How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett - It’s Rom-Complicated! How Nice Guys Can Get the Girl: Lessons from ‘Say Anything’ (with Hollywood Producer Cristina Nava)

Episode Date: February 20, 2025

“It’s Rom-Complicated!” returns, helping you find love by watching rom-com movies. This time, dating coach Connell Barrett shares love lessons from the 1989 Cameron Crowe classic “Say Anything.” He’s joined by special guest Cristina Nava, a Hollywood producer who specializes in making rom-coms! (Her latest movie, the very funny “Say a Little Prayer,” is now streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.) Can a quirky nice guy like Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) really win over his dream girl, Diane Court (Ione Skye)? Or does it take a boombox, a trench coat, and a questionable lack of boundaries? Let’s break it down.Connell and Cristina Discuss:4:12: Why Women WANT to Date Nice Guys Like Lloyd Dobler5:59: Why “Say a Little Prayer” is a Great Date Movie16:30: Cristina Reveals Her Real-Life Rom-Com Moment: Surprise Roses in Eighth Grade24:53: The Rom-Commies—the Best, Worst, and Stalkiest Moments of “Say Anything”31:22: The Best Dating Move from the Movie that Actually Works36:35: The Worst Dating Advice in the Film—Avoid This!39:33: The Secret to Lloyd’s Confidence (It’s NOT His Looks)49:27: What Hasn’t Aged Well: Boomboxes and Boundary Issues1:14:26: The Film’s Biggest Love Lesson that Women Want You to KnowWATCH “SAY A LITTLE PRAYER” ON AMAZON PRIMEhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/0OSRUJ1FSZXHSCDGXFZ23PMPUL/refFOLLOW THE MOVIE AND CRISTIONA ON INSTAGRAM@‌Sayalittleprayerfilm@‌IamcristinanavaFOR A FREE STRATEGY CALL WITH CONNELL TO LEARN HOW TO HAVE GREAT FIRST DATES:http://www.datingtransformation.com/contactTO GET FREE ACCESS TO “THE FLIRTY 30,” CHARMING QUESTIONS TO ASK WOMEN ON DATES, ON THE APPS, AND WHEN YOU APPROACH:http://www.datingtransformation.com/FLIRTY30WANT A FREE COPY OF CONNELL’S NO. 1 AMAZON BESTSELLING BOOK, “DATING SUCKS BUT YOU DON’T”? EMAIL CONNELL AND WRITE “FREE BOOK” IN THE SUBJECT LINE AND YOU’LL GET IT INSTANTLY:[e-mail]

When it comes to love, you just have to take a chance. I think that we should spend some time apart. Where'd she dump you, man? In a car. Dissed in the mouth, man. Your only mistake is that you didn't dump her first. All you gotta do is find a girl that looks just like her and then dump her, man. You guys know so much about women. How come you hear it like a gasp and sip on a Saturday night?

No women anywhere. My choice, man. That's right, man. Conscious choice. Say anything. Welcome back to the How To Get a Girlfriend podcast. I'm your host, dating coach Connell Barrett. I'm the real life Hitch. If Hitch was a skinny ginger with glasses, I'm here to help you flirt with confidence, get a great girlfriend, and do it by being authentic. This is the second in a recurring series of episodes that I'm calling It's Rom Complicated. I believe that a lot of really great insightful secrets

to how to have a great dating life are hidden within rom com movies. And so every once in a while, I bring on a special guest to talk about a great rom com movie, talk about some of the love lessons and dating lessons in the movie, and also just talk about what makes the movie great, the good, the bad, the ugly. And today I'm joined by an incredibly talented guest.

She's a writer, a producer, and director in Hollywood. She makes rom-com movies. Her name is Christina Nava. Christine has co-written movies like Divorce Bait and In Other Words, and her latest film is called Say a Little Prayer. It's a very charming rom-com that I just watched it with my girlfriend. We watched it and loved it this weekend. It's coming to Amazon Prime and Apple Plus just in time for Valentine's Day. It's a really heartwarming story about three best friends who recite an ancient prayer to

the patron saint of all things lost to help them find true loves and a lot of unexpected events happen. So today Christina is here to talk about a classic rom-com called Say Anything, the 1989 movie starring John Cusack, Ione Sky and written and directed by Cameron Crowe. Christina, thank you so much for joining us here on It's Rom Complicated. Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to talk about Say a Little Anything. It's a mashup. I love it. It's a mashup of both.

Say a Little Prayer and Say Anything. I can't wait to talk to you about Say a Little Prayer. There's a lot to learn in that movie. It's also just a good, fun watch. Before we get to that, I'm curious, you chose the movie Say Anything to talk about today. From a lot of rom-com movies, tell us a little bit about your relationship to rom-com movies and why you chose Say Anything. So I grew up in the 80s and I

absolutely loved those movies from the 80s, But Say Anything was, I think, the first movie that I remember where you kind of, as a preteen and then teenager, learn about love. And a very, what I now know is real. The other movies that I was watching at that time were like other John Cusack movies and you know it was like Fast Times at Ridgemont High. That wasn't John Cusack but also One Crazy Summer and they were these were all about love and obviously Fast Times at Ridgemont High is crazy love. But this one was just so sweet.

It spoke to my heart. And there were so many iconic things about it. And it kind of set the tone for what I kind of wanted in a guy, that Lloyd Dobler, real love. Absolutely. I love Lloyd Dobler. I think Lloyd Dobler is me in a lot of ways. Lloyd Dobler is so many men.

