
is is like kind of getting messages from people you've
lost beyond the grave and the idea that you know,
he's like trying to help her get through this. I
think the biggest tear jerk a moment for me in
this movie is when, like right at the end, it's
sort of towards the year mark, she runs to her mother,
(09:53):
who's played by Kathy Bates, and she hugs her. She's sobbing,
and it's like one of those moments where you just
need your mom. She's sobbing and sobbing.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
She's like, I can't do this without him.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Here we go, it's starting, and you know, Kathy Bates
is like just trying to comfort her daughter. And at
the end of it, she's not like she finds another love,
but it's like she's finally starting to deal with her grief.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
But Gerard Butley is so charming and he's you know,
the jolly Irish.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Guy that's funny, and he's you know, plays the guitar
and he's sexy and Holly is a little bit more uptight,
so it kind of is this really nice balance, and
I really loved it.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
What I think is interesting in that movie. It was
such a departure to have those actors in those roles,
which I remember going to see that the movies when
it came out and just thinking it was so wild,
Like Hillary Swain is not a romance actress. Like she's
great in this movie, but she's not a romance actress. Also,
this is more of a romantic drama than a romantic comedy.
But again, like she only ever kind of dips her
tone in romantic comedies because at that time she was
(10:57):
known as like the best dramatic actress in the world,
and she's a double Oscar winner, and so she was
doing all these, like you those really gretty hardcore films,
and like she's a serious actress. And I feel like
at the time, so many people was like, why is
she doing this stupid, small, sy overly sugary kind of
death trope romcom But I think like when her and
Jared Butler, they like they still get asked with that
(11:18):
movie all the time, of course because it's iconic, and
they both talk about the fact that they knew it
was going to be this movie that people talked about
for decades and it would be the special story. And
even jarreed Butler because he's always happy to be interviewed.
He's an angry man sometimes, but I've noticed he rarely
gets angry when interviews asking about this movie, and I
think he knows that, like it's sacred ground for people,
and not to say anything bad about it.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I think as well, it's just that notion of grief
and like having someone that you love still be able
to reach out to you and then communicate with you
even when they're not there. And I think particularly if
there's like long illnesses and stuff, people can have the
opportunity to do things like that. Yeah. Yeah, it's a
real tear jerker, that one. And like from the start,
(11:59):
don't build to it. It's like, within ten minutes you
are crying.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Okay, Laura, what is yours?
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Okay? I am going to throw it all the way
back to nineteen seventy when the first love trope death movie,
well the first one that I can trace the origin
premiere and it's still one of the most talked about
romantic dramas of all time to this.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Day, I'm trying to figure out what it is.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Okay, it's called love Story.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
I haven't seen this.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
That is how basic? Not basic, that is how kind
of like at the forefront of this trope, this movie is.
They didn't even have to get clever with the title
or the premo or anything like that. They're like, we're
the first ones to do this, so we can call
ourselves a love story because no one's ever done it.
So it was based on a book. It came out
in nineteen seventy. It's romantic drama, and it tells the
(12:49):
story of this girl called Jennifer and this guy called Oliver.
And so Oliver comes from a very very rich, prestigious family,
and he's going to Harvard and he only kind of
mixes with other rich boys and women from society where
he comes from. And during his college years he meets Jenny,
who's from a more working class family. Her and her
(13:10):
dad trying to make their way in the world. She's
kind of very blue collar, working class, like you call them,
like a modern day kind of roomy and juliet, like
their families not getting along.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
I love this because back then this wouldn't have been
a trope. Yet yeah, like you know, when tropes weren't tropes,
it was like brand spanking new exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
That's what I mean. You could call it love story
and say the trope is they come from different families.
That's the plot, and no further questions. And it was again,
this is like such an iconic movie people saw quote
it to this day. But they come from different places,
they sort of start to fall in love, and once
they fall in love, they fall for each other so hard.
But you do watch their love story evolve over time
and all the things they have to overcome. There's one
(13:50):
stage where Oliver takes Jenny to meet his family and
they basically just say she's trash and she needs to
get out of the house. And if he decides to
marry her, because that stage that we're getting married, we're
so in love, then they'll cut him off from the
family fortune, which they do, and so they end up
getting married and things are really lovely. Also, this idea
about storylines being cycled, like once you look back at
(14:12):
old movies from the seventies and stuff, you're like, literally
nothing is new because at this point in time, everyone
I know is having this huge debate over Belly from
the Summer I turn pretty like she should go to Paris,
and the girls never go to Paris, And it's this
whole thing.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
The girls never go to Paris. Yeah, I can name
off the top of my head, like four girls are exactly.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Joey from Dawson's Creek and also Lauren Harry Yeah, Carrie
even Sex and the City. Well, she goes to Paris
and has a bad time, so maybe that's not the
same thing. Lauren Conran from The Hills. I know that
was fake, but it was still. There's this whole trope
of girls getting this opportunity to go to Paris and
never going, and that happens in Love Story. Jenny gets
a scholarship to go to Paris when she's finished college,
(14:53):
but she decides not to go because she's so madly
in love with Oliver and also he's been cut off
from his family for marrying her. So they get married
and they decide to start a family, and when she
can't conceive, she goes to the doctor. You know where
this is going. She goes to the doctor. Not to
spoil a movie that came out nineteen seventy, but things
are not good for Jenny. She's termally ill. There's this
(15:15):
whole subplot of Oliver finding out first and not telling her,
and I'm like, that's a bit problematic, but we skate
past it. The whole point of the movie is that
at the end of it, he feels bad that he's
like stolen her dream going to Paris, and like he
stole her life by marrying her, and like all these things,
and he's like trying to lie to his family to
get money for her medical care. It's this whole thing.
And she was like, I wouldn't change a thing, Like
I'd do it all again just to be with you.
(15:37):
I've lost nothing, I've given up nothing. I haven't given
up Paris like having you as the main thing. There's
also this iconic line from the movie that still gets
quoted to this day, which is love means never having
to say you're sorry. Oh, it's from this, that's where
it's from there. It's make a whole lot of sense
when you talk about it, But basically he is apologizing
to her for her not getting to live his dreams
(15:57):
and supporting him and now she's going to die, and
she was like, love means never having.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
To say you're sorry, and now I think that's now
setting to me.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Yeah, You're just one of those movies that gets quoted
so much it gets like paradalogic. It's brought up in
pop culture. It's one of those things where like you're like,
I don't know where that's from, but I know it's
around and it gets settled. So it's from that movie.
