August 7, 2025 • 50 mins
This week, we unpack My Oxford Year, Netflix’s latest attempt to make “terminal illness but make it romantic” a thing. We’ve got an American Rhodes Scholar turned financial analyst, a hot-but-emotionally-unavailable Brit, and more British clichés than you can shake a Shakespeare anthology at.We ask the hard questions, like why doesn't Anna from Queens know what a Halal cart is?! And why is this plot so similar to Me Before You, From Scratch, AND A Walk To Remember??BYR average rating: 5/10Runtime: 1.5hBinge in Progress: Better Late Than Single, Survivor 35
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hey yappers, today's episode is all about Netflixs latest ROM
com, My Oxford year. We yap about the origin story of
the book and this film, some of the issues that we took with the
plot and the acting, and admittedly the scenes that had
us tearing up by the end. Let's get started.
Hello fellow yappers, I'm Ruchi.And I'm Shalini and we're your
(00:23):
hosts. A binge, yap, repeat.
We're two best friends who spendan embarrassing amount of time
binge watching TV, and honestly,we just need to talk about it.
If you're here, we're guessing you do too.
Fair warning. This is a spoiler friendly zone.
We will be discussing lots of spoilers, so if you haven't
watched the show yet, hit pause,go binge, and come back when
(00:47):
you're ready to yap with us. And now it's yap time.
Hello Yappers. Hello and welcome to the Oxford
(01:12):
comma. The Oxford comma.
Your go to podcast for all things Oxford and all things
grammar. Oh yeah.
Welcome to binge Comma. Yep, comma.
Repeat. Today we'll be discussing my
Oxford year, which is actually this is the first movie that the
(01:37):
two of us are covering, right? That is true cuz you did K pop
Demon Hunters with Izzy and I did Echo Valley with my sister
and those are the only two movies.
Yeah. Whoa, okay.
So yeah, yeah. How exciting.
Cool. Yeah.
So my Oxford year is about an ambitious American student named
(02:01):
Ana de la Vega who travels to Oxford and England to fulfill
her dream but encounters A charming local named Jamie who
changes both of their lives. This stars Sofia Carson as Anna
and Corey Mallchrist. Milkchrist.
I don't know. Milkchrist.
Milkchrist. That guy.
(02:22):
I'm going to guess Milkchrist. I think so, too.
Yeah. Corey Milkchrist as Jamie So
Shalini, what did you think? OK, before I get into overall
thoughts, the way you said Ana de la Vega reminded me of.
That's that was my inspo. Amazing.
From Jane the Virgin. Yes, yes, Rogelio, my love.
(02:48):
OK, yeah, I will be so honest with you.
I did not like this movie. I thought it was a huge waste of
time. A few issues.
I think 1, the pacing felt a bitrushed, like I guess because I
watch more TV than movies these days.
Maybe it just didn't feel right that like they fell in love so
(03:09):
quickly and she got this like great group of friends so
quickly and all of these things.So that was 1 issue.
I also thought Sofia Carson's acting was pretty bad.
There was this one Reddit comment that was like, I feel
like she always has a being interviewed by by Vogue voice
just always speaking like this, blah, blah, blah blah.
(03:34):
Always talking like this. Jamie, you should listen to your
dad. Daddy.
Zaddy. No, it was not Zaddy, so I did
not love it. Those are my overall thoughts.
OK, how about you? So actually I have a fun fact
for you that I think would be relevant for the rest of the
(03:55):
discussion. So, OK, so my fun fact is that
the movie My Oxford Year, it started as a screenplay that
there's a writer, Allison Burnett, originally came up with
the screenplay and then asked Julia Whelan for help on the
screenplay. And while they were
collaborating on the screenplay together, Julia Whelan is like,
(04:17):
actually I'm going to write a novel based on the screenplay.
So she goes off, she writes the novel My Oxford Year, and then
the screenplay becomes what we know as the film My Oxford Year.
So you know how it's really interesting how we're like, oh,
like this is a film based on this book, blah, blah, blah.
(04:37):
Actually, in this case it's it'slike the book is base is an
adaptation of the screenplay that becomes the movie that we
know is that. Interesting.
That's insane. Yeah, I wonder if that's common.
That must not be that common. I don't think it's it's not
common at all. It's definitely very unique, but
(04:58):
let me just Fact Check this. I think the book did come out in
2018. Yes.
So My Oxford Year, the book by Julia Whelan came out in 2018
and the movie My Oxford Year obviously came out 2025, August
1st, 2025 S yeah, seven-year difference, but it is actually
the is that the screenplay came first.
(05:20):
Interesting. Yeah.
OK, so I can't blame it on bad book adapting.
You know bad writers are everywhere, so.
True. True, but I will say that the
book is super different from themovie, so here are some
differences. Instead of Sofia Carson playing
(05:44):
Ana de la Vega, who is from New York City getting a master's
degree before returning to her job at Goldman Sachs, the main
character is named Eleanor Durand.
I think she goes by Elle, and she is a student from Ohio who
spends a year at Oxford before returning to the States to
consult on a political campaign.She's also like Midwestern and
(06:08):
white, which is also a pretty big difference I think
culturally, especially from the states.
And let me see in the book. The ending is also super, super
different. So in the book, Jamie's immune
system actually overcomes pneumonia, and then he
(06:31):
participates in a clinical trialthat actually prolongs his life.
So the trial does allow him to fulfill his dream of traveling
across Europe with Eleanor. Yeah.
So he doesn't die I. Mean unclear, it says the book
leaves off. Oh, and this is all from a
People article the book leaves off on a more ambiguous note.
(06:53):
Eleanor explains that she and Jamie weren't meant to be
together. So given all of that, like what
do you what do you actually think about the book ending
versus the film ending? I knew he was gonna die, so I
think it would have been a nice refreshing surprise if he didn't
(07:13):
die. And I was like, oh, it's a happy
ending. OK, great.
But then I also maybe in that case would have been like, so
then what was the point? Like, they fell in love at the
end. Wow.
Shalini. I don't know.
I think, yeah, I don't know. I just, I think one of my main
(07:34):
issues with the movie was that there were just so many
stereotypical plot lines and they just they they didn't even
like lean into it in the self aware way.
They just like really just did it.
And so, yeah, maybe if he had lived, I wouldn't have felt that
way, but I really felt like it was giving first of all, me
(07:58):
before you. Have you seen that movie?
Yeah. And then also from scratch, that
Netflix series from a few years ago where?
She did that one. OK, the story is let me know if
this sounds familiar. This American goes to Italy.
I think it was to study abroad perhaps.
(08:22):
Or maybe she was just there for like a gap year or something.
Falls in love with an Italian man.
They both move back to the states.
He gets cancer and she goes through a lot of trial and
tribulations with his family to get him the right treatment and
then he dies and. So and what was the other movie
(08:43):
from scratch? What was that about?
You're right. Exactly.
Yeah. So I think it was just so
stereotypical and like, I don't know, maybe this book, maybe the
screenplay was inspired by theseother movies, and it just didn't
pull anything new. Like, I just got nothing new
(09:04):
from it. Yeah.
I agree with that actually. Question for you what what part
did Oxford specifically play into this?
Or was it just like a pretty backdrop to all of this?
Definitely a pretty backdrop. Also just like really fed into a
lot of like Anglophile stereotypes, you know, just
(09:27):
like, oh, she fell in love with an Oxford professor that loves
poetry and like, oh, he grew up in a castle, you know.
So I think it being I guess that's not Oxford specifically,
but just like in England, Anglo porn.
Yeah, I agree. I mean, I think there were some
(09:48):
aspects that was like, oh, it's Oxford because she's like so
smart and ambitious, but also she's chasing her dream of doing
like English at Oxford. Like wow.
But then when it came down to it, I don't think anything
really fed into their relationship.
(10:10):
Like they had nothing. I mean, sure, they like met
because of the class that they were teaching, which by the way,
unclear if it was even like frowned upon that he was dating
his student because like at first it kind of was, but then
they weren't trying to hide it at all.
And then it was basically a non issue at the ball that they went
to. So like, what was the point?
(10:33):
Oh my God, wait. I think this is a good time to
read this Reddit comment becauseit it touches on so many things,
but I think it'll set the scene well for our conversation.
OK this Reddit comment is from the username Soggy ice cream
cones. Soggy ice cream cones.
You make a lot of great points. Title.
My Oxford year is so bad. Nice.
(10:56):
Not to mention the quote UN quote main character in a bad
way girl energy Anna gave like it was so corny.
Crying face, praying emoji. It also had the cliche friend
group, which automatically formed.
Like, we didn't really see theirconnection.
Jamie was all right, but he still had the everything is deep
(11:17):
energy. Sort of, yeah.
But I guess it's fine because hewas learning Victorian poetry.
All the other characters were OK.
When I watched it I could tell it is one of those TikTok book
adapted into a movie type thingseven though I had no clue and
then searched it up. But I guess it was like a little
bit the other way around. But anyway.
But all things aside, the biggest problem with this movie
(11:39):
was the romanticization of student teacher relationship
which is so problematic. The first time they kiss and
Jamie just walks away. I thought maybe, yeah, they
would explore this problematic side of the power dynamic, but
it was just cuz he had cancer. There are several people in
academia who face sexual harassment from the professors,
yet media like my Oxford year and the love hypothesis, which I
(12:02):
actually don't know what that is.