I think the guy listening to this podcast, he's a lot like Lloyd Dobler. Maybe he's not the richest guy in the world. Maybe he's not the best looking or the smoothest guy, and Lloyd certainly isn't. But he wins over an incredible woman, Diane Court, played by Ioni Sky. He does it by being real, being funny, being confident, and kind of leaning into his quirky side. And I just love that message. I guess it spoke to me because I wasn't the best looking, smoothest guy in the world, it just gives gives regular guys quote-unquote hope

Absolutely, absolutely. I mean Lloyd Daubler was was as you said, I think quirky is the most appropriate But he was so brave. I I love you know the first from the first scene They're in someone's bedroom and he's with his two girlfriends played by Lily Tyler and Amy Brooks. He's playing the guitar and they're talking about, he's like, I'm going to ask her out on a second date and his friend Cory, who's played by Lily Tyler, is like, that's interesting, you haven't even gone on the first date. What about the first day?

We find out that he he kind of Followed her to the mall at the food court and sat across and had lunch with her. That was his first date Without her knowing about it. So he was so brave though And I mean it might it's borders on a little stalker nowadays but but he was just so sweet and you were rooting for him and he was harmless. So I appreciated his bravery so much. Well, we're gonna dive deeply into say anything. We're gonna break the movie down

into what I call the Rom Commies. Fun little categories and awards that are going to be really fun to listen to. Tips, jokes, all kinds of insights. And I can't wait to hear yours. Before we do that, I want to talk about your movie. Say a little prayer.

$3,000. That is a down payment on a mini-band. This is when I take my food solver. To your great booty. Beauty. I'm still gonna walk all over you To your great booty. Beauty. Amen! I'll never know you And walk away Nothing beats a picnic by the river

I'll never know you When you see a painting and you have that connection with the artist, it's magic. I'll never know you I've had that song in my head now for a week. The classic song. I know it's not in the movie. Tell me a little bit about Say a Little Prayer. It's so charming. How did it begin? Talk to us about why this movie is so special. Well, this movie is written by Nancy De Los Santos. And Nancy De Los Santos was like associate producer back in the days with Selena was shot in San Antonio and so she began to write this movie probably

about 20 years ago and around the same time and she it began with her grandmother. Basically, Nancy was accomplished. She had been doing so much work as a producer in television, but her grandmother, all she could think of was, you're not married. So she calls her to her home and Nancy goes over and the grandmother gives her this prayer to Saint Anthony, to San Antonio, and it's the patron saint of lost causes as you, or lost things, not lost causes, lost things. And she said, you need to say this prayer because your husband is lost. So Nancy ignored it, ignored it, but she thought it was a very funny So Nancy ignored it, ignored it, but she thought it was a very funny story. And so she wrote it as a short story back then.

I think it won awards. She got into the Equinox program with HBO and she tried to produce it, meaning she tried to get them to produce it like someone in Hollywood, but she really ran up against a wall on that. And I, you know, it was not like a true romantic comedy. You start off with the, it's more about the friendship with these three young women looking for love. And they're already in their 30s, so they've. So they've lived their lives and they're entrepreneurs.

So Nancy, you know, it took about 20 years and at the same time I'm building my career and she was watching me now with social media, she was watching what I was doing myself and my husband, Patrick Perez Vidaldi, who we together have been making independent movies and mostly romantic comedies. And so she just asked me to breakfast one day and she's like, how do you, how are you making your movies? And she pulls out this little pad and is about to write down like my, what, 10 steps to producing

a movie. I don't know. And I just said, do you want me to producing a movie I don't know and I just said do you want me to produce your movie and she reached over and took my hand and cried and he's like yes I would never ask you it's so much work and but I I love the story I wanted to work with Nancy and so she had an army of people behind her you know who wanted to see her succeed with this story. And we started there. And the first thing was to try to find that one lead that would eventually sell our movie. And that's where Luis Fonsi came in. One of our co-producers knew him and gave him the script and he resonated with it.

And that's where it all began. He's fantastic in this. Every man listening to this needs to see this movie, not just because it's funny and because it's really sweet. If you want to see a man who's got real character played by Luis Fonsi, pardon me if I said that wrong, he's very relaxed in his confidence. He's got great style. I love his, he's got the right stubble. He's got great style. And there's a fantastic scene that I love as a dating coach. He breaks the ice with the lead actress in the movie, Vanessa Vasquez. He breaks the ice with her in an art gallery. And it's very smooth and natural. It's a meet-cute, but it's not an unbelievable meat cute.

It's very real world. And you should check it out just to watch his fantastic. If you want to know how to talk to a beautiful, well-dressed woman in an art gallery, watch the movie just to see the way they meet. It's really a good scene. You're absolutely right. Like, Luis Fonsi, and part of, and these are his words, part of the reason he took the role was because he said,

this is not a stretch. Like this is really, this feels like me. This speaks to me. I am this guy. I am Rafael Reza. And he was just, he's just such a kind soul, but he did such service to this role. He was such a natural. He was funny. He had comedic timing.

But you're absolutely right as a as take if you're taking notes on how to how to do things right in the dating world. Yeah, this one's to what this was one to have you been to Wauwaka? I'm sorry. I apologize. I saw you staring at the painting. It's just heavenly. It is. This is called Dance at La Guelaguetza.

It's a celebration held in Oaxaca since pre-Hispanic times. I was actually there last summer. Really? On vacation? No, no, I was working, curating actually. Yeah, I'm one of the many who helped put, well, all of this together.

So what do you think? Well, all the pieces are just so inspiring. And he did what I call an indirect approach, which is he noticed Vanessa's character looking at a piece of art, and he asked her a question about the art. I just watched the scene, it's very fresh in my mind. And it's perfect, pitch perfect for the way to start a conversation with somebody in the real world in a charming way that's not creepy, that's not stocky, like we'll talk about Lloyd Dobler later. A little stocky back in the 80s, but I love the way they break the ice.