So that was like the ultimate death trope. I know
I just spoiled quite a bit of it, but like, again,
there's heaps more I haven said. So I feel like
everyone should watch it if you haven't, because especially if
(16:27):
you love these types of movies, it is the blueprint
for like a sad death trope romance movie.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
It's like the original.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Unfortunately, with a lot of these movies, it's very cancer
heavy because although my next one is not cancer heavy.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Oh good, good because my other one, but it's actually
you can't get away way Oh okay, jesus, my girl.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
There's some of those things are changing for everyone.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Have you ever kissed anyone?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
No, I'm going to marry mister Bixler. We get we're
a teacher because then he'll give you all age and
will be fair.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
Dad likes are better than me, bigg.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
How I would deliver the Brady Bunch.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
Oh love them too?
Speaker 3 (17:11):
No, your kids, they have enough kids.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
El has a little bit the Partridge Family. This see
sometimes whenn't get older, friends stop being friends and that
video and.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Me sure be my girl.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Oh yeah, nineteen ninety one. Yeah, if you don't know
this movie, honestly, this scene. I was watching this scene
when I was doing the racearch. I'm literally welling up.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
I was watching the scene when he she runs over
to the to the casket. Yeah, he can't see it.
He can't see without his glasses. Where are his glasses?
Speaker 2 (17:47):
That? Oh my god, Laurie or even I hate that movie.
You know why because I'm also deathly allergic to bees.
So I would be that kid.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Okay, so let's just like that we've kind of gone back,
but that like iconic scene like is still to this
day the most devastating scene has ever been watched.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
You watch as a kid, right, yes, And it's probably
the first time we were properly exposed to a movie
where the main character, who was our age because he's
a kid two dies Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Okay, so let's kind of backtrack slightly.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Now it's starring Anna chumpsky and Macaulay Culkin, So this
is one of Anna's very very first roles.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
And Macaulay Culkin, this is like right in the.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Height of his home alone fame, so big stars, and
we've got Jamie Lee Curtis in it, who we love,
and Dan Akroyd, who was such a staple in eighties
and ninety cinema. Dan Akroyd plays a funeral home director.
So Vader is basically around death quite a lot, so
she sees it. She's kind of a quirky girl. Like
the charm of it is that Vader is this kind
(18:49):
of wise beyond her years. The commentary, the poetry, it's
a very very sweet and she has this friendship with
Thomas Thomas j played by Macaulay Culkin, and he's a
bit quieter, a bit shy, but they have this really
beautiful friendship and you know, it's so innocent and sweet,
and you would know the image of them kissing for
(19:11):
the first time by the lake. It is so innocent,
it's nothing like It's just a really beautiful, little like
young love romance. And then the big scene at the
end is he goes back to find her mood ring
because she lost her mood ring.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Yeah, and we all remember mood rings. This traumatized me
from mood rings.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
He finds a bee hive and he's allergic to bees,
and he gets stung and he dies, and I can't
keep going from there anyway, my goal in nineteen ninety
one traumatizing all millennials.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Yes, till the end of time.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
It holds up. I watched it again recently, and it's
just such a good slice of that iconic like Americana
movie happens over summer. You've got the like love story
between Dan Akron and Jamie Lee Curtis, which is beautiful.
She's got a love story with her teacher. You would
have related to that. I related to the bees. It's
just a really my Girl too not great? Did you
watch that?
Speaker 5 (20:06):
No?
Speaker 3 (20:06):
I didn't.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
I did. My Girl one? A perfect movie.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
It was a perfect movie, but yes, absolutely traumatizing for
US millennials, but still one of the most beautiful death movies. Innocent,
sweet and Anna Champsky is just so fabulous in Yeah,
and she's eleven years old.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Yeah, Crazy Vader Sultan Fust is that the best like character.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Even Vader is such a good name, so good.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Okay, I must confess I pitched today's podcast just so
I could talk about this movie. It's one of my favorites.
I think about it all the time. I listened to
the soundtrack all the time, even though it came out
over twenty years ago, and I haven't been able to
shoehorn it into an episode until now. It is a
walk to remember.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
I'm so glad that you brought them stet up because
this was on my list too, because it was such
an iconic and early two thousands, two thousand and two
it came out, Yes, and Mandy Moore's first role, first
cinema role.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, and she's so good in it. So it's based
on a Nicholas Spark's book, and yes, it came out
in two thousand and two, so I feel like us
that's peak like high school years, where like this kind
of a movie just destroyed you. So yes, it's Shane West,
who the director was just slipping through a magazine, saw
a picture of him and was like, this guy can
do light and shade and so anyone else, that's a
terrible way to cast the lead in a movie. For
(21:24):
Shane West, it was correct. He was great in that.
And yes, Mandy Moore was already a huge star in singing,
but apart from the Princess Diaries, hadn't acted before. And
so she plays a high school student called Jamie. And
she's meant to be this kind of very devout Her
father's a reverend, she's very devout Catholic. She's meant to
be kind of the mousey, shy girl at school that
no one pays attention to. And I'm sure everyone's thinking,
(21:46):
how could Mandy Moore be the shy, mousey girl. They
dyed a hair brown, and she wears a lot of
button up cardigans and she has a fringe, which is
traumatizing to me that that was meant to make her
a loser. And she walks around with their head down
a lot.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
You can't say this if you're listening to us, but
it's a lot of these very like meek I'm sort
of really sad.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Yeah, And Shane Less plays.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
The boy, Yes, he plays Land and the bad boy.
What I love about the whole like making Mandy Moore,
who was like a blonde pop star singer at the time.
It was like Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Mandy Moore. They
were all the sexy blonde girls who did like the
you know, catchy pop songs. The director and costume designer
have since said that they resisted the urge to put
glasses on her because they just knew and they wanted
(22:32):
to like those glasses you could just feel like someone
was holding them off screen. But they were like, no,
it's too much of a trope. They like, we've seen
not another teen movie. And I was like, wait, did
that come out before Walk to Remember? I guess it did.
It's very She's all that day, and they were like,
we don't want to do that thing where we put
glasses on a beautiful girl and say she's a nerd
and then when she gets some makeover, she takes them off.
So land In is yet a bit of a bad boy.
(22:54):
He and his friends get caught drinking and then like
there's this whole prank thing they do and one of
their friends gets injured and so as punishment, and this
is where this movie kind of almost becomes Step Up,
because this is also this top bit is the plot
of Step Up, where his punishment is he gets sentenced
to do like community school help staff and so he
has to help out with the school play, which is
(23:14):
very step up when Channing Tatum has to be a
janitor at a school that he gets put in the
school dance recital. I love this line of punishment meaning
you have to be on stage, I.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Know, and I love that. I feel like, is this
where she goes you can't fall in love with me?
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Yeah, great.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Another trope that we see a lot in.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Yeah, exactly, and it's the classic. I mean, it gets
to all the time, but it never gets old. The
bad boy meets the shy good girl and over the
course and then putting on this school play, he starts
to fall in love with her, even though she did
say don't fall in love with me. And one of
the moments he falls in love with her, and this
was my favorite moments in cinema is that no one
knows that she can sing because she's like the real quiet,
(23:52):
shy girl at school and everyone's like she's nothing, but
obviously she is Mandy Moore and she's got a great voice.