That's never filter by Ali Hazelwood.
OK, OK, I've actually never readan Ali Hazelwood book.
She's the one that writes the science love books, right?
The girls in STEM romance books.I think so.
And now I'm trying to, I think I, I did read a couple like the
(12:23):
ones that were based in, in likeCaltech or something, right?
They went to Caltech. Maybe I I haven't read them, but
every time I see one on the shelf I'm like, I feel like I'm
not gonna like how they portray women in STEM.
Yes, OK, yes, I have read her books.
OK. Would you do you like how they
(12:44):
portray women in style or how she portrays women in style?
It's not bad, I would say. I did not like that one.
I think it was Love hypothesis or whatever.
It was Love Hypothesis. Yeah, I think love on the brain.
I think I read and like there isa series of three short stories
that she put into one about 3, like a friend group, the three
(13:06):
women there and I, I liked those.
I don't think Love hypothesis was that one anyway.
I agree. I think like just like a huge
question mark about the professor student relationship.
Maybe it was OK because he wasn't actually a professor.
Yeah, I don't know, even Atai feel like would not have been
(13:26):
OK. But, and is that like a real
problem at Oxford? Who knows.
But I agree, I think the power dynamic is a little weird.
I understand that it's a fantasyof many women, but there is a
power dynamic that should be addressed.
Yes, what it was that the rest of was that.
The oh, that was the whole comment.
That was the whole comment. Oh, OK.
(13:47):
Yeah, so it touched on the friend group, her acting, her
energy and the the romanticization of the
relationship. Yeah, yeah.
OK. We can just dive into each of
these topics like OK, starting with the friend group.
What did you think about the friend group?
It felt very unnatural. I think her friendship with
(14:09):
them, like they didn't really hang out that much.
The only things we ever heard them talk about was her
relationship with this guy. And yeah, like, shouldn't they
have been telling her about the ball that they were so excited
to go to, you know, just stuff like that?
Like, there are so many opportunities to make the
friendship seem more natural. And I was like, why are these
(14:29):
friends suddenly best friends with Cecilia, who they
definitely don't know, right? And yeah, it just felt very
unnatural. I also thought they like put
exceptional effort into making these friends very odd which I
don't know why they did that butI saw a Reddit comment that also
said that and they were like maybe it was to make the main
(14:51):
character look prettier I don't know.
Oh, maybe. Or to like to be like, oh Oxford
full of, you know, smart uggos or something.
Maybe, I don't know. That OK, that reminds me, there
was that girl Maggie who liked the friend Tom, who just
happened to have a random women's bicycle just hanging out
(15:14):
in his apartment. That's weird.
So weird. Beautiful bike, by the way.
ANYWAYS, so he like, they, they put this quote in there where
Maggie's like all dressed up andshe's dancing with some random
guy at the ball. And then she was like, oh, you
can't take your eyes off of Maggie.
(15:34):
It's because, wow, that's crazy how it takes a woman to get
dressed up and to put on heels for you to notice her.
And then he's like, yeah, proving her right.
I was like. And.
Was that supposed to be some kind of feminist quote?
Because it did not land that way.
It was like, yeah, all you have to do is get dressed up and put
(15:59):
on makeup and wear cute shoes inorder to get noticed.
And I'm like, that's what we're telling people.
Take note, women, my Oxford comma.
My Oxford comma, my Oxford year wants you to know all you have
to do is put on a pretty dress. Yeah.
(16:21):
And then everyone else in the friend group was just like,
obsessed about her looks. They were just like, yeah, Anna,
Face card never declines, Anna. And then I was like, that can't
be all that you see in her. So strange.
Just so strange, yeah. Do you think this would have
(16:42):
been better as a limited series?I think it had potential to be
better as a limited series. I think it with this quality of
writing and this quality of acting, I don't think I would
have enjoyed it. Like, I'm glad it was over in
two hours, but I think it had, like, the story has potential
for a woman that goes abroad, falls in love and then, like, it
(17:05):
changes the course of her life kind of thing.
But I do think some things wouldhave needed to change, like all
the very common tropes of Americans in England of like,
oh, my gosh, yeah. Like, I just met this guy and
he's so rich and he's so sophisticated and smart and grew
up in a castle, that kind of thing.
(17:29):
I was confused why she went to the halal car and was like
shocked at the fact that there was a halal car at Oxford.
I was like, you're from Queens, NY?
Yes. Literally like why are you
learning what halal is right now?
Yeah, or like maybe she didn't because, because then she was,
(17:51):
she made a joke like is that an elephant?
Like, oh, he, he I was just joking.
And then I was like, bitch, you're from Queens.
Like what the hell? You're literally like home of
the halal cart basically. Literally, if she was trying to
make a joke about that, it did not land.
It came off like she really justdidn't know what this cart was.
(18:13):
Yeah, and very unlike a New Yorker, she did not compare
Dimitri's halal cart to the halal carts in New York.
Yes, yeah, lazy riding. Yeah, I was like, are we just
supposed to forget about that? Is that not part of her
identity? I don't know.
(18:33):
I don't know, man, I don't know.I wonder.
OK, well now it's a little complicated because I know that
the screenplay came before the actual book, but I was thinking
maybe they made her character Latina and then maybe decided to
(18:55):
make her be from New York because there are more Latinas
in New York than in Ohio. But maybe they just made her
Latina in order to introduce some ethnic diversity in the
movie. Because without her and without
Bicycle Boy, there is none. That's a good point.
That's a good point. Even then it wasn't that
(19:15):
diverse. But I don't know, maybe that
would have been fine because like, maybe that's how the
English department is at Oxford and maybe it is just very white.
I don't know. Yeah, I don't know.
Yeah, it's unfortunate that we are the two people in our friend
group who did not do study abroad.
We're talking about my Oxford here.
(19:36):
That's so true. OK, yappers who have studied in
England, let us know what the ethnic makeup of your class was.
Yappers who have either directlyor indirectly observed the
English department as prestigious English universities
(19:58):
let us know. I'm sure we have a lot of those.
Yeah, I'm sure we do honestly. OK.
The other thing that I wanted totalk to you about was the
overall plot in that Anna de la Vega is this hyper focused
(20:18):
student who just like wants to do the right thing.
I think that's a maybe another reason why they made her like
immigrant culture because there's like more on the line
about choosing to stay in Oxfordversus going back to this fancy
Goldman Sachs job. So yeah, so one, did you agree
(20:39):
with her choice to put romance over ambition?
I don't know if I even see it asputting romance above ambition.
I think it's maybe choosing yourpassion or yeah, choosing your
passion over choosing financial stability.
Because I think the way they showed it was that like, he
(21:00):
opened up her world and was like, don't forget that you used
to be a dreamer. And then after that, she
realized, like, yes, there's so much more to life than making
money in that case. I mean, it's very, it's it's
very hard for me to say because I think I am, I grew up in a
privileged position where I could afford to think about my
(21:22):
passions. And so I did like that she
didn't just take this boring jobat Goldman Sachs.
So honestly, when she was describing it, I was like, this
sounds so fucking boring. I do not, I would not want to
sit there at a desk probably forlike 15 hours a day and do this
shit. So in that respect, I liked it
(21:45):
because I think I am of the opinion that if you're in a
position to choose what you wantto do, you shouldn't just try to
make the most money. But I also know that that comes
from a position of privilege. So yeah, what do you think?
I like that she chose to stay inOxford.
I think I agree with her decision.
(22:06):
As much as I didn't really like her character, I did find that
the decisions that she made wereconsistent.
And I think this is how I feel like the book is super weird
because, yeah, I think the moviemessage is all about how to
choose your passion, how to livelife for yourself and and live
it by your own means. And that's what both Jamie and
(22:28):
Anna were doing, right? Jamie was like, I don't want to
spend my life like the rest of my life, the limited time that I
have left in and out of hospitalrooms.
And I don't want to just like besuper like de energized and just
not have any energy to think about things.
And like maybe I'll have an extra 2 years to die slowly, but
I'd rather have one year of really and truly living my life.
(22:53):
And I think that made sense thenthat Anna was also living that
way. And so I actually like the way
that they did the movie ending more so than the book ending.
The other difference between thebook and the movie is Anna's
background. So in the movie, both of her
parents are alive, actively involved in her life.
(23:13):
They really care about her. But in the book, Eleanor, the
main character Eleanor's father died in a car accident and his
death is a major, plays a major role in how she forms
relationships as an adult. So I can see that if if Anna in
the film has just like a sing like a single mom working 2
(23:37):
jobs, how she would just be like, I need this Goldman Sachs
job. I cannot afford to live my life
in Oxford so many miles away from my family.
So I think I would have judged her a little bit more, but the
fact that her parents were aliveand well, they were good.
They didn't seem like they were struggling really that much.
(24:00):
It made a lot more sense for herto make that decision.
OK, yeah, I see that. I think I agree with that.
I do think if they had shown hermom as a single mom but also
being like you need to go followyour passions like blah blah
blah and then she still decided to do that I would not have
judged her. Oh, OK.