Also, his character does something really good on their date. And if you can possibly do this as a single guy on a date, it's a nice thing to do. He does something he's good at. He plays guitar on their first date. And she watches him play guitar at this bar slash music venue. And that's also a really cool scene because a great simple move I teach my guys is I say, if there's a way to do something that you're good at on the date, maybe not play guitar and sing, but it'd be good to do something you're good at because that can be really attractive to a woman

You meet yeah, you know what? That's a really good point. Yeah, that's a very very good point Well, if you if you do sing and you play guitar, there's always karaoke. Yeah Yeah, absolutely that when I was when I was dating like I remember this guy was pursuing Pursuing me and then he invited me to like this short film Festival and His directing and the movie was just so beautiful. I remember seeing him in a different light You know like right it ended and like we were dating the very next week.

It just did. It captured, it caught my attention. Well, on my first date with my now girlfriend, Jess, I was a dating coach when I met her and I invited her out to go out with me with my clients just because I thought, well, I want to see her watch me do what I do. Maybe she'll be into that. If she's not, that's okay. There was no pressure to do that.

But she later said how that impressed her, that she got to see me doing what I do. So whether it's a karaoke bar date where you can sing your favorite karaoke song, that's a good first date move, or just letting the other person see you in your element, and maybe giving her a chance to see her in her element, that's a great way for two people to connect, I've found. When my husband and I met

for the first time in an after school program, but we were both, I was coming out of a five year relationship and he was in a five year relationship and he was unhappy. He stayed in for another four years, So we met up four years later. And I was actually back then acting and touring a one-woman show. And I was really nervous because I was going to go promote my show on this radio station. And I get there and it's him. And he's one of the four hosts. And so I just felt like I felt at ease. And we I got to see him in his element. And like it was fun.

And I all the nerves went away. Yeah, he went out to see me in this show. And like, he got to really know me because that was that show was completely about my pursuit of love. It was called Rocks in my Salsa. Okay. Great title. Yeah. It was about all of the rocks along the way and trying to find love. He was just taking notes and now we're married 17 years later with three kids. Congratulations. Well, you anticipated my next question.

I wanted to ask you, there's a lot of rom-com movie tropes. There's the meet cute, there's the grand gesture, there's clutziness, but there's also just moments that are sweet and adorable from movies. When you think back on your single dating life back in the day, are there any moments that stand out to you as, oh wow, that was such a rom-com movie moment that happened in that dating world? Yeah, I mean, I think like grand, speaking of grand gestures, I think like, honestly it wasn't even in the dating world.

It was, if I had, you know, I was thinking about my, in eighth grade, I was 14 years old and, you know, we're in the classroom, it's the second, it's the day before we're about to graduate and, you know, you're off to high school. And these, this huge bouquet of roses is brought in by our principal and everyone's doing an awing and I'm like, I wish those were for me, you know. And so he goes to our teacher and she points to the back of the room and I turn around and he had straight for me You know and boy and they were for me From not even from the person that I had a crush on it was like this boy the seventh grader who had

Silently had a crush on me for who God knows how long and it was the most, it was to this day, I don't think that I actually have ever had like this grand of a gesture from really anybody who that really took me by surprise. And I guess like in thinking about it, I was just thinking like, I wish you would have told me or maybe not. I mean, I just, you know, he held on to that for so long and I was gone, you know, I thanked him and I was so flattered and to this day, it's like probably the biggest, the grandest of gestures next to my husband asked getting on his knee without we were swimming and he just was overcome with the motion and he got on

his knee and asked me to prove he proposed to me and his swimming trunks with no ring no anything no shirt so those are probably like even though it was middle school I mean I was 14 almost in high school but I feel like that was such a rom-com moment and I I... That's so innocent and sweet. Right? But it's a lesson, like, if hopefully in the future he just really let women, the girl, know sooner. Yeah.

So he might have had a chance. I don't know. I've done that. I did the same thing. Yeah. My big crush, her name was Betsy Baker, age. I remember, there's something about middle school, high school, there's just a moment where you look at a person and say, I think I'm going to have a crush on them now.

It's almost like it overtakes you. You don't choose it. It just chooses you. What do they call it in Twilight series? You're not a zinger, but you're, I can't remember what it is. In the Twilight movies? The Twilight series, they call it, you know, you're almost zapped.

Like, they call it imprinted. Ooh, OK. Yeah. I guess Betsy Baker imprinted herself on me circa seventh grade, and I pined over her for three years. I sent her anonymous love poetry. And I never, I told her later, and it was awkward, but I said, oh yeah, those letters, those are from me. She's like, oh, that explains a lot. Anyway,

that was my Lloyd Dobler phase. Before we get into the movie, I've got to ask you a little bit about your incredible career. You're a movie producer, a writer, a director. Why rom-coms? Why have you specialized in rom-coms? Tell us more about that. Well, I think that when I transitioned from theater to writing for film, I just thought that through film, we were able to reach more people.

film. I just thought that through film we were able to reach more people. That transition came at a moment when I was really looking for love. I was about 33 years old and actually I'm wearing the shirt that I wore when I had my birthday and I turned 33 and I called it my Jesus year where my you know I was gonna find the love of my life it was like my calling you know I was just ready for love I wanted to find my husband and my partner and I I think that that was when I started to write. And so then my husband and I got married and that's, I know you're gonna cut this out, but can you hear the trash truck?