So she comes out on stage and sings one of
the greatest songs of all time that I still listen
to to this day. We should only hope and just stunning, beautiful,
(24:30):
no notes. I listened to that song all the time.
She did the whole soundtrack, which is a huge thing
for the movie. So Landon and Jamie fall in love.
Obviously she's got the voice of an angel, only for
him to discover because of course she has leukemia and
she's not responding to treatment. And then he sets about
helping her fulfill all these final wishes that she had,
(24:51):
and the way they do it is like, really, I
don't know if this is just like fourteen year old
me talking at the time, I was like, this is
the most beautiful movie I've ever seen.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
They get married.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
They no, Well, that was her dream because her mom
passed away. Was her dream to get married in the
same church as hermum and dad. It was her dream
to get a tattoo, so he puts the little fake
butterfly tattoo on her. It was her dream to be
in two places at once, So he takes her to
the state line. They stand with a leg on either side.
Yeah I remember doing that between New South Wales. Yeah yeah,
(25:20):
I just how we all thought was like, this is
the roset romantic thing. Ever, Also, the chemistry between Shane
West and Mandy Moore is so good. They still email
to this day. I love that for them. That was
the first time she'd ever kissed a boy on screen
as well, and just yeah, their chemistry is so incredible.
And yeah, things don't go well for the character of Jamie,
but she dies really happy. There's no way to sugarcoat
(25:42):
the ending. You guys like this coming.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
This episode is equal parts nostalgic and yeah, making me
so depressed.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
It's all ending. Can I just say one thing about
the map that leads to you that I thought was
very refreshing, is that not without giving anything away, they
allude to what's coming without delving into it, so you
can go and watch that and experience the romance. I
quite like that because I was like, I don't know
how many much more I can watch one lover hold
another lover as they die, Like we see that so much,
so at least that's kind of going away. But yeah,
(26:10):
remember if you haven't seen it, I mean, we haven't
really spoiled it. There's so much more. Yeah, and also
you know what's coming, Like Nicholas Sparks book.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Again, these movies have come out a long time ago.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
These are just kind of like our favorites and the
ones that are real tear jerkers for us, like, no
matter how many times you watch them, it is a
tear jerker exactly. Now one our producer also wanted to
bring one to the table.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
I did because there's one movie that stands out to
me as my favorite by far movie in this genre
of all time, maybe one of my favorite movies of
all time. Okay, So to set the scene, Henry Golding
in his peak, fresh off of Crazy Rich Asians, that
whole boom. We have Amelia Clark the year that Game
of Throne is wrapped, so two people in their prime.
(26:52):
We have me going into the cinema and watching a
beautiful movie in the best city in London at Christmas time,
set to the soundtrack of George Michael's songs Last Christmas?
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Oh you again?
Speaker 3 (27:11):
What do you mean again?
Speaker 5 (27:12):
Did you follow me here?
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Elves always so cynical, Yes, relentlessly.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
These are dark times.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I'm Tom Kate.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Christmas we are where you murder me?
Speaker 1 (27:25):
So what is it that you do?
Speaker 4 (27:26):
I see?
Speaker 3 (27:27):
That's amazing Anyway, I'm not bored.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
You are so strange. Where are you going? Well, you're
not homeless.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Look I volunteer.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
Why didn't you just get Sam? Do in nor Forehead.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
Yes, just now, I actually kind of liked this movie too.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
Why do you sound a shame?
Speaker 1 (27:48):
I do believe because it got like it was pad
and everyone was like, that's such an obvious ending.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Now let's just think about the this song last Christmas, I.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Gave you my heart.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
I didn't got two and two together.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
The writing is on the wall of what's gonna happen. No,
the reason that we sound a bit surprised is that
you wanted to bring this up as one of your
not just your favorite death trope romance movies, but one
of your favorite romances. And there was no argument in
the room because this is no one's favorite romance movie,
just yours.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
This is weld to me because I went in there.
I was with my boyfriend at the time. We watch it.
He was a real movie buff. I came out after
and I was like, I mean, I don't.
Speaker 5 (28:26):
Know if the Oscars look at movies like this kind
fantastic film, top notch.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Acting like who saw that coming? And he was like, no,
this is an average Christmas film.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Yes, so beautiful lot that you were like, guys, early
contender for the Oscars. Oscars buzz is starting and I'm
starting it here. So Amelia Klark's character, just for anyone
who doesn't know, is sort of down on her luck
and she's trying to become a musician. She's working in
a Christmas shop. She meets Henry Golding's character and I
don't know, do you want to give away the plot twist?
No one wants to watch this movie.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
I mean, it was twenty nineteen, they've had time. Essentially,
she's talking to Henry Golding.
Speaker 5 (29:01):
You think they're falling in love, but it turns out
he actually passed away in a car accident and he's
a ghost of sorts.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
But she has had a heart transplant.
Speaker 5 (29:09):
I mean, in Genie's Spotlight, she's had a heart transplant
and that's why she's seeing him and talking to him.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
And there is this gorgeous line at the end of
the film. I've actually written it down just to make
sure I get it.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
Exactly right for the fans, where he says take care
of my heart, which is after she realizes that he's
a ghost, and she says, I promise, and he says
it was always going to be yours one way or another.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
Okay. So the reason I actually did enjoy this movie.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
I wouldn't call it my favorite, but I didn't hate
it as much as everybody else seemed to the reason
I liked it is because have you ever seen those
videos where someone's had like a heart transplant or something,
and the people who have lost their child or partner
will put like a stepthoscope and listen to the heartbeat
in the transplanted patient. Like That's why it got me,
(30:00):
because that obviously is just still really emotional for a
lot of families, and you see them bailing their eyes
out because they can still hear their loved ones heart beating.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Yeah, but it could also be the brilliant thing, Oh
oh my god, I have.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
Made both of you with tears in your eyes today,
we're just shining.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
It could be the brilliant scripting and acting that got
you not Just can I just say I don't hate
this movie. I went to the cinema with an open
mind to watch it, but I just think the build
up had been so intense because, like you're saying, Henry Golding,
harsh of you to say before at his prime, as
if he's not now, Henry Golding could have burned for
Henry Henry Golding, Amelia Clark. Everyone was so obsessed to
(30:40):
see them. The Love Story also directed by Paul fag
who is the director who's done so many incredible movies
like Bridesmaids. I interviewed him when he came to a
story about this movie, and he's such a brilliant man.
So like, I didn't hate it. It just doesn't make
my list of top romance movies. I want them to
be in another rongcom because I had good chemistry.
Speaker 4 (30:58):
They had great chemistry.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
Dude, it's dead and his heart beats within her, and
every time they cut to the hospital scenes, I was like,
I just don't know if this is what I wanted
in a Christmas rom com because everyone thought Carl was
calling this the New Love.