(24:22):
Yeah, that's a good point too. Yeah.
But also I I wonder why they decided to give her a dad
because I think that could have been a really nice connection
point for her and Jamie as well 'cause he lost his brother.
Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah.
Also, where did she order that car model kit from 'cause she
(24:43):
got that real quick. Yeah.
DHL looked all this bug. Too, I'm like, did you just
like? Take this car and box it up.
Take it from his apartment. Take it apart.
Put it in a box. Yeah, Remember when you did this
(25:05):
together? I.
Do it again. Do it again.
I dare you. OK, I will also admit I cried a
little bit when they went on thethe European Tour and then it
turned out that he had actually died and so she did it alone,
(25:25):
but like was with him in memory.I cried at that a little bit.
Got a little emotional? Yeah.
But then at the end, I was like,did they just do that so the
film crew could go on a trip to Europe?
That's why it took seven years to make this movie, probably.
(25:46):
I was like they filmed for like 2 seconds Greece and Italy and
France and Amsterdam. Every day they shoot that one
scene and they're like, I don't think we got it.
The lights ruined. We gotta try again tomorrow.
Yeah, they're like, you know what?
I think we need another like 2 weeks here to really nail the
(26:08):
shot. If the roles were reversed and
Anna was the one that was sick, do you think the movie would
have been written the same way or would have hit the same way?
Wait till you. So if it was a like, is she
still American? Like she yeah or like yeah, like
(26:28):
her sorry, sorry. So she's like she's British.
She is the one who like grew up in UK, went to Oxford, blah blah
blah. And then she's the guy she got
sick, and then JB is the physical.
Student OK then I would be like this shit is just walk to
remember in another country am Iwrong?
(26:51):
Am I wrong? OK, let me change the question.
If the roles were reversed. No, no, not reverse.
Reverse, single reverse. OK.
And Anna is the one who gets sick, but she is the visiting
(27:15):
student and Jamie is still the professor.
What do you think would happen? He'd be like, you should stay
here because I hear American Healthcare is very expensive.
He's like, yeah, you should get that checked out.
There's a clinic right there. He's like.
I'm going to go back to my castle but you seem fine.
(27:35):
So they cured that cancer like 20 years ago here in the UK with
our free healthcare. Yeah, that's all I have to say
about. OK.
Great, great. Cool.
Moving on, when did you, like, find out that Jamie was sick?
(28:01):
Did you suspect it at all? OK, I only suspected it right
when the movie started because the only other thing I've seen
this man in is the Charlotte. Queen Charlotte.
Have you seen Queen Charlotte? Oh yeah, where he's.
Also secretly sick. That's how I know him.
(28:23):
I was like. Hmm, I wonder if he's like
boxing himself into a certain type of role.
Because also this is kind of reminding me of me before you.
OK, wait, so when you say when the movie started, it was like
credits are over, they show Oxford and then you're like that
man? Yo, that man is sick.
(28:47):
I think. No, I think it was like when?
No, it might have been the firstscene I saw him because I really
didn't know a lot about this movie.
So when he walked into that fishand chips, fish and chips shop,
I was like, this dude is sick. No, Yeah.
When he walked into the fish andchip shop, I was like, oh,
(29:07):
that's Farmer George from Queen Charlotte.
I wonder if he's also sick in this one.
I see you're like, damn, the wayhe had drove through that.
Puddle. Only a sick man could have done
that. Oh, he was the guy who drove
through the puddle. Yep, he's sick.
(29:29):
Sick as? Fuck, when did you suspect that
he was sick? I think probably like the scene
after that, I was like, oh, he seems like a nice guy and then
he's like avoiding all these women, but he's not a player
because he's not hitting on thisgirl that's with him.
So. And then she was like, she said
something like, I can't rememberwhat she said to him at that
(29:53):
time, but it was something like,oh, are you avoiding them
because you're trying not to hurt them or something like
that? And I was like, oh, this man has
an incurable disease, doesn't he?
But I will say, I think, I thinkthe first half the movie, I was
like, I hate this. I'm not really being taken along
for the ride about how they're actually falling in love with
each other. It kind of just feels like, you
(30:15):
know, having sex or whatever. But yeah, then at the end I did
get that tear choker moment, butI looked it up and apparently
they did a lot of like AB testing with the with the
ending, which is why the ending is so different than the book.
Interesting. I will say I I did think the
scenes popped on camera. The the travel scenes.
(30:39):
Yeah. Like, I don't think you could
have really written that in the same tearjerker way as you could
have visualized it. So I think they chose the medium
well. I agree.
I agree. Yeah, OK.
I want to talk about that scene where she's standing at the
halal cart screaming at him from20 feet away for some reason,
(31:00):
instead of walking towards him and saying that just because
something is fleeting doesn't mean it's not meaningful.
As people swarm around here at the halal cart, I was like why
is this halal cart suddenly popping off?
Dmitri's like another day, another dollar.
(31:21):
Oh, sorry, another pound. Yeah, And I was like, why aren't
you walking to him? Why are you sitting there?
It felt so forced. Yeah, it's just more dramatic
this way. Yeah, yeah, they really tried it
was they? They really tried with the
drama. Yeah, yeah.
(31:41):
Which character did you relate with the most?
Oh gosh, I don't know if I foundany of them very relatable.
Maybe Cecilia and just like being a supportive friend slash
family member. I think my issue with Cecilia is
(32:02):
that she came off as like kind of mean.
She did. She was giving mean girl energy
for sure. Yeah, And then when it was
revealed that she was the girlfriend of Eddie, she was
like, suddenly super nice. I was like, you could have been
nice from the beginning. I know, I know.
Also, OK, back when we didn't know she was Eddie's girlfriend,
(32:25):
and that scene where Anna is with that rower dude at the bar,
and then Jamie and Cecilia walk in at the bar and then they're
dancing. And I was like, oh, oh, they're
dating Because like, they were like, truly like, arms around
the shoulders, like super dancing.
(32:45):
And then, yeah, obviously we're supposed to think that they're
dating, but anyone who would seethat would think that they're
dating. Yeah, Oh, another big difference
in the book is that Cecilia is actually Eddie's fiance when he
died. Yeah, not just the girlfriend.
Yeah. Oh, OK.
Wait, one thing about the rower dude that just sparked.
(33:07):
OK, so from that conversation atthe Halloween party, you he was
like, oh, why would I eat this, like, halal food?
That's like putting shitty gas into a premium engine or
whatever. And so we're like, oh, OK, I
guess he's a rower. Like, that's pretty cool.
Oxford rowing is like a big thing.
And then he wasn't even a row. Yeah, why does he in the stands?
(33:27):
Shouldn't you be on the water bro?
Yeah, he was just like Oxer and I was like, what you're.
Supposed to be on that boat, Sir.
Yeah. And so I didn't know if that was
like a joke that he actually wasn't a rower.
I would like to believe that he is like the lowest level of
(33:49):
intramural rower and he takes itthat seriously and tries to
pretend like he's that important.
That's so. Funny, you think he's like that
little the Indonesian kid doing aura farming on the boat.
He's like that. Then no, no, no, not.
I'm saying he's not even on thatteam.
He's on some lower level, like think Inter House sports at
(34:13):
Caltech. Okay, yes, yeah.
Nice like imagine someone from page house like being like oh
God stay in shape for inner house frisbee.
Okay, that's true. So lame.
I was. I was like, why didn't Anna just
roast him about that? I think it would have been so
funny. Yeah, there's so many
(34:36):
opportunities for more interesting dialogue.
I thought, oh, another dialogue part at her birthday party.
Well, I guess after her birthdayparty was over.
And then they're like, holding hands sweetly by the piano.
And he's like, I'm going to stick around and hang out with
my dad for a bit. Is that OK?
And she's like no. And he's like no.
(34:57):
And then the scene ends. I.
Know she was just like no and I was like oh I guess that's a
funny joke and then he's like and then.
Like it's like. Was she not joking?
Was he not joking? Am I like What is going on?
(35:21):
Here what is this parallel universe that.
Like am I not getting it? I thought she was going to be
like, it's not OK, it's requiredor something, but yeah.
But she didn't follow up at all.I was like, did she short
circuit? Oh man.
(35:41):
Oh man. Yeah, yeah, I think there are
there are a lot of moments that like that that just like fell
flat Oh yeah. Also when she ran into the room
when he and like found out that he was doing chemotherapy and
then he just like was like, I would never recover from that.
(36:07):
I. Feel like you should go sort out
your anger issues and then you can circle back once you've had
about two to three months of anger management class?
Yeah, I I would not be OK if anyone yelled at me like that,
regardless of the condition thatthey were in.
(36:29):
Oh my God. It feel.
Like it was more in his character to be like, well, now
you know, right? Instead of just being like, that
was so scary. Yeah, I agree, 'cause then he
was like so chill about it and then told all of her friends at
her birthday party. Yeah, I was like, what?
(36:52):
It's so crazy. Yeah.
Also, I didn't know that the friends didn't know at that
point. Yeah, me neither.
I don't know that either. They're just so close, you know?
Six months into their friendship.
Yeah, they just tell each other everything, give each other
bikes. Bikes, we haven't really talked
(37:15):
about. Jamie's.