Yeah, I can. Should you want, we can stop until it leaves. It's okay, I find it kind of strangely charming when I hear dogs barking and trucks going by. So I don't mind if you don't mind. We can hear you fine and that's all that matters. But thanks for asking. So anyway, so we were approached by an investor once we were married to produce and he was

also a fanatic of rom-coms and I loved them too. And so that was our first opportunity to make an indie film. Well, second time we made our movies, but the first time we made our indie film. And I loved writing it. In other words, I wrote, and that one is on Tubi. You can go find it and watch it. And it was very easy for me to write that because I loved love.

And I just really dug into my own experiences. And honestly, I feel like I do channel the movies of the 90s when I write romantic comedies or comedies. I have a fascination with them. That's where it really started. The opportunities that were coming to us were in this genre, to be honest. Well, what I like about Cameron Crowe's movie, this is the second movie I've talked about on this podcast feed. I haven't done it yet, but I had a conversation about Jerry Maguire, Cameron Crowe's movie. There's something about Cameron Crowe's writing there, his characters.

Here's my amateur viewpoint. Tell me as a professional writer and director, I'd love to hear your take. To me, what's great about his dialogue is very natural. I don't feel like I'm watching a movie. It seems really naturalistic. And every character, even small characters, get those little grace note moments. Like you mentioned, Lloyd Dobler's two female friends,

one played by Lily Taylor, the other is, I believe, James Brooks' daughter. And even James Brooks' daughter gets a little moment in the movie, everybody's a person. Nobody's just a rom-com trope. That's what I really love about Cameron Crowe's movies, at least the rom-coms. Yeah, I agree.

There's just something, like you're saying, very natural, but then the interactions with the characters are really funny though. And I, what I love is that it's, it's like, it's not just about the plot. You really, Cameron Crowe presents each character with just such, such a, the nuances about them, even, even, what's it, Jeremy Piven was in it, and he was hilarious. Like, Cameron Crowe does not, there's not a wasted character, you know what I mean?

Like there's a purpose for it, but they're funny, or they lend such a beautiful palette to say anything. You know, Jeremy Piven plays this drunk character at the party and he just is hilarious, you know? And he's there for like 30 seconds maybe and he's gone, but he's hilarious, you know. Yeah, he makes a big impact and he's gone. He's gone. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love it. I love his writing, Cameron Crowe's.

Great, let's get to it. Let's get to say anything. And let's break this down with these categories. Here we go, these are the Rom Commies. Let's start by rating the Meet Cute. Now in this movie, there's not a meet cute per se, so for this category I'm gonna consider that first phone call basically a meet cute and I thought it was fantastic. I loved how nervous he was that was so relatable and I liked how at first she, Diane Court

played by Ioni Sky at first she says hey Court played by Ioni Sky, at first she says, hey, I'm busy, but then she seems to be charmed by him. So they didn't have a meet cute per se because their characters had already met before the movie started, but that phone call, I just thought that was so relatable. Yeah. I mean, awkward for sure. Awkward for sure. Um, and what I found adorable, uh, was, you know, she said, he said, I'm Lloyd Dobler.

Don't know if you know me. She said, yeah, you, we ate together or we had lunch together. He's like, oh, you remember? She said, no, you, uh, I took the message. You told my father or something like that, you know, and she wasn't weirded out by it, you know? And, uh, I, I really, I really love that. Number one, I really miss the phones with the cords, I just have to say.

Do you remember the days? Yes. That was really fun to watch. I love how he says to her father in the movie, he says, isn't she great? Yeah, isn't she great? Talk about getting on the dad's good side. There's a move to steal if you ever talk to a woman's dad. Lloyd Dobler, 555-1342. It's 555-1342.

555-1342. Okay, I'll get her the message. Okay. She's pretty great, isn't she? What? She's really pretty great, isn't she? Okay, I'll get her the message. Okay. Pretty great, isn't she?

What? She's really pretty great, isn't she? Yeah, she is. Good luck, kid. Good afternoon. Not that that would happen in 2025. And I'm going to geek out now, but that just the line from the father, he's like, you know, when he answers the phone, he's like, this is Lloyd Dobrik. Are you the guy with the truck? No. Are you the guy with the Mustang? The

father is testing him with these three questions. It was just really brilliant. Like as a parent, I'm like taking notes, like, oh, this is really great to get info very quickly. No, I'm the guy with the Chevy Malibu. Yeah, yeah. Really great. Let's talk about their chemistry from Sparks to Dudds. I thought that, I think Cusack and IoniSky have a really sweet chemistry. It's innocent. For most of them, it would be very innocent. It's not like a fiery passion, but there's sort of this sweet, there's a sweetness to it. There's this earnest, innocent, offbeat connection. It's not like a fiery passion, but there's sort of this sweet, there's a sweetness to it. There's this earnest, innocent, offbeat connection.

It's almost like they're both equally quirky and strange. Not strange, but in a way they're both outcasts and they seem to see that in each other and it creates a sweet, almost innocent chemistry. Yeah. You know, I feel like for them it was timing, right? Like, I feel like, so it was graduation and Diane Court kept saying like, she had been away for college courses and not really been a part of like high school and she didn't go to the parties and she didn't do this and she was really fully aware. She shared that with her father. And so this random guy calls her and she was like,

I'm busy Tuesday, I'm busy Saturday, I'm busy like for the rest of my life almost, right? But then he says, well, what about tonight? There's a high school party happening. And it was timing because she had just said I I I kind of missed it I missed high school I missed that connection they don't know me and I don't know them and so I think in love that that's true like it's timing you know yeah someone both parties have to be ready if the iron was hot there was a moment for them to meet up. I tell my clients, I say, oh, you matched with her yesterday, or sorry, he said, a client

might say, oh, this girl went quiet. And I said, well, when did you match with her? Like 10 days ago. I said, well, did you ask her out? She's like, no, waiting till the moment's right. I'm like, it's been 10 days. You got to strike while the iron's hot. So yeah, the time-