Speaker 4 (31:09):
Actually, we do complain about things being too samey.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
He's not alive. Let you down what twist?
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Yeah, I mean I think I know a lot of
people were very like, that is so obvious, guys, you
really need to do that.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
But I kind of like I was okay with it,
and for some reason, I still was shocked.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
I just watching it being like that dude is a
ghost down the road because he's started floating. Didn't know
he's just like the way, like no one else was
acknowledging him when he was around. She only saw him
at certain times. He never touched anything in the apartment.
But what it was, I know, I was like putting
together the twist. But then at one stage I was like,
(31:49):
please don't tell me that she has his heart. That's
so not what I wanted in this moment. And then
it became clear through like a montage with the heartbeat,
that she in fact had been the recipient of his heart,
and I was like, I just can't get around it.
I can't get around it.
Speaker 5 (32:03):
Beautiful, I remember at the time because it was just
literally my favorite movie, Rolling Stones for out of think
about how it should have been this beautiful holiday rom
common and then they called it a flaming tinseled disaster,
and I've.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
Never felt so upset at Rolling Stones.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
I was like, how could they feel? Like?
Speaker 4 (32:17):
How have they seen something so different to what I've seen?
Speaker 3 (32:20):
But anyway, so the opposite of Oscars was but enjoyable.
Speaker 4 (32:23):
Nonetheless, maybe like a Razzie or something.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
Yeah, I think it was nominated, But that's okay, you
keep going with your movie recommendation.
Speaker 4 (32:32):
No, that's okay. I'll leave it there.
Speaker 5 (32:33):
Guys, I feel like I've said all that can be
said about last Christmas.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
Oh, thank you.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
Okay, So if you need a good cry you see,
to get some of those emotions out. Those are our favorites.
There's obviously lots more, some involving like tuberculosis, mul and rouge.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Yeah, beautiful story we've got, you know, Titanic with the door.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
I don't know what we have time to get to
it now, but I think that's a story.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Okay, all right, fine, okay, but yeah, there's lots of
other ones, but those are some of our faces.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
Thank you so much for listening to the Spill today.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Guys, do not forget to follow the Spill on TikTok
and Instagram or you post lots of fun things and
you can maybe see us cry today if you're into
that kind of thing. Spill is produced by Miniesia. It's
Warren with sound production by Leah Bodgers. We will see
you guys back here on Monday at eight am for
morning Tea and then at three pm for the spell.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
Bye Bye
Speaker 2 (33:29):
N
So much you're listening to Amma Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Mamma Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and borders
that this podcast is recorded on. From Mamma Mia. Welcome
to this spill your daily pop culture fix. I'm Laura Brodney.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
And I'm Cassanula Kitch.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
And because it is Friday, our favorite day of the
week where we love to deep dive into movies and
TV shows, today we're going to be having a bit
of a tragic turn with some love stories.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
And we're going to lean into our sadness and into
having a good cry.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yes, well, yes, hopefully there'll be many tears in this
episode because we are talking about the most tragic love
stories that's been committed to film, and not just tragic
love stories, love stories that ended in death and or sickness.
And while that might sound like a bit of a downer,
this is like a common trope in romance stories and
love stories that have been, you know, shaping Hollywood for decades,
(01:11):
because there's nothing more beautiful than watching two hot people
fall in love and then watching one of them die
tragically to make you feel alife.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I think it's also just like sometimes you need a
really good cry and I'm just pray warning everyone, I'm
a little bit pay messy, so there might base some
tears that I got stopped.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
All right. Well, in that case, head over to our
vodkas and I watch us on YouTube to see because
then you cry.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
This is the perfect episode for me, Shay.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
So the reason we're talking about this, I didn't just
pick this topic out of the air to make you cry. Yeah,
I just love to talk about death and illness and
romance and all in one go. No, it's off the
back of the fact this new movie has premiered a
few weeks ago, so many people are talking about it,
so many people are watching it. And it's called The
Map that Leads to You that came out recently on
Prime Video.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Tell me about the boy that was following us out
of the tream sushing, I'm Jack. Will he the question?
Speaker 4 (02:10):
They kissed Castro and she is just now telling us that.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Just sophing it doesn't like Jne out to be a
serial killer.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Yes, So this is another great little romance movie, of course,
adapted from a book which had a big fan base,
and it's got Kiwi kJ Apper in it from Riverdale,
and it's kind of been getting quite a lot of buzz.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yeah, it's had like a lot of people were excited
about it. One because a lot of people had read
the book by JP Monier, but also because of the casting.
So it stars, as you said, kJ Apper, our favorite
New Zealand actor who's been on the TV show The
Teen Sensation Rivedale for many years, but also Madeline Klein,
who people would know from Outer Bank. So it brought
together two hot people from two beloved and crazy teen
(02:57):
shows and put them together in this romance. And I
think a lot of people tuned in for that, but
they sort of if you hadn't read the book, weren't
sure where the story was going. And I had to say,
first of all, I really loved this movie.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Okay, I haven't seen it yet and I don't really
know much about it, so I'm going to like lean
into you to give me the telling you too many spoilers.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
I'm going to spoil some other movies later in the
show that have been out for twenty years, and I
feel like that's fair, but this one has been out
for a few weeks, so I'll give people a grace period.
But yes, it came out on Prime video. I watched it.
I really loved it. I posted about it on Instagram
just to let the world know it was out there.
I was flooded with replies of people saying that they
had watched off the back of that or were watching it,
and people were falling in love with it one because
(03:37):
you know, I think people are so desperate for some
like cute love stories all sorts of a bit tragic. Also,
it's set across this beautiful backdrop of Europe. Okay, So
Madeline Klein plays Heather. So Heather is kind of a
girl who always, you know, plays by the rules her
whole life. She's got like a twenty year life plan, right,
And so she's just graduated from college and she's got
herself set up with this fancy finance job in New York.
(03:58):
But before she starts her new job, she and her
two best friends from college do like the normal kind
of early girl in your twenties thing. They set off
on this backpacking trip around Europe and they're having a
wild time. Even though Heather's very much like I've got
an itinerary planned, we have to go here at this time.
EETs today like she's the one who's keeping her friends together.
One night. On an overnight train, she meets Jack played
(04:20):
by kJ Appa, who's this wild and footloose, fancy free
guy in his twenties who's just aimlessly wandering around Europe.
And he's following his great grandfather's journal that has a
map of all the places that he went in Europe.
So that's cute, a classic, like little meat cute on
a train in Europe.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I don't think I ever had any mate cutes on trains,
just I only ever met creepy guys.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
I had a lot of meat every time I've had
a wild backtracking trip. I have had a few like
quick Eupeian romances, but I've never had a hot guy
come up and hit on me on a train and
then followed me to a club in a non creepy way,
which is what happens here now. It's the whole thing,
like pickpockets and like yeah, or creepy junk guys on
a train or something like that. This is the classic.