Everything is deep energy. I don't know if there's much to
say about that, but. I agree, that's kind of it.
Yeah, it. It was reminiscent of A Walk to
Remember when Mandy Moore's character was like, I can tutor
you, but you can't fall in love with me.
(37:35):
And then he's like, OK, but thenhe obviously falls in love with
her. But yeah, just yeah.
Hey, Mandy Moore, also from Central Florida.
No way. Yeah, she went to my sister's
middle school. Cool.
I think the other thing that I had question mark O browned.
(37:55):
Maybe you you'll give her a pass.
But when they had their first homework assignment and she was
supposed to bring a poem to talkabout with him, and she picks
this poem that's about how they're like, man children or
something around. And she was like, he's going to
(38:17):
love this. And then she writes that essay
about suffragettes and whatever.And then she takes it to him and
he's like, you managed to do everything except the
assignment. And then she was like, oh, OK,
I'll like, keep working on it more.
I'm like. And he's like, you have to pick
something that speaks to you. And I'm like, I feel like as a
(38:38):
master's student, like you wouldknow that, but I'm not sure.
But I think I, I don't know if she was trying to do.
I mean, this is one of those things where it's like it kind
of like doesn't land correctly. And so I don't know if they're
trying to do a thing that's like, oh, she picked out a poem
about man children because that's what she thinks about
(38:59):
him. But then when he talks about it,
he's like, oh, you should talk about something that you know,
that you feel a certain way about.
And I was like, yeah, she does feel a certain way about it.
What was the assignment again? It was like a poem that says
something about you. Don't ask me.
OK, let's assume that was the assignment.
(39:21):
I can see how I do think it's a plausible series of events that
she's like, oh, I feel such strong feelings about this poem
about men. And then he's like, yes, you
feel strongly about this poem, but I asked for a poem that says
something about you, not what you feel strongly about or
(39:41):
something. Then she's like, huh, I
shouldn't define myself by how Ifeel about men.
And then she tries again. Oh, OK, that's.
Kind of how I interpreted it, but I don't know if that's like
giving them too much credit or just not being critical enough.
You know, I we haven't given them any credit, I would say.
So I think we can give them thisone OK.
(40:04):
You win this round, my Oxford year.
I think the other question that I had was, I was confused why?
I don't know why she studied at undergrad, but I was confused
why she was going to Oxford for a master's in English when she
had a lot like a job at Goldman.I was like, what does Goldman do
(40:27):
to give masters, Oxford studentsand poetry a job as a financial
analyst? I was confused about that line
of thought, but maybe she did finance and undergrad and then
was like, this is my dream. Yeah.
And got it that way. I guess so.
I'm also surprised that they lether like wait a year to start
(40:51):
working there. Yeah, I didn't I.
Already had the job lined up. Did not think that Golden was
that generous. No, no.
Especially in this economy. Yeah, No investment bank is that
generous. I'm going to look this up.
Does does Goldman Sachs allow you to defer job?
(41:13):
No, it's take it or leave it. Great, especially for entry
level positions. OK.
And. She only had a bachelor's from
Cornell, right? She didn't have any other
degrees. So was she like 21 years old?
(41:33):
Yeah, that's a good question. I guess so.
She looked way older than that, I thought.
And like, he's obviously way older than that.
He also looked way older than a PhD student.
Yeah. How old is Sophia Carlson?
Carson? Yeah, Sophia.
Carson. She is 32 years old, okay.
She's from Florida, Everybody from Florida.
(42:00):
She was born April 10th, 1993. We're old, we're old.
I mean, we're, we're, we're not pulling off college grad like
recent college graduate anymore.Mill Crease.
He is 27 years old. Wow.
That is PhD student age. That's surprising.
I thought that he was much older.
(42:22):
Me too. All those beers at the pub.
At the pub, yeah. Wow.
Well, yeah, I don't know why they cast a 32 year old for this
role. Probably 'cause she's pretty.
Yeah, I don't know. I mean, she is, she is pretty.
Yeah, but. At what cost?
(42:46):
So did you know that she, have you seen Sofia Carson and other
stuff? Oh, OK, me either.
But she, I think she's like a, she's like a Disney star as
well. So Disney star.
Yeah, she was in Austin and Ally, and then she was also in
The Descendants. Interesting.
(43:08):
OK, Yeah. Do we do rating?
Yeah. OK, I would give this A6.
OK. OK.
Another one that you are rating higher than me.
I think I would give this A4. Wow.
(43:29):
I truly just wanted it to end. I thought there was very little
redeeming about this movie, but I did finish it.
So, well, you had to finish it. That's true.
I had to finish it. But it wasn't so bad that I was
like, Ruchi, we can't do this. This is so bad, you know.
I think I started off very low, I would say, but I did get very
(43:51):
emotional at the scene where they were going international.
I'm like going on the tour. And so I was like, well, I had
an emotional response to this, so I can't rate it below A5.
Yeah, yeah. That's but I'm I'm happy with
our average rating of five. Yeah, I think.
That's fair. Jing Chen was telling me that
(44:16):
there's this like K drama ratingYouTube channel or something or
I don't know, or Instagram or something and they give two
ratings. They give one for enjoyment and
one for quality. And I was like, oh, if we did
that, I think our numbers would be way more aligned on Hunting
Wives. I'm sorry, the Hunting 1.
(44:39):
Yeah, excuse me, put some respect.
On the name. It's like the SpongeBob the Do
you think we should do that? We should be change our ratings
to have quality and enjoyment. I'm open to it, should we try it
out? OK, what would you give this one
for quality and enjoyment? OK.
(44:59):
Is it out of? Quality, yeah, let's do out of
10 or maybe we should do out of five and then add it up for a
total rating. Oh, that's a great idea.
Let's do. That OK, OK.
I would give quality two out of five and I would give enjoyment
2.5 out of five. OK.
(45:21):
I would give quality, I think I agree.
I think 2 out of five, maybe less. 1.5 out of five, maybe
less. Keep going.
I'm going to lock in my answer as 1.5 out of five for quality
(45:43):
and for enjoyment I would give it.
It's so hard because I didn't really enjoy it but I did have
that one moment so I don't know how to rank that. 2.5 maybe?
OK. All right.
Well, you ended with a 4/3. Three out of OK, maybe my true
(46:06):
ranking is a 5 out of out of 10.So yeah, hey.
All right, great. Heard it here first, folks.
Yeah, first. Yeah, first let us know if this
is actually useful. For you All right, binge in
progress. Yes.
Oh, I can't wait to tell you about my vision.
(46:26):
Progress. Oh my God, tell me.
I started watching this show, this Korean dating reality show
called Better Late than Single, and it is so cute.
It's, it's about it, these eternal singles.
So they're basically like 27 to 30 year olds who have never
(46:47):
dated in their lives. Like they, they may have gone on
dates, but they haven't ever been in a relationship for their
entire life. And so they are paired with a
mentor or a Cupid. And that Cupid talks to them
about how they want to improve themselves, whether it's through
diet and exercise or like seeinga psychiatrist or like working
(47:09):
with like a language counselors,any, any kind of thing like that
they train or they go through like a betterment process for
six weeks. And then they all go to Jeju,
this island in Korea where they,you know, start actual dating
reality show. And they start to like date each
other and, and, and like choose each other to go on dates with
(47:31):
and everything. And it is so cute.
I feel like it's just watching like, it's kind of like love on
the spectrum, except no one's onthe spectrum.
They just are very inexperienced.
So they're very book smart aboutlove.
And it's really cute to see themfigure out how to express
themselves and take risks and put themselves out there.
(47:53):
It's a really cute. That's so sweet.
Yeah. What a cute premise.
Yeah. What are you watching?
Won't you know it? I am watching another season of
Survivor. Classic.
I think I'm watching season 39. Let me confirm that No.
What season is this 35? I feel like everyone's watching
(48:18):
Survivor nowadays. Yeah, my high school friends
said and Amy, they started watching it from the beginning.
So they're on Season 3. Yeah.
And they were saying that the dynamic is really.
Did you tell me this? Did you watch the earlier
seasons or no? I haven't watched anything we'll
do in 16. OK, so Amy did tell me this.
(48:38):
So Amy was saying that it's really different.
The dynamic is different becauseit's it's a lot more about the
survival skills themselves. So a lot of people, they're
like, oh, we can't vote this person out because they're the
only ones who know how to make afire or like hook.
Oh, interesting. Yeah, Jing Chen has watched like
(48:59):
most Survivor seasons and she said, well, I guess she she did
say that also that they used to show way more camp life than
they do now and just like general like, what's it like to
try to survive in the wild? And then also now that the game
has existed for so long, it's become like super meta and
(49:21):
everyone's always talking strategy.
Everyone's always trying to likebuild their resume versus an old
survival old Survivor. They were just trying to, like,
survive and then vote each otherout when they had to.
But like, less, less strategy and less like meta thinking.
Yeah. Which is a little bit more fun I
think. Yeah, I think so too.
(49:41):
I like the mind games. Yeah.
Yeah. Well, I confirmed it is Survivor
35 that I am watching Heroes versus Healers versus Hustlers.