Does that rule still apply nowadays? I haven't been in the dating scene for obviously 17, 18 years. Okay. But does it wait? Are people still doing the waiting period? Well I coach men and I teach my clients, I say don't wait, just basically be Lloyd Dobler. Ask for what you want within reason and go for what you want until you get a clear yes or a clear hey, thanks but no thanks. And don't play any kind of games like oh I need to wait

two or three days because people just have so many dating options today in the swiping Tinder era that if you wait too long somebody else is going to snag that person up or they'll be distracted by other shinier objects. Yeah. You know, my husband and I told you we met on the radio on a Friday, November 3rd of 2006. I had been alone for two and a half years, like single. And I didn't, we connected after we had gone out

for a drink right after the radio show. That was on a Friday and he was gonna wait until like the next week to ask me out. But I really wanted to see him. So I reached out and I called him and I said, do you wanna go see Babel on Sunday? And we went out on Sunday. But I just, I was so over the games of that meeting that I-

You went all Sadie Hawkins day on him. I did. That's great. When that happens, men, we appreciate it so much. Oh, good. It feels so good because we know how scary it is to ask somebody out and to be the one to make the move. So when the woman makes the move, I have no problem with that at all. In fact, we're

very grateful when it happens. We do, I do tell my guys, hey you want to be the one to lead the dance. Dating is a dance, generally. Generally a man's gonna lead that dance, but if you want to take the lead, God bless you. So it worked out for the two of you. Speaking of which, next award, the Steal This Dating Move award, I have two, tied for two in this category, this award. First of all, on that phone call, I really like how vulnerable and authentic and sort of genuine Lloyd is.

He's openly expressing his interest in her. He's not playing it cool. He's not being all cocky and. He's not playing it cool. He's not being all cocky and doing any kind of play it cool. He's being genuine both first with her dad when he leaves the message and then when they have that phone conversation. So that's a great thing to steal from Lloyd, which is just put it out there.

Let a woman know that you're intrigued by her, that you would love to take her out, and she'll say yes or no and either answer is fine. So that's one little move to steal. The second one, curious to hear your point of view on this as a woman and as a woman who produces rom-com movies, I also noticed how he was persistent with her because her initial reaction on that phone call is, oh, you know, I'm really busy with these 19 things.

But she was talking to him. She did call him back. Her initial reaction on that phone call is, oh, I'm really busy with these 19 things. But she was talking to him. She did call him back. He combined persistence with charm. He didn't give up right away. That part anyway, he didn't edge into stalker. He just said, okay, that's fine. I know you're busy.

There's this party tonight. He didn't give up. You could kind of see her sort of be like, all right, all right, he's not taking my busy for an answer and then she basically said, let's do it. So I say persistence plus charm is a nice way to ask a woman out until you know for sure she either is or isn't available. What's your take? I agree. I agree. And I liked his, I liked his, his, his shift into just like finding the moment, finding that finding that connection. And you never know, right? Like he, he actually said the

right thing and he didn't even know it. You know, he just kept saying, how about Saturday? How about Sunday or whatever it was. And then when he switched, he added a little more story behind it, right? Oh, there's a party. I'm not going to let you run off to England or Europe before having a taste of one of these parties. And there's a story behind it that really intrigued her. And so she said yes. So that was curious.

I mean, that was really cool, a very good shift, and I appreciated that. Okay, so it's Lloyd, and let's go out. You want to go out? Oh, thanks, but I'm busy. Busy? Yes. Things are pretty hectic right now, but thanks. You busy on Friday? Yeah, I have to help my father.

Are you busy on Saturday? Saturday I have some things to do around the house. So you're...monumentally busy? Well, not monumentally. What about tonight, then? Can you go to that party for Lyrs? Mmm... Look, Dan, I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to leave the country without attending

some of Lyrs' graduation events. This gentleman is 22 and comes out of hiding once a year for this occasion, and he dresses up as the lakeside rooster, and he makes this drink called the purple passion. Actually, I think that... You know, and you're not in England yet. We know that, of course. By the way, I wanted to just tell you that I lived in England for three months. And my parents live in Hollywood, you know, so we lived in England and Germany.

That could give you an enormous amount of tips. How many tips? English tips. Well... No tips. Don't give any tips of any kind. I'll go. Pardon me? I'll go. You will? Excellent. So I would take notes from that, like add a little narrative behind it. That's a great point. He made it to her benefit to her benefit yes that's how you actually I can't let you go to Europe until you experience a party exactly yeah exactly clever clever good job Lloyd let's get some hidden game you know I I don't if you remember the part where they had already gone out on the first date was after the party and the two girls,

three girls now were in their bedroom talking about, they were saying, oh no, she's setting him, Diane is setting him up for failure, this is Lily Tyler. They got to meet, he's gonna meet the family, like, you know, he's gonna ruin it with that talking thing, and then she says, if you were Diane Court, would you fall for Lloyd Dobler? And there was this pause where the obvious thing to say was no, but they all really thought about it.