Like it's cute because he's cute that he kind of
(05:03):
just comes up to her on this train and like
gets into the luggage kind of carriage thing above where
she's trying to read on this overnight train just keep
talking to her, and afterwards he and his friend follow
her and her friends to a club to meet up
with them. In any other movie a serial killer, Yeah,
this could have gone a really different ways. kJ Apper
and he's really cute. It's so romantic. So Heather and
(05:24):
Jack go and have this wild night out together in Europe.
They start to fall in love. The friendship groups all
split up. She instead of flying to New York to
start to her job, she stays in Europe a few
more weeks with him, and they gone this venture together.
And I won't spoil what's happening at the end, but
Jack has some bad health news and I think that
throws the story into disarray and their love story. These
(05:45):
kinds of.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Movies, I feel like, honest common these days. And I
think like gen Z now are really discovering that type
of t jerk or romance, that tragic love story. You know,
you're Romeo and Juliet for the modern age. It's like
it was really really popular in like the twenty ten.
So we kind of picked some of our favorites while
(06:07):
I was doing the research with this, Honestly, like could
barely keep my.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, well we went through a time where if you
went to the movies to watch a romance and it
didn't end tragically with one of the couple dying, you
were like, what am I spending my money for? Like,
that's what you went to the movies to see. So
I think maybe we don't do it now as much
because we went too hard and too fast for a
few years with the sick lit stories.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Yeah, and I mean like it's all that sort of
you know, it's the Greek tragedy, it's versus the Greek comedy.
You know, it's actually very historic and important. So I'm
going to go first with my favorite one. Yes, well
I've got a couple of favorites, but I'm going to
start here. So this one is called PS I Love
You from two thousand and seven, and it stars Hillary
(06:51):
Swank as Holly and Grard Butler as Jerry.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
My hotel was thirty five years old.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
He wasn't supposed to die, surprise.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I have a plan.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
I've written your letters, letters that will be coming to
you all sorts of ways.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Now you must do what I say. Okay, Jerry and
Holly are married, they're you know, really really happy. But
within the first ten minutes bang were at a funeral
and Jerry is dead. This is not like a slow
lead up. This is a straight away, Oh my god,
what has happened?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Now?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Jerry is Irish.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Jerry and Holly fell in love really young, and they're
married now and sort of trying to figure out the
next stage of their lives.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
They're going to buy a house, so they're going to
have children. And after Jerry dies, he dies of a
brain t tumor.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Obviously, Holly is distraught, and she all of a sudden
a few months later, is like severely depressed, like dancing
around her apartment.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Drinking and smelling and you know, just in that real
state of grief.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
And her friends and her mum come over and they
share this little clip that Jerry has saved for her.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Honestly, I don't know happing to get to this episode, and.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
He basically starts to write her a series of letters
that get seeded out through the course of I think
a year, and each of these letters ends with PS
I love you, yeah, And it's his way of trying
to help Holly get over the grief. Now, the reason
why this movie is so great is one Irish Irish
(08:27):
men and Irish accents. Now, Gerard Butler did get a
little bit of flack for his not so great Irish accent,
but because he's Scottish.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
But I mean, I didn't notice.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
And also this particular time, so two thousand and seven
was right when I finished high school and my English
teacher was Irish and I had a massive crush on him. Oh,
here's a saucy story, obviously, like, do you watch this
movie around the time of my big Irish crush on
my teacher?
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Are you looking at Joe Butler on screen picturing your teacher?
Speaker 1 (08:55):
No, I just the accent was so ingrained in my
brain that I just think it really like hit me
in a really different place.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
And so she goes to Ireland.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
She meets another hot Irish guy played by Jeffrey D. Williams,
and if you are a fan of The Walking Dead
you will know him.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Oh, I'm intimately equated with this man.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
He's also a beautiful what's his name in Walking Dead again, Megannagan?
Speaker 2 (09:18):
That's right. But also a lot of people know him
as Denny from Gray's Anatomy. Yes, yeah, as the dad
from Supernatural. Oh, Denny is the perfect Yeah, Okay, so
he knows how to make the ladies cry.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Yeah, so, I mean they have this kind of fleeing
and it's really sweet.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I think the reason why this hits hard so much
is is like kind of getting messages from people you've
lost beyond the grave and the idea that you know,
he's like trying to help her get through this. I
think the biggest tear jerk a moment for me in
this movie is when, like right at the end, it's
sort of towards the year mark, she runs to her mother,
(09:53):
who's played by Kathy Bates, and she hugs her. She's sobbing,
and it's like one of those moments where you just
need your mom. She's sobbing and sobbing.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
She's like, I can't do this without him.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Here we go, it's starting, and you know, Kathy Bates
is like just trying to comfort her daughter. And at
the end of it, she's not like she finds another love,
but it's like she's finally starting to deal with her grief.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
But Gerard Butley is so charming and he's you know,
the jolly Irish.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Guy that's funny, and he's you know, plays the guitar
and he's sexy and Holly is a little bit more uptight,
so it kind of is this really nice balance, and
I really loved it.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
What I think is interesting in that movie. It was
such a departure to have those actors in those roles,
which I remember going to see that the movies when
it came out and just thinking it was so wild,
Like Hillary Swain is not a romance actress. Like she's
great in this movie, but she's not a romance actress. Also,
this is more of a romantic drama than a romantic comedy.
But again, like she only ever kind of dips her
tone in romantic comedies because at that time she was
(10:57):
known as like the best dramatic actress in the world,
and she's a double Oscar winner, and so she was
doing all these, like you those really gretty hardcore films,
and like she's a serious actress. And I feel like
at the time, so many people was like, why is
she doing this stupid, small, sy overly sugary kind of
death trope romcom But I think like when her and
Jared Butler, they like they still get asked with that
(11:18):
movie all the time, of course because it's iconic, and
they both talk about the fact that they knew it
was going to be this movie that people talked about
for decades and it would be the special story. And
even jarreed Butler because he's always happy to be interviewed.
He's an angry man sometimes, but I've noticed he rarely
gets angry when interviews asking about this movie, and I
think he knows that, like it's sacred ground for people,
and not to say anything bad about it.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I think as well, it's just that notion of grief
and like having someone that you love still be able
to reach out to you and then communicate with you
even when they're not there. And I think particularly if
there's like long illnesses and stuff, people can have the
opportunity to do things like that. Yeah. Yeah, it's a
real tear jerker, that one. And like from the start,
(11:59):
don't build to it. It's like, within ten minutes you
are crying.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Okay, Laura, what is yours?