Wow, a lot of H words. Yep, you know I'm in a weird
(50:02):
mood today. Great.
Well, thanks for happening. Thanks for yapping with us.
If you loved this episode, have some hot takes we missed, or if
you've got a show you're dying for us to binge next, Follow us
on socials we're at Bingiap. Repeat.
(50:23):
Until next time, happy binging.
Hey yappers, today's episode is all about Netflixs latest ROM
com, My Oxford year. We yap about the origin story of
the book and this film, some of the issues that we took with the
plot and the acting, and admittedly the scenes that had
us tearing up by the end. Let's get started.
Hello fellow yappers, I'm Ruchi.And I'm Shalini and we're your
(00:23):
hosts. A binge, yap, repeat.
We're two best friends who spendan embarrassing amount of time
binge watching TV, and honestly,we just need to talk about it.
If you're here, we're guessing you do too.
Fair warning. This is a spoiler friendly zone.
We will be discussing lots of spoilers, so if you haven't
watched the show yet, hit pause,go binge, and come back when
(00:47):
you're ready to yap with us. And now it's yap time.
Hello Yappers. Hello and welcome to the Oxford
(01:12):
comma. The Oxford comma.
Your go to podcast for all things Oxford and all things
grammar. Oh yeah.
Welcome to binge Comma. Yep, comma.
Repeat. Today we'll be discussing my
Oxford year, which is actually this is the first movie that the
(01:37):
two of us are covering, right? That is true cuz you did K pop
Demon Hunters with Izzy and I did Echo Valley with my sister
and those are the only two movies.
Yeah. Whoa, okay.
So yeah, yeah. How exciting.
Cool. Yeah.
So my Oxford year is about an ambitious American student named
(02:01):
Ana de la Vega who travels to Oxford and England to fulfill
her dream but encounters A charming local named Jamie who
changes both of their lives. This stars Sofia Carson as Anna
and Corey Mallchrist. Milkchrist.
I don't know. Milkchrist.
Milkchrist. That guy.
(02:22):
I'm going to guess Milkchrist. I think so, too.
Yeah. Corey Milkchrist as Jamie So
Shalini, what did you think? OK, before I get into overall
thoughts, the way you said Ana de la Vega reminded me of.
That's that was my inspo. Amazing.
From Jane the Virgin. Yes, yes, Rogelio, my love.
(02:48):
OK, yeah, I will be so honest with you.
I did not like this movie. I thought it was a huge waste of
time. A few issues.
I think 1, the pacing felt a bitrushed, like I guess because I
watch more TV than movies these days.
Maybe it just didn't feel right that like they fell in love so
(03:09):
quickly and she got this like great group of friends so
quickly and all of these things.So that was 1 issue.
I also thought Sofia Carson's acting was pretty bad.
There was this one Reddit comment that was like, I feel
like she always has a being interviewed by by Vogue voice
just always speaking like this, blah, blah, blah blah.
(03:34):
Always talking like this. Jamie, you should listen to your
dad. Daddy.
Zaddy. No, it was not Zaddy, so I did
not love it. Those are my overall thoughts.
OK, how about you? So actually I have a fun fact
for you that I think would be relevant for the rest of the
(03:55):
discussion. So, OK, so my fun fact is that
the movie My Oxford Year, it started as a screenplay that
there's a writer, Allison Burnett, originally came up with
the screenplay and then asked Julia Whelan for help on the
screenplay. And while they were
collaborating on the screenplay together, Julia Whelan is like,
(04:17):
actually I'm going to write a novel based on the screenplay.
So she goes off, she writes the novel My Oxford Year, and then
the screenplay becomes what we know as the film My Oxford Year.
So you know how it's really interesting how we're like, oh,
like this is a film based on this book, blah, blah, blah.
(04:37):
Actually, in this case it's it'slike the book is base is an
adaptation of the screenplay that becomes the movie that we
know is that. Interesting.
That's insane. Yeah, I wonder if that's common.
That must not be that common. I don't think it's it's not
common at all. It's definitely very unique, but
(04:58):
let me just Fact Check this. I think the book did come out in
2018. Yes.
So My Oxford Year, the book by Julia Whelan came out in 2018
and the movie My Oxford Year obviously came out 2025, August
1st, 2025 S yeah, seven-year difference, but it is actually
the is that the screenplay came first.
(05:20):
Interesting. Yeah.
OK, so I can't blame it on bad book adapting.
You know bad writers are everywhere, so.
True. True, but I will say that the
book is super different from themovie, so here are some
differences. Instead of Sofia Carson playing
(05:44):
Ana de la Vega, who is from New York City getting a master's
degree before returning to her job at Goldman Sachs, the main
character is named Eleanor Durand.
I think she goes by Elle, and she is a student from Ohio who
spends a year at Oxford before returning to the States to
consult on a political campaign.She's also like Midwestern and
(06:08):
white, which is also a pretty big difference I think
culturally, especially from the states.
And let me see in the book. The ending is also super, super
different. So in the book, Jamie's immune
system actually overcomes pneumonia, and then he
(06:31):
participates in a clinical trialthat actually prolongs his life.
So the trial does allow him to fulfill his dream of traveling
across Europe with Eleanor. Yeah.
So he doesn't die I. Mean unclear, it says the book
leaves off. Oh, and this is all from a
People article the book leaves off on a more ambiguous note.
(06:53):
Eleanor explains that she and Jamie weren't meant to be
together. So given all of that, like what
do you what do you actually think about the book ending
versus the film ending? I knew he was gonna die, so I
think it would have been a nice refreshing surprise if he didn't
(07:13):
die. And I was like, oh, it's a happy
ending. OK, great.
But then I also maybe in that case would have been like, so
then what was the point? Like, they fell in love at the
end. Wow.
Shalini. I don't know.
I think, yeah, I don't know. I just, I think one of my main
(07:34):
issues with the movie was that there were just so many
stereotypical plot lines and they just they they didn't even
like lean into it in the self aware way.
They just like really just did it.
And so, yeah, maybe if he had lived, I wouldn't have felt that
way, but I really felt like it was giving first of all, me
(07:58):
before you. Have you seen that movie?
Yeah. And then also from scratch, that
Netflix series from a few years ago where?
She did that one. OK, the story is let me know if
this sounds familiar. This American goes to Italy.
I think it was to study abroad perhaps.
(08:22):
Or maybe she was just there for like a gap year or something.
Falls in love with an Italian man.
They both move back to the states.
He gets cancer and she goes through a lot of trial and
tribulations with his family to get him the right treatment and
then he dies and. So and what was the other movie
(08:43):
from scratch? What was that about?
You're right. Exactly.
Yeah. So I think it was just so
stereotypical and like, I don't know, maybe this book, maybe the
screenplay was inspired by theseother movies, and it just didn't
pull anything new. Like, I just got nothing new
(09:04):
from it. Yeah.
I agree with that actually. Question for you what what part
did Oxford specifically play into this?
Or was it just like a pretty backdrop to all of this?
Definitely a pretty backdrop. Also just like really fed into a
lot of like Anglophile stereotypes, you know, just
(09:27):
like, oh, she fell in love with an Oxford professor that loves
poetry and like, oh, he grew up in a castle, you know.
So I think it being I guess that's not Oxford specifically,
but just like in England, Anglo porn.
Yeah, I agree. I mean, I think there were some
(09:48):
aspects that was like, oh, it's Oxford because she's like so
smart and ambitious, but also she's chasing her dream of doing
like English at Oxford. Like wow.
But then when it came down to it, I don't think anything
really fed into their relationship.
(10:10):
Like they had nothing. I mean, sure, they like met
because of the class that they were teaching, which by the way,
unclear if it was even like frowned upon that he was dating
his student because like at first it kind of was, but then
they weren't trying to hide it at all.
And then it was basically a non issue at the ball that they went
to. So like, what was the point?
(10:33):
Oh my God, wait. I think this is a good time to
read this Reddit comment becauseit it touches on so many things,
but I think it'll set the scene well for our conversation.
OK this Reddit comment is from the username Soggy ice cream
cones. Soggy ice cream cones.
You make a lot of great points. Title.
My Oxford year is so bad. Nice.
(10:56):
Not to mention the quote UN quote main character in a bad
way girl energy Anna gave like it was so corny.
Crying face, praying emoji. It also had the cliche friend
group, which automatically formed.
Like, we didn't really see theirconnection.
Jamie was all right, but he still had the everything is deep
(11:17):
energy. Sort of, yeah.
But I guess it's fine because hewas learning Victorian poetry.
All the other characters were OK.
When I watched it I could tell it is one of those TikTok book
adapted into a movie type thingseven though I had no clue and
then searched it up. But I guess it was like a little
bit the other way around. But anyway.
But all things aside, the biggest problem with this movie
(11:39):
was the romanticization of student teacher relationship
which is so problematic. The first time they kiss and
Jamie just walks away. I thought maybe, yeah, they
would explore this problematic side of the power dynamic, but
it was just cuz he had cancer. There are several people in
academia who face sexual harassment from the professors,
yet media like my Oxford year and the love hypothesis, which I
(12:02):
actually don't know what that is.
That's never filter by Ali Hazelwood.
OK, OK, I've actually never readan Ali Hazelwood book.