And they're like, yeah, we would fall for him. All three women. Because he's charming. He's a sweetheart. Yeah, so Yeah, here. No that was yeah, he's very likable, and he's got great intentions, and I think that's really attractive Just letting those good intentions come out right the next category actually is one that I didn't tell you about so no pressure to answer this one, but I'm ready with an answer and that is the worst piece of dating advice from a character within the movie. For this one, there's a scene where Lloyd has been dumped by Diane, and he's talking

to all these guys outside the gas and go, or the gulp and go, or whatever that gas station is. One of the guys says, oh, well, here's what you do. Go out and find the girl who looks just like her and nail her. That's how to get over it. So there's the worst piece of dating advice from the movie. Absolutely. Look at Kanye. She looks like Kim Kardashian, but no. Oh my God, that's so right. Kanye's got such a type. He can't get over that lesson.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. All you gotta do is find a girl that looks just like her, nail her, and then dump her, man. Get her off your mind. Your only mistake is that you didn't dump her first. Diane Kord is a show pony. You need to stallion, my friend. Walk with us and you walk tall. Walk tall, my man. Itches, man. You can give that kid a comp.

Hey, dude, I better bail. Later for you, Luke. I got a question. You guys know so much about women. How come you hear it like a gasping sip on a Saturday night, completely alone, drinking beers? You know women anywhere. By choice, man. It's a women anywhere. By choice, man. That's right, man.

It's a conscious choice. It's a choice, man. I know, like it is. Well, my, I have three sisters. One of my big sisters could not stop dating guys named Dave, so hey, I guess that was required. I've had three different Christine's in my dating past, so maybe we all have types.

That's funny. My friend did that with Tim's. I think that is a perfect, really bad piece of advice. I think one of the worst in breaking up with someone was, here, give them a pen. Like the dad... Oh, yeah. John Mahoney's advice. Yeah. John Mahoney's advice. Yeah, Diane quartz advice

To her for breaking up with Lloyd is like here. He take give him a pen, right? Yeah, that's horrible That's the worst way. I mean that's on that's out there with the sex in the cities Getting dumped with a post a post it. Oh, I don't know that episode. Yeah Shog gets dumped through a post it by one of her suitors. Okay. Gotcha. Well, in Lloyd's defense, when the character says, oh, just go nail a girl who looks just like her, he said, look, I'm taking advice from three guys who are at the gas and gulp

and go on a Saturday night. It's like, can I really, can I really put value in this advice? Yeah. He's really just smart and he knows it's all BS. He knows. He's so smart. Yeah.

He's so smart. Maybe that's another hidden dating tip from this movie is just like one of my mottos is your true self is always coming out. So just let it shine. And if you're a smart, brainy person, let that intelligence come out. And I love how Lloyd just likes to, let's his, you know, where's his brain on his sleeve. The intelligence is obviously really attractive to Diane.

Yeah, definitely, definitely. I thought about this quite a bit, sir, and I would have to say, considering what's waiting out there for me, I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. Next award. This age like fine wine, what is something from this movie now, gosh, 35, 36 years later, that has aged really, really well?

And for me, as watching this over this last weekend, a couple things stood out. One is the music. The music has aged like fine wine. Oh my god, Peter reach out from the inside. In your eyes, the light, the heat, I am complete. Your eyes, they see the door in your eyes, without a church inside. Just late 80s music and not to sound cheesy here but just Lloyd really believing in his worth. He knows he's not the cool kid in school, he's not rich, he's got to live with his sister, his real life sister, the amazing Joe Cusack. But he really believes in his worth and there's a great moment when one of the classmates at the party comes up to him and says,

how did you get a date with her? And he says, I'm Lloyd Dobler. And just understanding his worth and value as a young man, I think that's timeless. Because you really have to understand what the worth you bring to the romantic table. So that's my choice for what's age-like fine wine. Any thoughts for me?

Yeah, no, I agree with everything you're saying. And I think that just the pursuit of love is timeless. That I can just imagine cavemen clunking some animal on the head and bringing it over to the cavewoman and their pursuit. I just feel like my children could watch this and it's still relevant to them. That and Lloyd's trench coat. Oh, the trench coat. They're timeless. Yeah, absolutely. Wow.

I've got this image now of a caveman standing outside a cave woman's cave, holding a giant rock over his head, like, or smacking a couple of rocks together. Completely. Completely. How everything made music. Yeah. My husband and I always talk about that. Like that it's the, it's that some of these things are just primal,

like with love, you know. And we talk about that as he calls himself a caveman sometimes in the pursuit, but it's timeless. Pursuing love is timeless to me. Yeah. And I think Cameron Crowe's writing, his screenplay, the writing is timeless. And these characters, I should have mentioned earlier, I just think John Cusack and Ioni Skye are absolutely ethereal.

Ten out of ten. They're just so, they embody these people. I can never catch them acting per se. Maybe that's partially the dialogue, but I think their performances are so real. John Mahoney is incredible, but these two leads are absolutely incredible. As a rom-com movie expert, do you feel the same way or how do you feel about their performances?

I love their performances. One of the things that I found, I guess, uncomfortable and awkward is, and that's just because, you know, we cut, it's a cultural thing, right? And is that Diane court's relationship with her father, where she tells him everything, you know, usually if you, you're going to talk about your the first time you, you have sex with someone, you go to your girlfriends to talk about them he goes to his girlfriends like Albert does but she went to her father and That was awesome But would never ever ever ever happen to me. You know, my father's a

Mexican man from Mexico and no you to this day, in his eyes, I have not had sex even though we have three children. So it's not that it's unrealistic, it was just, wow, that is very different. And that's, I guess, like in writing romantic comedies, and I write them and I am Mexican American and so if I tend to write them with characters that are Latino and that brings the cultural element of things and I just don't think that I could ever write Latino characters telling their parents, you know, that they just had sex for the first time.