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Okay? I am going to throw it all the way
back to nineteen seventy when the first love trope death movie,
well the first one that I can trace the origin
premiere and it's still one of the most talked about
romantic dramas of all time to this.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Day, I'm trying to figure out what it is.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Okay, it's called love Story.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
I haven't seen this.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
That is how basic? Not basic, that is how kind
of like at the forefront of this trope, this movie is.
They didn't even have to get clever with the title
or the premo or anything like that. They're like, we're
the first ones to do this, so we can call
ourselves a love story because no one's ever done it.
So it was based on a book. It came out
in nineteen seventy. It's romantic drama, and it tells the
(12:49):
story of this girl called Jennifer and this guy called Oliver.
And so Oliver comes from a very very rich, prestigious family,
and he's going to Harvard and he only kind of
mixes with other rich boys and women from society where
he comes from. And during his college years he meets Jenny,
who's from a more working class family. Her and her
(13:10):
dad trying to make their way in the world. She's
kind of very blue collar, working class, like you call them,
like a modern day kind of roomy and juliet, like
their families not getting along.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
I love this because back then this wouldn't have been
a trope. Yet yeah, like you know, when tropes weren't tropes,
it was like brand spanking new exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
That's what I mean. You could call it love story
and say the trope is they come from different families.
That's the plot, and no further questions. And it was again,
this is like such an iconic movie people saw quote
it to this day. But they come from different places,
they sort of start to fall in love, and once
they fall in love, they fall for each other so hard.
But you do watch their love story evolve over time
and all the things they have to overcome. There's one
(13:50):
stage where Oliver takes Jenny to meet his family and
they basically just say she's trash and she needs to
get out of the house. And if he decides to
marry her, because that stage that we're getting married, we're
so in love, then they'll cut him off from the
family fortune, which they do, and so they end up
getting married and things are really lovely. Also, this idea
about storylines being cycled, like once you look back at
(14:12):
old movies from the seventies and stuff, you're like, literally
nothing is new because at this point in time, everyone
I know is having this huge debate over Belly from
the Summer I turn pretty like she should go to Paris,
and the girls never go to Paris, And it's this
whole thing.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
The girls never go to Paris. Yeah, I can name
off the top of my head, like four girls are exactly.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Joey from Dawson's Creek and also Lauren Harry Yeah, Carrie
even Sex and the City. Well, she goes to Paris
and has a bad time, so maybe that's not the
same thing. Lauren Conran from The Hills. I know that
was fake, but it was still. There's this whole trope
of girls getting this opportunity to go to Paris and
never going, and that happens in Love Story. Jenny gets
a scholarship to go to Paris when she's finished college,
(14:53):
but she decides not to go because she's so madly
in love with Oliver and also he's been cut off
from his family for marrying her. So they get married
and they decide to start a family, and when she
can't conceive, she goes to the doctor. You know where
this is going. She goes to the doctor. Not to
spoil a movie that came out nineteen seventy, but things
are not good for Jenny. She's termally ill. There's this
(15:15):
whole subplot of Oliver finding out first and not telling her,
and I'm like, that's a bit problematic, but we skate
past it. The whole point of the movie is that
at the end of it, he feels bad that he's
like stolen her dream going to Paris, and like he
stole her life by marrying her, and like all these things,
and he's like trying to lie to his family to
get money for her medical care. It's this whole thing.
And she was like, I wouldn't change a thing, Like
I'd do it all again just to be with you.
(15:37):
I've lost nothing, I've given up nothing. I haven't given
up Paris like having you as the main thing. There's
also this iconic line from the movie that still gets
quoted to this day, which is love means never having
to say you're sorry. Oh, it's from this, that's where
it's from there. It's make a whole lot of sense
when you talk about it, But basically he is apologizing
to her for her not getting to live his dreams
(15:57):
and supporting him and now she's going to die, and
she was like, love means never having.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
To say you're sorry, and now I think that's now
setting to me.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Yeah, You're just one of those movies that gets quoted
so much it gets like paradalogic. It's brought up in
pop culture. It's one of those things where like you're like,
I don't know where that's from, but I know it's
around and it gets settled. So it's from that movie.
So that was like the ultimate death trope. I know
I just spoiled quite a bit of it, but like, again,
there's heaps more I haven said. So I feel like
everyone should watch it if you haven't, because especially if
(16:27):
you love these types of movies, it is the blueprint
for like a sad death trope romance movie.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
It's like the original.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Unfortunately, with a lot of these movies, it's very cancer
heavy because although my next one is not cancer heavy.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Oh good, good because my other one, but it's actually
you can't get away way Oh okay, jesus, my girl.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
There's some of those things are changing for everyone.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Have you ever kissed anyone?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
No, I'm going to marry mister Bixler. We get we're
a teacher because then he'll give you all age and
will be fair.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
Dad likes are better than me, bigg.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
How I would deliver the Brady Bunch.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
Oh love them too?
Speaker 3 (17:11):
No, your kids, they have enough kids.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
El has a little bit the Partridge Family. This see
sometimes whenn't get older, friends stop being friends and that
video and.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Me sure be my girl.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Oh yeah, nineteen ninety one. Yeah, if you don't know
this movie, honestly, this scene. I was watching this scene
when I was doing the racearch. I'm literally welling up.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
I was watching the scene when he she runs over
to the to the casket. Yeah, he can't see it.
He can't see without his glasses. Where are his glasses?
Speaker 2 (17:47):
That? Oh my god, Laurie or even I hate that movie.
You know why because I'm also deathly allergic to bees.
So I would be that kid.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Okay, so let's just like that we've kind of gone back,
but that like iconic scene like is still to this
day the most devastating scene has ever been watched.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
You watch as a kid, right, yes, And it's probably
the first time we were properly exposed to a movie
where the main character, who was our age because he's
a kid two dies Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Okay, so let's kind of backtrack slightly.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Now it's starring Anna chumpsky and Macaulay Culkin, So this
is one of Anna's very very first roles.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
And Macaulay Culkin, this is like right in the.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Height of his home alone fame, so big stars, and
we've got Jamie Lee Curtis in it, who we love,
and Dan Akroyd, who was such a staple in eighties
and ninety cinema. Dan Akroyd plays a funeral home director.
So Vader is basically around death quite a lot, so
she sees it. She's kind of a quirky girl. Like
the charm of it is that Vader is this kind
(18:49):
of wise beyond her years. The commentary, the poetry, it's
a very very sweet and she has this friendship with
Thomas Thomas j played by Macaulay Culkin, and he's a
bit quieter, a bit shy, but they have this really
beautiful friendship and you know, it's so innocent and sweet,
and you would know the image of them kissing for
(19:11):
the first time by the lake. It is so innocent,
it's nothing like It's just a really beautiful, little like
young love romance. And then the big scene at the
end is he goes back to find her mood ring
because she lost her mood ring.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Yeah, and we all remember mood rings. This traumatized me
from mood rings.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
He finds a bee hive and he's allergic to bees,
and he gets stung and he dies, and I can't
keep going from there anyway, my goal in nineteen ninety
one traumatizing all millennials.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Yes, till the end of time.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
It holds up. I watched it again recently, and it's
just such a good slice of that iconic like Americana
movie happens over summer. You've got the like love story
between Dan Akron and Jamie Lee Curtis, which is beautiful.