She's the one that writes the science love books, right?
The girls in STEM romance books.I think so.
And now I'm trying to, I think I, I did read a couple like the
(12:23):
ones that were based in, in likeCaltech or something, right?
They went to Caltech. Maybe I I haven't read them, but
every time I see one on the shelf I'm like, I feel like I'm
not gonna like how they portray women in STEM.
Yes, OK, yes, I have read her books.
OK. Would you do you like how they
(12:44):
portray women in style or how she portrays women in style?
It's not bad, I would say. I did not like that one.
I think it was Love hypothesis or whatever.
It was Love Hypothesis. Yeah, I think love on the brain.
I think I read and like there isa series of three short stories
that she put into one about 3, like a friend group, the three
(13:06):
women there and I, I liked those.
I don't think Love hypothesis was that one anyway.
I agree. I think like just like a huge
question mark about the professor student relationship.
Maybe it was OK because he wasn't actually a professor.
Yeah, I don't know, even Atai feel like would not have been
(13:26):
OK. But, and is that like a real
problem at Oxford? Who knows.
But I agree, I think the power dynamic is a little weird.
I understand that it's a fantasyof many women, but there is a
power dynamic that should be addressed.
Yes, what it was that the rest of was that.
The oh, that was the whole comment.
That was the whole comment. Oh, OK.
(13:47):
Yeah, so it touched on the friend group, her acting, her
energy and the the romanticization of the
relationship. Yeah, yeah.
OK. We can just dive into each of
these topics like OK, starting with the friend group.
What did you think about the friend group?
It felt very unnatural. I think her friendship with
(14:09):
them, like they didn't really hang out that much.
The only things we ever heard them talk about was her
relationship with this guy. And yeah, like, shouldn't they
have been telling her about the ball that they were so excited
to go to, you know, just stuff like that?
Like, there are so many opportunities to make the
friendship seem more natural. And I was like, why are these
(14:29):
friends suddenly best friends with Cecilia, who they
definitely don't know, right? And yeah, it just felt very
unnatural. I also thought they like put
exceptional effort into making these friends very odd which I
don't know why they did that butI saw a Reddit comment that also
said that and they were like maybe it was to make the main
(14:51):
character look prettier I don't know.
Oh, maybe. Or to like to be like, oh Oxford
full of, you know, smart uggos or something.
Maybe, I don't know. That OK, that reminds me, there
was that girl Maggie who liked the friend Tom, who just
happened to have a random women's bicycle just hanging out
(15:14):
in his apartment. That's weird.
So weird. Beautiful bike, by the way.
ANYWAYS, so he like, they, they put this quote in there where
Maggie's like all dressed up andshe's dancing with some random
guy at the ball. And then she was like, oh, you
can't take your eyes off of Maggie.
(15:34):
It's because, wow, that's crazy how it takes a woman to get
dressed up and to put on heels for you to notice her.
And then he's like, yeah, proving her right.
I was like. And.
Was that supposed to be some kind of feminist quote?
Because it did not land that way.
It was like, yeah, all you have to do is get dressed up and put
(15:59):
on makeup and wear cute shoes inorder to get noticed.
And I'm like, that's what we're telling people.
Take note, women, my Oxford comma.
My Oxford comma, my Oxford year wants you to know all you have
to do is put on a pretty dress. Yeah.
(16:21):
And then everyone else in the friend group was just like,
obsessed about her looks. They were just like, yeah, Anna,
Face card never declines, Anna. And then I was like, that can't
be all that you see in her. So strange.
Just so strange, yeah. Do you think this would have
(16:42):
been better as a limited series?I think it had potential to be
better as a limited series. I think it with this quality of
writing and this quality of acting, I don't think I would
have enjoyed it. Like, I'm glad it was over in
two hours, but I think it had, like, the story has potential
for a woman that goes abroad, falls in love and then, like, it
(17:05):
changes the course of her life kind of thing.
But I do think some things wouldhave needed to change, like all
the very common tropes of Americans in England of like,
oh, my gosh, yeah. Like, I just met this guy and
he's so rich and he's so sophisticated and smart and grew
up in a castle, that kind of thing.
(17:29):
I was confused why she went to the halal car and was like
shocked at the fact that there was a halal car at Oxford.
I was like, you're from Queens, NY?
Yes. Literally like why are you
learning what halal is right now?
Yeah, or like maybe she didn't because, because then she was,
(17:51):
she made a joke like is that an elephant?
Like, oh, he, he I was just joking.
And then I was like, bitch, you're from Queens.
Like what the hell? You're literally like home of
the halal cart basically. Literally, if she was trying to
make a joke about that, it did not land.
It came off like she really justdidn't know what this cart was.
(18:13):
Yeah, and very unlike a New Yorker, she did not compare
Dimitri's halal cart to the halal carts in New York.
Yes, yeah, lazy riding. Yeah, I was like, are we just
supposed to forget about that? Is that not part of her
identity? I don't know.
(18:33):
I don't know, man, I don't know.I wonder.
OK, well now it's a little complicated because I know that
the screenplay came before the actual book, but I was thinking
maybe they made her character Latina and then maybe decided to
(18:55):
make her be from New York because there are more Latinas
in New York than in Ohio. But maybe they just made her
Latina in order to introduce some ethnic diversity in the
movie. Because without her and without
Bicycle Boy, there is none. That's a good point.
That's a good point. Even then it wasn't that
(19:15):
diverse. But I don't know, maybe that
would have been fine because like, maybe that's how the
English department is at Oxford and maybe it is just very white.
I don't know. Yeah, I don't know.
Yeah, it's unfortunate that we are the two people in our friend
group who did not do study abroad.
We're talking about my Oxford here.
(19:36):
That's so true. OK, yappers who have studied in
England, let us know what the ethnic makeup of your class was.
Yappers who have either directlyor indirectly observed the
English department as prestigious English universities
(19:58):
let us know. I'm sure we have a lot of those.
Yeah, I'm sure we do honestly. OK.
The other thing that I wanted totalk to you about was the
overall plot in that Anna de la Vega is this hyper focused
(20:18):
student who just like wants to do the right thing.
I think that's a maybe another reason why they made her like
immigrant culture because there's like more on the line
about choosing to stay in Oxfordversus going back to this fancy
Goldman Sachs job. So yeah, so one, did you agree
(20:39):
with her choice to put romance over ambition?
I don't know if I even see it asputting romance above ambition.
I think it's maybe choosing yourpassion or yeah, choosing your
passion over choosing financial stability.
Because I think the way they showed it was that like, he
(21:00):
opened up her world and was like, don't forget that you used
to be a dreamer. And then after that, she
realized, like, yes, there's so much more to life than making
money in that case. I mean, it's very, it's it's
very hard for me to say because I think I am, I grew up in a
privileged position where I could afford to think about my
(21:22):
passions. And so I did like that she
didn't just take this boring jobat Goldman Sachs.
So honestly, when she was describing it, I was like, this
sounds so fucking boring. I do not, I would not want to
sit there at a desk probably forlike 15 hours a day and do this
shit. So in that respect, I liked it
(21:45):
because I think I am of the opinion that if you're in a
position to choose what you wantto do, you shouldn't just try to
make the most money. But I also know that that comes
from a position of privilege. So yeah, what do you think?
I like that she chose to stay inOxford.
I think I agree with her decision.
(22:06):
As much as I didn't really like her character, I did find that
the decisions that she made wereconsistent.
And I think this is how I feel like the book is super weird
because, yeah, I think the moviemessage is all about how to
choose your passion, how to livelife for yourself and and live
it by your own means. And that's what both Jamie and
(22:28):
Anna were doing, right? Jamie was like, I don't want to
spend my life like the rest of my life, the limited time that I
have left in and out of hospitalrooms.
And I don't want to just like besuper like de energized and just
not have any energy to think about things.
And like maybe I'll have an extra 2 years to die slowly, but
I'd rather have one year of really and truly living my life.
(22:53):
And I think that made sense thenthat Anna was also living that
way. And so I actually like the way
that they did the movie ending more so than the book ending.
The other difference between thebook and the movie is Anna's
background. So in the movie, both of her
parents are alive, actively involved in her life.
(23:13):
They really care about her. But in the book, Eleanor, the
main character Eleanor's father died in a car accident and his
death is a major, plays a major role in how she forms
relationships as an adult. So I can see that if if Anna in
the film has just like a sing like a single mom working 2
(23:37):
jobs, how she would just be like, I need this Goldman Sachs
job. I cannot afford to live my life
in Oxford so many miles away from my family.
So I think I would have judged her a little bit more, but the
fact that her parents were aliveand well, they were good.
They didn't seem like they were struggling really that much.
(24:00):
It made a lot more sense for herto make that decision.
OK, yeah, I see that. I think I agree with that.
I do think if they had shown hermom as a single mom but also
being like you need to go followyour passions like blah blah
blah and then she still decided to do that I would not have
judged her. Oh, OK.
(24:22):
Yeah, that's a good point too. Yeah.
But also I I wonder why they decided to give her a dad
because I think that could have been a really nice connection
point for her and Jamie as well 'cause he lost his brother.
Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah.
Also, where did she order that car model kit from 'cause she
(24:43):
got that real quick. Yeah.