I don't know. I know I couldn't ever imagine my younger self having told my parents, either one of my parents, about that. I was raised Roman Catholic, so you just didn't talk about that in Ohio in the 80s and 90s. I forget about it. I mean, I think about my own children and I'm like, I don't know. I don't know that I would want to know either. You know, I don't know. That is one left to be addressed, I guess. We're not there yet. Yeah, no, totally. I imagine the casting in a rom-com is just so important. Finding the right people to embody these roles.

In your movie, again, there's Vanessa Vasquez, and there's Luis, I'm sorry, say his name again. Luis Fonsi. And her female friends. Oh, they're fabulous. They're incredible. I just want to hang with them. I want to be one of the girls.

Yeah. Jackie Cruz plays Ruby. Yeah, Ruby's great. Aspiring social media influencer. And Jackie Cruz was on Orange is the New Black. She played, I can't remember the name of of her character but she was one of the Cholitas we call them okay and she's actually so so so funny she's she I think her character was the hardest to play because Jackie is very smart and

very she's also very light so she brought that to Ruby for sure. Yeah. You know, we had Vanessa Vasquez played Adela, and she's an entrepreneur, aspiring to have this beautiful art gallery, so she's got this serious business side to her. And then Christina, played by Vivian Lamolle, what is a single mother in

our movie Say a Little Prayer and so I think Ruby the kind of flighty free spirit has ten jobs because she won't be tied down to me seems like the hardest one and and Jackie Cruz nailed it. She has two. I thought one of the favorites of our audiences. I thought she was wonderful I have the favorites of our audiences. I thought she was wonderful. I thought the writing of the... So just for the listener who hasn't seen the movie yet, Ruby is under the impression that the main male actor is into her rather than Vanessa Vasquez's lead female character.

So Ruby's character... Sorry, the character of Ruby has to think that Luis's character is into her, and the reasons why he's not are very believable. He's a gentleman. He doesn't want to make her feel bad. But it leads to some conflict between the girlfriends. But Ruby was really embodied in a very real way. So who you choose really helps deliver a believable character as much as the words on the page,

I would think. Absolutely, absolutely. And you know, the audition process is very important. But it all, I don't know, there's not been one movie that I've produced or written, more produced on the producing side, where we felt like, oh, we didn't, that was just bad cast. We didn't cast that very well. It has really presented, we've been presented with such beautiful talent. So in this particular one, say a little prayer, we keep getting that comment over and over that the relationship with the girls is so wonderful. Yeah, Nancy the Los Santos did a wonderful job in her writing.

Yeah, and be warned guys, if you watch the movie, you're probably going to fall in love with Vanessa Vasquez, the lead actress. I did. My girlfriend said, okay, she's your hall pass if it ever happens. Oh wow, that's awesome. Although back in the day, my hall pass would have been Ioni Sky from Say Anything. Okay, back to the rom-coms. Let's talk about the next category. What aged like warm milk? What has aged poorly from this movie?

I think the big thing is there's something that's going on in 80s rom-coms. There was a lot of overly persistent men who were coming on a little strong at times. I think the boombox scene from this movie is arguably more famous than the movie itself. Such an iconic image, such an incredible image that more people probably know the boombox scene than actually have seen say anything. But of course, there was a lot of movies happening back then where the guy would just... I don't know if you've ever seen the Brat Pack movie, St. Elmo's Fire, where Emilio Estevez's character drives hours and hours to essentially stalk a female character. We've got Lloyd with the boombox outside her window. Anyway, I think that has not aged all that well for obvious reasons.

No, no, no. The boombox scene, so again, I'm Mexican-American and in our culture, we have the serenade. And it was with trios outside of the window. And I that really was I'm even watching it with my husband on Friday, we were we were rewatching it. And he's like, Oh, this is the modern serenade, you know, for serenade. And so I really truly appreciated it. I think if I think that could a that would have aged You know well the kind of Imposing nature of the these male characters. Yeah, that didn't age too well, right?

That is very very much a part of the 90s back then I think yeah, that's luckily. We're in a different era now But okay next category the recasting couch according to my very cursory internet research a couple other Actors considered for the role of Lloyd were Robert Downey jr. Oh my and Christian Slater and I could see Downey doing this. He has that hyper verbal vibe of Lloyd Dobler. Christian Slater though, I just feel like he's too cool, too handsome at that age to come off like the guy nobody could imagine with Diane Court. Any thoughts on either Downey Jr. or Christian in these roles? I researched that as well and I saw Robert Downey Jr.

But yeah, Christian Slater, I agree. No, he was too bad boy, too cool for this. That would have actually been a very, like, oh yeah, they belong together. There's no pursuit. I think that would have been a slam dunk. But I could see Robert Downey, Jr. I think Matthew Broderick would have been a good choice back then. Oh yeah. I can see Broderick for sure. Yeah, that would have worked. That would have worked.

And I didn't really look to find out who Ione's guy was up against, but I just can't imagine anybody. Jennifer Connelly. I didn't really look and find out who Ione Sky was up against, but I just can't imagine what anybody... Jennifer Connelly. Ooh, okay. There you go. Yeah. There you go. Yeah.

I think... How do you think that would have been if Jennifer Connelly played that role? Well, there was another one that was also Elizabeth Shue was being considered that. I think Elizabeth Shue would have been just as good as in that role over Jennifer Connelly, I think. I used to love Elizabeth Shoe and she was in the Babysitter's Club and all that. I think she would have been great too. Cocktail, she was in Cocktail. Oh yeah. Of course, Karate Kid. I had a major crush on her back in the day.