She's got a love story with her teacher. You would
have related to that. I related to the bees. It's
just a really my Girl too not great? Did you
watch that?
Speaker 5 (20:06):
No?
Speaker 3 (20:06):
I didn't.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
I did. My Girl one? A perfect movie.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
It was a perfect movie, but yes, absolutely traumatizing for
US millennials, but still one of the most beautiful death movies. Innocent,
sweet and Anna Champsky is just so fabulous in Yeah,
and she's eleven years old.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Yeah, Crazy Vader Sultan Fust is that the best like character.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Even Vader is such a good name, so good.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Okay, I must confess I pitched today's podcast just so
I could talk about this movie. It's one of my favorites.
I think about it all the time. I listened to
the soundtrack all the time, even though it came out
over twenty years ago, and I haven't been able to
shoehorn it into an episode until now. It is a
walk to remember.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
I'm so glad that you brought them stet up because
this was on my list too, because it was such
an iconic and early two thousands, two thousand and two
it came out, Yes, and Mandy Moore's first role, first
cinema role.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, and she's so good in it. So it's based
on a Nicholas Spark's book, and yes, it came out
in two thousand and two, so I feel like us
that's peak like high school years, where like this kind
of a movie just destroyed you. So yes, it's Shane West,
who the director was just slipping through a magazine, saw
a picture of him and was like, this guy can
do light and shade and so anyone else, that's a
terrible way to cast the lead in a movie. For
(21:24):
Shane West, it was correct. He was great in that.
And yes, Mandy Moore was already a huge star in singing,
but apart from the Princess Diaries, hadn't acted before. And
so she plays a high school student called Jamie. And
she's meant to be this kind of very devout Her
father's a reverend, she's very devout Catholic. She's meant to
be kind of the mousey, shy girl at school that
no one pays attention to. And I'm sure everyone's thinking,
(21:46):
how could Mandy Moore be the shy, mousey girl. They
dyed a hair brown, and she wears a lot of
button up cardigans and she has a fringe, which is
traumatizing to me that that was meant to make her
a loser. And she walks around with their head down
a lot.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
You can't say this if you're listening to us, but
it's a lot of these very like meek I'm sort
of really sad.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Yeah, And Shane Less plays.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
The boy, Yes, he plays Land and the bad boy.
What I love about the whole like making Mandy Moore,
who was like a blonde pop star singer at the time.
It was like Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Mandy Moore. They
were all the sexy blonde girls who did like the
you know, catchy pop songs. The director and costume designer
have since said that they resisted the urge to put
glasses on her because they just knew and they wanted
(22:32):
to like those glasses you could just feel like someone
was holding them off screen. But they were like, no,
it's too much of a trope. They like, we've seen
not another teen movie. And I was like, wait, did
that come out before Walk to Remember? I guess it did.
It's very She's all that day, and they were like,
we don't want to do that thing where we put
glasses on a beautiful girl and say she's a nerd
and then when she gets some makeover, she takes them off.
So land In is yet a bit of a bad boy.
(22:54):
He and his friends get caught drinking and then like
there's this whole prank thing they do and one of
their friends gets injured and so as punishment, and this
is where this movie kind of almost becomes Step Up,
because this is also this top bit is the plot
of Step Up, where his punishment is he gets sentenced
to do like community school help staff and so he
has to help out with the school play, which is
(23:14):
very step up when Channing Tatum has to be a
janitor at a school that he gets put in the
school dance recital. I love this line of punishment meaning
you have to be on stage, I.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Know, and I love that. I feel like, is this
where she goes you can't fall in love with me?
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Yeah, great.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Another trope that we see a lot in.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Yeah, exactly, and it's the classic. I mean, it gets
to all the time, but it never gets old. The
bad boy meets the shy good girl and over the
course and then putting on this school play, he starts
to fall in love with her, even though she did
say don't fall in love with me. And one of
the moments he falls in love with her, and this
was my favorite moments in cinema is that no one
knows that she can sing because she's like the real quiet,
(23:52):
shy girl at school and everyone's like she's nothing, but
obviously she is Mandy Moore and she's got a great voice.
So she comes out on stage and sings one of
the greatest songs of all time that I still listen
to to this day. We should only hope and just stunning, beautiful,
(24:30):
no notes. I listened to that song all the time.
She did the whole soundtrack, which is a huge thing
for the movie. So Landon and Jamie fall in love.
Obviously she's got the voice of an angel, only for
him to discover because of course she has leukemia and
she's not responding to treatment. And then he sets about
helping her fulfill all these final wishes that she had,
(24:51):
and the way they do it is like, really, I
don't know if this is just like fourteen year old
me talking at the time, I was like, this is
the most beautiful movie I've ever seen.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
They get married.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
They no, Well, that was her dream because her mom
passed away. Was her dream to get married in the
same church as hermum and dad. It was her dream
to get a tattoo, so he puts the little fake
butterfly tattoo on her. It was her dream to be
in two places at once, So he takes her to
the state line. They stand with a leg on either side.
Yeah I remember doing that between New South Wales. Yeah yeah,
(25:20):
I just how we all thought was like, this is
the roset romantic thing. Ever, Also, the chemistry between Shane
West and Mandy Moore is so good. They still email
to this day. I love that for them. That was
the first time she'd ever kissed a boy on screen
as well, and just yeah, their chemistry is so incredible.
And yeah, things don't go well for the character of Jamie,
but she dies really happy. There's no way to sugarcoat
(25:42):
the ending. You guys like this coming.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
This episode is equal parts nostalgic and yeah, making me
so depressed.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
It's all ending. Can I just say one thing about
the map that leads to you that I thought was
very refreshing, is that not without giving anything away, they
allude to what's coming without delving into it, so you
can go and watch that and experience the romance. I
quite like that because I was like, I don't know
how many much more I can watch one lover hold
another lover as they die, Like we see that so much,
so at least that's kind of going away. But yeah,
(26:10):
remember if you haven't seen it, I mean, we haven't
really spoiled it. There's so much more. Yeah, and also
you know what's coming, Like Nicholas Sparks book.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Again, these movies have come out a long time ago.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
These are just kind of like our favorites and the
ones that are real tear jerkers for us, like, no
matter how many times you watch them, it is a
tear jerker exactly. Now one our producer also wanted to
bring one to the table.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
I did because there's one movie that stands out to
me as my favorite by far movie in this genre
of all time, maybe one of my favorite movies of
all time. Okay, So to set the scene, Henry Golding
in his peak, fresh off of Crazy Rich Asians, that
whole boom. We have Amelia Clark the year that Game
of Throne is wrapped, so two people in their prime.