DHL looked all this bug. Too, I'm like, did you just
like? Take this car and box it up.
Take it from his apartment. Take it apart.
Put it in a box. Yeah, Remember when you did this
(25:05):
together? I.
Do it again. Do it again.
I dare you. OK, I will also admit I cried a
little bit when they went on thethe European Tour and then it
turned out that he had actually died and so she did it alone,
(25:25):
but like was with him in memory.I cried at that a little bit.
Got a little emotional? Yeah.
But then at the end, I was like,did they just do that so the
film crew could go on a trip to Europe?
That's why it took seven years to make this movie, probably.
(25:46):
I was like they filmed for like 2 seconds Greece and Italy and
France and Amsterdam. Every day they shoot that one
scene and they're like, I don't think we got it.
The lights ruined. We gotta try again tomorrow.
Yeah, they're like, you know what?
I think we need another like 2 weeks here to really nail the
(26:08):
shot. If the roles were reversed and
Anna was the one that was sick, do you think the movie would
have been written the same way or would have hit the same way?
Wait till you. So if it was a like, is she
still American? Like she yeah or like yeah, like
(26:28):
her sorry, sorry. So she's like she's British.
She is the one who like grew up in UK, went to Oxford, blah blah
blah. And then she's the guy she got
sick, and then JB is the physical.
Student OK then I would be like this shit is just walk to
remember in another country am Iwrong?
(26:51):
Am I wrong? OK, let me change the question.
If the roles were reversed. No, no, not reverse.
Reverse, single reverse. OK.
And Anna is the one who gets sick, but she is the visiting
(27:15):
student and Jamie is still the professor.
What do you think would happen? He'd be like, you should stay
here because I hear American Healthcare is very expensive.
He's like, yeah, you should get that checked out.
There's a clinic right there. He's like.
I'm going to go back to my castle but you seem fine.
(27:35):
So they cured that cancer like 20 years ago here in the UK with
our free healthcare. Yeah, that's all I have to say
about. OK.
Great, great. Cool.
Moving on, when did you, like, find out that Jamie was sick?
(28:01):
Did you suspect it at all? OK, I only suspected it right
when the movie started because the only other thing I've seen
this man in is the Charlotte. Queen Charlotte.
Have you seen Queen Charlotte? Oh yeah, where he's.
Also secretly sick. That's how I know him.
(28:23):
I was like. Hmm, I wonder if he's like
boxing himself into a certain type of role.
Because also this is kind of reminding me of me before you.
OK, wait, so when you say when the movie started, it was like
credits are over, they show Oxford and then you're like that
man? Yo, that man is sick.
(28:47):
I think. No, I think it was like when?
No, it might have been the firstscene I saw him because I really
didn't know a lot about this movie.
So when he walked into that fishand chips, fish and chips shop,
I was like, this dude is sick. No, Yeah.
When he walked into the fish andchip shop, I was like, oh,
(29:07):
that's Farmer George from Queen Charlotte.
I wonder if he's also sick in this one.
I see you're like, damn, the wayhe had drove through that.
Puddle. Only a sick man could have done
that. Oh, he was the guy who drove
through the puddle. Yep, he's sick.
(29:29):
Sick as? Fuck, when did you suspect that
he was sick? I think probably like the scene
after that, I was like, oh, he seems like a nice guy and then
he's like avoiding all these women, but he's not a player
because he's not hitting on thisgirl that's with him.
So. And then she was like, she said
something like, I can't rememberwhat she said to him at that
(29:53):
time, but it was something like,oh, are you avoiding them
because you're trying not to hurt them or something like
that? And I was like, oh, this man has
an incurable disease, doesn't he?
But I will say, I think, I thinkthe first half the movie, I was
like, I hate this. I'm not really being taken along
for the ride about how they're actually falling in love with
each other. It kind of just feels like, you
(30:15):
know, having sex or whatever. But yeah, then at the end I did
get that tear choker moment, butI looked it up and apparently
they did a lot of like AB testing with the with the
ending, which is why the ending is so different than the book.
Interesting. I will say I I did think the
scenes popped on camera. The the travel scenes.
(30:39):
Yeah. Like, I don't think you could
have really written that in the same tearjerker way as you could
have visualized it. So I think they chose the medium
well. I agree.
I agree. Yeah, OK.
I want to talk about that scene where she's standing at the
halal cart screaming at him from20 feet away for some reason,
(31:00):
instead of walking towards him and saying that just because
something is fleeting doesn't mean it's not meaningful.
As people swarm around here at the halal cart, I was like why
is this halal cart suddenly popping off?
Dmitri's like another day, another dollar.
(31:21):
Oh, sorry, another pound. Yeah, And I was like, why aren't
you walking to him? Why are you sitting there?
It felt so forced. Yeah, it's just more dramatic
this way. Yeah, yeah, they really tried it
was they? They really tried with the
drama. Yeah, yeah.
(31:41):
Which character did you relate with the most?
Oh gosh, I don't know if I foundany of them very relatable.
Maybe Cecilia and just like being a supportive friend slash
family member. I think my issue with Cecilia is
(32:02):
that she came off as like kind of mean.
She did. She was giving mean girl energy
for sure. Yeah, And then when it was
revealed that she was the girlfriend of Eddie, she was
like, suddenly super nice. I was like, you could have been
nice from the beginning. I know, I know.
Also, OK, back when we didn't know she was Eddie's girlfriend,
(32:25):
and that scene where Anna is with that rower dude at the bar,
and then Jamie and Cecilia walk in at the bar and then they're
dancing. And I was like, oh, oh, they're
dating Because like, they were like, truly like, arms around
the shoulders, like super dancing.
(32:45):
And then, yeah, obviously we're supposed to think that they're
dating, but anyone who would seethat would think that they're
dating. Yeah, Oh, another big difference
in the book is that Cecilia is actually Eddie's fiance when he
died. Yeah, not just the girlfriend.
Yeah. Oh, OK.
Wait, one thing about the rower dude that just sparked.
(33:07):
OK, so from that conversation atthe Halloween party, you he was
like, oh, why would I eat this, like, halal food?
That's like putting shitty gas into a premium engine or
whatever. And so we're like, oh, OK, I
guess he's a rower. Like, that's pretty cool.
Oxford rowing is like a big thing.
And then he wasn't even a row. Yeah, why does he in the stands?
(33:27):
Shouldn't you be on the water bro?
Yeah, he was just like Oxer and I was like, what you're.
Supposed to be on that boat, Sir.
Yeah. And so I didn't know if that was
like a joke that he actually wasn't a rower.
I would like to believe that he is like the lowest level of
(33:49):
intramural rower and he takes itthat seriously and tries to
pretend like he's that important.
That's so. Funny, you think he's like that
little the Indonesian kid doing aura farming on the boat.
He's like that. Then no, no, no, not.
I'm saying he's not even on thatteam.
He's on some lower level, like think Inter House sports at
(34:13):
Caltech. Okay, yes, yeah.
Nice like imagine someone from page house like being like oh
God stay in shape for inner house frisbee.
Okay, that's true. So lame.
I was. I was like, why didn't Anna just
roast him about that? I think it would have been so
funny. Yeah, there's so many
(34:36):
opportunities for more interesting dialogue.
I thought, oh, another dialogue part at her birthday party.
Well, I guess after her birthdayparty was over.
And then they're like, holding hands sweetly by the piano.
And he's like, I'm going to stick around and hang out with
my dad for a bit. Is that OK?
And she's like no. And he's like no.
(34:57):
And then the scene ends. I.
Know she was just like no and I was like oh I guess that's a
funny joke and then he's like and then.
Like it's like. Was she not joking?
Was he not joking? Am I like What is going on?
(35:21):
Here what is this parallel universe that.
Like am I not getting it? I thought she was going to be
like, it's not OK, it's requiredor something, but yeah.
But she didn't follow up at all.I was like, did she short
circuit? Oh man.
(35:41):
Oh man. Yeah, yeah, I think there are
there are a lot of moments that like that that just like fell
flat Oh yeah. Also when she ran into the room
when he and like found out that he was doing chemotherapy and
then he just like was like, I would never recover from that.
(36:07):
I. Feel like you should go sort out
your anger issues and then you can circle back once you've had
about two to three months of anger management class?
Yeah, I I would not be OK if anyone yelled at me like that,
regardless of the condition thatthey were in.
(36:29):
Oh my God. It feel.
Like it was more in his character to be like, well, now
you know, right? Instead of just being like, that
was so scary. Yeah, I agree, 'cause then he
was like so chill about it and then told all of her friends at
her birthday party. Yeah, I was like, what?
(36:52):
It's so crazy. Yeah.
Also, I didn't know that the friends didn't know at that
point. Yeah, me neither.
I don't know that either. They're just so close, you know?
Six months into their friendship.
Yeah, they just tell each other everything, give each other
bikes. Bikes, we haven't really talked
(37:15):
about. Jamie's.
Everything is deep energy. I don't know if there's much to
say about that, but. I agree, that's kind of it.
Yeah, it. It was reminiscent of A Walk to
Remember when Mandy Moore's character was like, I can tutor
you, but you can't fall in love with me.
