-An A+ on the Bechdel Test

I see a lot of, let’s say, regrettable takes online. I’m on Twitter, for god’s sake. But I saw one this week about how my new favorite movie, Fire Island, is an F- (lolz) on the Bechdel test. Friends, if you glean nothing more from me this week, please know that if a group of marginalized people make a movie together about their lived experience and they don’t also include two women talking to each other, it can still be a great movie. And with that, here are your links!

•  Longtime listeners will know I’m obsessed with Las Culturistas, the podcast of friends, Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers. Well, they’re in a movie together and it’s delightful. You’ve probably seen it on all of your faves’ IG stories this week. Here is what the LA Times has to say about Fire Island, which I wholeheartedly give an A+ on the Bechdel test. (Apple Podcasts)

•  Turns out, my friends are reading romance. Smut girl summer? I posed a question in my Instagram stories last week asking what everyone wants to read this summer. Spoiler alert: the answer is filth. Here is your official summer reading list! (The Blonde Mule)

•  Vallery Lomas (who’s cookbook is GREAT btw) is showing us how to make an easy “shortcut” triple chocolate mousse. Yes, yes I will make this. (Bookshop.org, Better Homes & Gardens)

•  Virginia Sole-Smith, the hero behind Jeans Science, put out a podcast episode this week about the intersection of beauty culture and diet culture. If you’ve ever wondered if all beauty reporting is paid marketing, or if fatphobia and ageism are related… This is for you. (Substack)

•  I have a lot of friends who have quietly gotten sober over the pandemic. One of my favorite friends, Natalie Lima, wrote about getting sober again for Catapult magazine’s new essay series, I Give Up. (Catapult)

•  I’m old enough to remember when it was trendy to (air quotes) ‘believe women’. It’s been disappointing to hear bad take after bad take from so many (air quotes) ‘well-meaning’ folks about the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial. Jessica Valenti is always a voice that rises above the fray in these situations, as she is here in her Substack.

•  I was reading Previously On, one of the newsletters by R. Eric Thomas, and he writes about celebrity memoirs and how great they are as audiobooks. I immediately thought about how much I loved the audiobook of Mariah’s Carey’s memoir, and Dave Grohl’s, and David Chang’s, and and and… You get the point. (Bulletin)

•  It’s hand sunscreen season. Remember Birchbox? Man, I used to ride so hard for Birchbox. RIP pre-pandemic me. I got a sample of this Supergoop! Handscreen and I loved it so much I sure did spend $38 on hand lotion. If you drive a lot in the summer, you may want to invest in this. (Sephora)

•  As some of you know, I host a podcast called Ladyland and we’ve made a short video series. The first three videos are out and I would love for you to watch them. We’re taking a short break to record some podcast episodes and then we’ll be back with more videos. (Ladyland)

•  Times are hard, things feel heavy. In the spirit of relief, I leave you with this cat pole dancing to “Pour Some Sugar on Me”. (TikTok)

See you in the comments!

Kim