(26:52):
We have me going into the cinema and watching a
beautiful movie in the best city in London at Christmas time,
set to the soundtrack of George Michael's songs Last Christmas?
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Oh you again?
Speaker 3 (27:11):
What do you mean again?
Speaker 5 (27:12):
Did you follow me here?
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Elves always so cynical, Yes, relentlessly.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
These are dark times.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I'm Tom Kate.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Christmas we are where you murder me?
Speaker 1 (27:25):
So what is it that you do?
Speaker 4 (27:26):
I see?
Speaker 3 (27:27):
That's amazing Anyway, I'm not bored.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
You are so strange. Where are you going? Well, you're
not homeless.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Look I volunteer.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
Why didn't you just get Sam? Do in nor Forehead.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
Yes, just now, I actually kind of liked this movie too.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
Why do you sound a shame?
Speaker 1 (27:48):
I do believe because it got like it was pad
and everyone was like, that's such an obvious ending.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Now let's just think about the this song last Christmas, I.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Gave you my heart.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
I didn't got two and two together.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
The writing is on the wall of what's gonna happen. No,
the reason that we sound a bit surprised is that
you wanted to bring this up as one of your
not just your favorite death trope romance movies, but one
of your favorite romances. And there was no argument in
the room because this is no one's favorite romance movie,
just yours.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
This is weld to me because I went in there.
I was with my boyfriend at the time. We watch it.
He was a real movie buff. I came out after
and I was like, I mean, I don't.
Speaker 5 (28:26):
Know if the Oscars look at movies like this kind
fantastic film, top notch.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Acting like who saw that coming? And he was like, no,
this is an average Christmas film.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Yes, so beautiful lot that you were like, guys, early
contender for the Oscars. Oscars buzz is starting and I'm
starting it here. So Amelia Klark's character, just for anyone
who doesn't know, is sort of down on her luck
and she's trying to become a musician. She's working in
a Christmas shop. She meets Henry Golding's character and I
don't know, do you want to give away the plot twist?
No one wants to watch this movie.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
I mean, it was twenty nineteen, they've had time. Essentially,
she's talking to Henry Golding.
Speaker 5 (29:01):
You think they're falling in love, but it turns out
he actually passed away in a car accident and he's
a ghost of sorts.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
But she has had a heart transplant.
Speaker 5 (29:09):
I mean, in Genie's Spotlight, she's had a heart transplant
and that's why she's seeing him and talking to him.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
And there is this gorgeous line at the end of
the film. I've actually written it down just to make
sure I get it.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
Exactly right for the fans, where he says take care
of my heart, which is after she realizes that he's
a ghost, and she says, I promise, and he says
it was always going to be yours one way or another.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
Okay. So the reason I actually did enjoy this movie.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
I wouldn't call it my favorite, but I didn't hate
it as much as everybody else seemed to the reason
I liked it is because have you ever seen those
videos where someone's had like a heart transplant or something,
and the people who have lost their child or partner
will put like a stepthoscope and listen to the heartbeat
in the transplanted patient. Like That's why it got me,
(30:00):
because that obviously is just still really emotional for a
lot of families, and you see them bailing their eyes
out because they can still hear their loved ones heart beating.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Yeah, but it could also be the brilliant thing, Oh
oh my god, I have.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
Made both of you with tears in your eyes today,
we're just shining.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
It could be the brilliant scripting and acting that got
you not Just can I just say I don't hate
this movie. I went to the cinema with an open
mind to watch it, but I just think the build
up had been so intense because, like you're saying, Henry Golding,
harsh of you to say before at his prime, as
if he's not now, Henry Golding could have burned for
Henry Henry Golding, Amelia Clark. Everyone was so obsessed to
(30:40):
see them. The Love Story also directed by Paul fag
who is the director who's done so many incredible movies
like Bridesmaids. I interviewed him when he came to a
story about this movie, and he's such a brilliant man.
So like, I didn't hate it. It just doesn't make
my list of top romance movies. I want them to
be in another rongcom because I had good chemistry.
Speaker 4 (30:58):
They had great chemistry.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
Dude, it's dead and his heart beats within her, and
every time they cut to the hospital scenes, I was like,
I just don't know if this is what I wanted
in a Christmas rom com because everyone thought Carl was
calling this the New Love.
Speaker 4 (31:09):
Actually, we do complain about things being too samey.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
He's not alive. Let you down what twist?
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Yeah, I mean I think I know a lot of
people were very like, that is so obvious, guys, you
really need to do that.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
But I kind of like I was okay with it,
and for some reason, I still was shocked.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
I just watching it being like that dude is a
ghost down the road because he's started floating. Didn't know
he's just like the way, like no one else was
acknowledging him when he was around. She only saw him
at certain times. He never touched anything in the apartment.
But what it was, I know, I was like putting
together the twist. But then at one stage I was like,
(31:49):
please don't tell me that she has his heart. That's
so not what I wanted in this moment. And then
it became clear through like a montage with the heartbeat,
that she in fact had been the recipient of his heart,
and I was like, I just can't get around it.
I can't get around it.
Speaker 5 (32:03):
Beautiful, I remember at the time because it was just
literally my favorite movie, Rolling Stones for out of think
about how it should have been this beautiful holiday rom
common and then they called it a flaming tinseled disaster,
and I've.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
Never felt so upset at Rolling Stones.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
I was like, how could they feel? Like?
Speaker 4 (32:17):
How have they seen something so different to what I've seen?
Speaker 3 (32:20):
But anyway, so the opposite of Oscars was but enjoyable.
Speaker 4 (32:23):
Nonetheless, maybe like a Razzie or something.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
Yeah, I think it was nominated, But that's okay, you
keep going with your movie recommendation.
Speaker 4 (32:32):
No, that's okay. I'll leave it there.
Speaker 5 (32:33):
Guys, I feel like I've said all that can be
said about last Christmas.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
Oh, thank you.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
Okay, So if you need a good cry you see,
to get some of those emotions out. Those are our favorites.
There's obviously lots more, some involving like tuberculosis, mul and rouge.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Yeah, beautiful story we've got, you know, Titanic with the door.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
I don't know what we have time to get to
it now, but I think that's a story.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Okay, all right, fine, okay, but yeah, there's lots of
other ones, but those are some of our faces.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
Thank you so much for listening to the Spill today.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Guys, do not forget to follow the Spill on TikTok
and Instagram or you post lots of fun things and
you can maybe see us cry today if you're into
that kind of thing. Spill is produced by Miniesia. It's
Warren with sound production by Leah Bodgers. We will see
you guys back here on Monday at eight am for
morning Tea and then at three pm for the spell.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
Bye Bye
Speaker 2 (33:29):
N
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.