(37:35):
And then he's like, OK, but thenhe obviously falls in love with
her. But yeah, just yeah.
Hey, Mandy Moore, also from Central Florida.
No way. Yeah, she went to my sister's
middle school. Cool.
I think the other thing that I had question mark O browned.
(37:55):
Maybe you you'll give her a pass.
But when they had their first homework assignment and she was
supposed to bring a poem to talkabout with him, and she picks
this poem that's about how they're like, man children or
something around. And she was like, he's going to
(38:17):
love this. And then she writes that essay
about suffragettes and whatever.And then she takes it to him and
he's like, you managed to do everything except the
assignment. And then she was like, oh, OK,
I'll like, keep working on it more.
I'm like. And he's like, you have to pick
something that speaks to you. And I'm like, I feel like as a
(38:38):
master's student, like you wouldknow that, but I'm not sure.
But I think I, I don't know if she was trying to do.
I mean, this is one of those things where it's like it kind
of like doesn't land correctly. And so I don't know if they're
trying to do a thing that's like, oh, she picked out a poem
about man children because that's what she thinks about
(38:59):
him. But then when he talks about it,
he's like, oh, you should talk about something that you know,
that you feel a certain way about.
And I was like, yeah, she does feel a certain way about it.
What was the assignment again? It was like a poem that says
something about you. Don't ask me.
OK, let's assume that was the assignment.
(39:21):
I can see how I do think it's a plausible series of events that
she's like, oh, I feel such strong feelings about this poem
about men. And then he's like, yes, you
feel strongly about this poem, but I asked for a poem that says
something about you, not what you feel strongly about or
(39:41):
something. Then she's like, huh, I
shouldn't define myself by how Ifeel about men.
And then she tries again. Oh, OK, that's.
Kind of how I interpreted it, but I don't know if that's like
giving them too much credit or just not being critical enough.
You know, I we haven't given them any credit, I would say.
So I think we can give them thisone OK.
(40:04):
You win this round, my Oxford year.
I think the other question that I had was, I was confused why?
I don't know why she studied at undergrad, but I was confused
why she was going to Oxford for a master's in English when she
had a lot like a job at Goldman.I was like, what does Goldman do
(40:27):
to give masters, Oxford studentsand poetry a job as a financial
analyst? I was confused about that line
of thought, but maybe she did finance and undergrad and then
was like, this is my dream. Yeah.
And got it that way. I guess so.
I'm also surprised that they lether like wait a year to start
(40:51):
working there. Yeah, I didn't I.
Already had the job lined up. Did not think that Golden was
that generous. No, no.
Especially in this economy. Yeah, No investment bank is that
generous. I'm going to look this up.
Does does Goldman Sachs allow you to defer job?
(41:13):
No, it's take it or leave it. Great, especially for entry
level positions. OK.
And. She only had a bachelor's from
Cornell, right? She didn't have any other
degrees. So was she like 21 years old?
(41:33):
Yeah, that's a good question. I guess so.
She looked way older than that, I thought.
And like, he's obviously way older than that.
He also looked way older than a PhD student.
Yeah. How old is Sophia Carlson?
Carson? Yeah, Sophia.
Carson. She is 32 years old, okay.
She's from Florida, Everybody from Florida.
(42:00):
She was born April 10th, 1993. We're old, we're old.
I mean, we're, we're, we're not pulling off college grad like
recent college graduate anymore.Mill Crease.
He is 27 years old. Wow.
That is PhD student age. That's surprising.
I thought that he was much older.
(42:22):
Me too. All those beers at the pub.
At the pub, yeah. Wow.
Well, yeah, I don't know why they cast a 32 year old for this
role. Probably 'cause she's pretty.
Yeah, I don't know. I mean, she is, she is pretty.
Yeah, but. At what cost?
(42:46):
So did you know that she, have you seen Sofia Carson and other
stuff? Oh, OK, me either.
But she, I think she's like a, she's like a Disney star as
well. So Disney star.
Yeah, she was in Austin and Ally, and then she was also in
The Descendants. Interesting.
(43:08):
OK, Yeah. Do we do rating?
Yeah. OK, I would give this A6.
OK. OK.
Another one that you are rating higher than me.
I think I would give this A4. Wow.
(43:29):
I truly just wanted it to end. I thought there was very little
redeeming about this movie, but I did finish it.
So, well, you had to finish it. That's true.
I had to finish it. But it wasn't so bad that I was
like, Ruchi, we can't do this. This is so bad, you know.
I think I started off very low, I would say, but I did get very
(43:51):
emotional at the scene where they were going international.
I'm like going on the tour. And so I was like, well, I had
an emotional response to this, so I can't rate it below A5.
Yeah, yeah. That's but I'm I'm happy with
our average rating of five. Yeah, I think.
That's fair. Jing Chen was telling me that
(44:16):
there's this like K drama ratingYouTube channel or something or
I don't know, or Instagram or something and they give two
ratings. They give one for enjoyment and
one for quality. And I was like, oh, if we did
that, I think our numbers would be way more aligned on Hunting
Wives. I'm sorry, the Hunting 1.
(44:39):
Yeah, excuse me, put some respect.
On the name. It's like the SpongeBob the Do
you think we should do that? We should be change our ratings
to have quality and enjoyment. I'm open to it, should we try it
out? OK, what would you give this one
for quality and enjoyment? OK.
(44:59):
Is it out of? Quality, yeah, let's do out of
10 or maybe we should do out of five and then add it up for a
total rating. Oh, that's a great idea.
Let's do. That OK, OK.
I would give quality two out of five and I would give enjoyment
2.5 out of five. OK.
(45:21):
I would give quality, I think I agree.
I think 2 out of five, maybe less. 1.5 out of five, maybe
less. Keep going.
I'm going to lock in my answer as 1.5 out of five for quality
(45:43):
and for enjoyment I would give it.
It's so hard because I didn't really enjoy it but I did have
that one moment so I don't know how to rank that. 2.5 maybe?
OK. All right.
Well, you ended with a 4/3. Three out of OK, maybe my true
(46:06):
ranking is a 5 out of out of 10.So yeah, hey.
All right, great. Heard it here first, folks.
Yeah, first. Yeah, first let us know if this
is actually useful. For you All right, binge in
progress. Yes.
Oh, I can't wait to tell you about my vision.
(46:26):
Progress. Oh my God, tell me.
I started watching this show, this Korean dating reality show
called Better Late than Single, and it is so cute.
It's, it's about it, these eternal singles.
So they're basically like 27 to 30 year olds who have never
(46:47):
dated in their lives. Like they, they may have gone on
dates, but they haven't ever been in a relationship for their
entire life. And so they are paired with a
mentor or a Cupid. And that Cupid talks to them
about how they want to improve themselves, whether it's through
diet and exercise or like seeinga psychiatrist or like working
(47:09):
with like a language counselors,any, any kind of thing like that
they train or they go through like a betterment process for
six weeks. And then they all go to Jeju,
this island in Korea where they,you know, start actual dating
reality show. And they start to like date each
other and, and, and like choose each other to go on dates with
(47:31):
and everything. And it is so cute.
I feel like it's just watching like, it's kind of like love on
the spectrum, except no one's onthe spectrum.
They just are very inexperienced.
So they're very book smart aboutlove.
And it's really cute to see themfigure out how to express
themselves and take risks and put themselves out there.
(47:53):
It's a really cute. That's so sweet.
Yeah. What a cute premise.
Yeah. What are you watching?
Won't you know it? I am watching another season of
Survivor. Classic.
I think I'm watching season 39. Let me confirm that No.
What season is this 35? I feel like everyone's watching
(48:18):
Survivor nowadays. Yeah, my high school friends
said and Amy, they started watching it from the beginning.
So they're on Season 3. Yeah.
And they were saying that the dynamic is really.
Did you tell me this? Did you watch the earlier
seasons or no? I haven't watched anything we'll
do in 16. OK, so Amy did tell me this.
(48:38):
So Amy was saying that it's really different.
The dynamic is different becauseit's it's a lot more about the
survival skills themselves. So a lot of people, they're
like, oh, we can't vote this person out because they're the
only ones who know how to make afire or like hook.
Oh, interesting. Yeah, Jing Chen has watched like
(48:59):
most Survivor seasons and she said, well, I guess she she did
say that also that they used to show way more camp life than
they do now and just like general like, what's it like to
try to survive in the wild? And then also now that the game
has existed for so long, it's become like super meta and
(49:21):
everyone's always talking strategy.
Everyone's always trying to likebuild their resume versus an old
survival old Survivor. They were just trying to, like,
survive and then vote each otherout when they had to.
But like, less, less strategy and less like meta thinking.
Yeah. Which is a little bit more fun I
think. Yeah, I think so too.
(49:41):
I like the mind games. Yeah.
Yeah. Well, I confirmed it is Survivor
35 that I am watching Heroes versus Healers versus Hustlers.
Wow, a lot of H words. Yep, you know I'm in a weird
(50:02):
mood today. Great.
Well, thanks for happening. Thanks for yapping with us.
If you loved this episode, have some hot takes we missed, or if
you've got a show you're dying for us to binge next, Follow us
on socials we're at Bingiap. Repeat.
(50:23):
Until next time, happy binging.
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