Oh yeah. There's something about Ioni Skye's smile. She's got a beautiful smile and you can imagine, oh that's the beautiful woman, young woman, who was just so focused on school and grades that she just basically was not very socialized until until very late in the day and somehow she captures that really well. Yeah she did a great job. She's just so pretty and when she came out in that dress the white dress when Lloyd went to pick her up at the house his reaction I reacted the same way. Yeah well that's the next category, the What Are They Wearing Award, in a good way. I think she looked incredible in that dress. They did a great job of having the, oh my gosh,

isn't this person beautiful moment? I think that white dress did it. Of course, as you mentioned, Lloyd's trench coat is pretty iconic. Yeah. Although both my husband and I, when we were watching it, I was watching it again. He had not seen, say anything, which surprised me. The white dress was gorgeous, but when she arrived at the school, I mean at the school, I'm sorry, at the party. I was just like, oh my god, she's so overdressed with the flower in her hair. But he didn't, you know, there's no way he cared. There's just no way he cared. How great was that party scene? Oh, it was amazing.

It felt like I was watching almost like an Altman movie. It's like there was just random moments happening. There wasn't a real narrative. They're not even together at the party. It reminded me of party. I don't know what parties are like now, but it reminded me of parties back then where you just go and go off to whatever room or your clique and just, see you later, I'll be with these people over here.

Yeah. I loved, you know what I loved about that party was how responsible the kids were, the partygoers. They had a, was a key master where one person would not allow anybody to drive. I thought that was so responsible and so it made me feel better about, like why didn't people do this, you know So and that was part of part of the whole The charm of it like he people saw Lloyd dobler as a responsible person

You know someone they can count on to not to help them not make the wrong decisions, right and Imagining Diane decisions. Right. And imagining Diane looking at Lloyd from that point of view. I've forgotten that they aren't even together for most of the party because he's the key master. But it's so cute they keep checking in with each other. Yeah. Well, he keeps checking in with her. Right. And which is, because she could have just walked over and stood next to him as he was the key master, but whatever, fine, fine. But I feel like one of the things I tell my clients is, I say, a woman's gonna notice everything.

Great and small. And so, don't be on all the time in terms of having to be witty and amazing, but just be aware that little things make a big difference. So I imagine Diane noticed how he kept checking in with her, which was sweet. There was that incredible moment later when he says, oh, don't watch out for that broken glass. The glass, yeah.

Then she just said, oh, finally a gentleman who's thinking of me first. I just thought all these little moments that kind of allow us to, in storytelling language, it's showing, not telling, which I love as a movie fan. To add to that, when Lloyd was checking in on her, and this is like, this may have been a, well, it's the director and the writer the same, but in one moment, Lloyd was checking in on her and she's by herself and she turned to the camera and kind of cringed and rolled her eyes and I thought he lost her. Like, both my husband and I were like, oh no, he's sort of like stalking, stalker, getting

stalker vibes again. But then the next scene was with Corey, the Liv Tyler character, Lily, excuse me, Lily Tyler character. And Lily Tyler is talking about Lloyd to her. You're so lucky. And then she, and that's when Diane says, he's so sweet, he checks up on me, look.

And they turn around and sure enough, he's there. So it also helps when like somebody else talks you up. New category, wingman or wingwoman award. Absolutely. Yeah, I love Lily Taylor. We're going to get to her in a second because I'm a huge fan of her in this movie. Next category, next award, did they make kiss-tery? Where we talk about their kissing chemistry. Actually, you're welcome, I would love to hear your point of

view on kissing and rom-coms and what can go right or wrong. But it wasn't the first time they kissed that kind of melted me. It was when they said good night at the end of that first night in the morning and they don't kiss but they hug. Oh, that hug. That little hug, it was so sweet and innocent. She like threw herself into him. That just melted me. Yeah, yeah I agree.

Talk about a rom-com moment that, I've had that kind of moment happen a couple times in real life and wow. So it wasn't even their first kiss that stood out to me although their chemistry was, I think, very, you know, pretty above average. It was just that sweet way they kind of fell into each other's arms and like,

and it was just, wow, they really like each other. It was just, it was so interesting. Yeah. I agree. I loved that hug. It was, I don't think I've ever seen that since then. Like, it was just a hug where you, she was hooked. I don't think I've ever seen that since then. Like, it was just a hug, or she was hooked. And because their first kiss was awkward.

It was like after her driving, he was helping her learn how to drive, and they kind of kissed. You're right, it was a little awkward, wasn't it? It was just like pecks, like Woody Woodpecker. And so the next, but the next scene, there was one of my favorite where they were kissing in the rain. And oh, that was just so beautiful, like just visually beautiful and romantic and not a

care in the world. So yeah, the hug was great. The first kiss not so good, but that, you know, obviously it got better. What about when you're making a movie? Pull back the curtain for us if you can. In terms of getting a really good kiss, any do's and don'ts that you have to help your actors achieve, I don't know what that's like to make a movie. What's it like trying to get that great kiss happen on the screen? So I directed a movie called Free Lunch, and this was with all seventh graders.

And that one is on Amazon Prime as well. And I had, there was a kiss that had to happen, and it was in the middle of a dance and their seventh graders and so but these two kids Connell Connor William Barrett and Joe V. Lee such professionals but it was COVID around that it was it was like 2021 post-COVID right up so we still had to follow all these protocols and so we were outside and we made this outside area look like we were inside but behind the cameras were no lie probably about

65 people watching parents who were there there are other kids who were there, and Connor leans in and he's like, can you make them all go away? And I said, Connor, that would take so long, just, they're not here. And it doesn't have to be, you don't have to hold it for long, just enough for us to capture it. And they were so nervous. And so really, in that moment, we couldn't clear the stage fast enough because of time. And so we just had to make them as comfortable as we could in that moment.

And they did great. And they did great. And nobody oohed and a and nod, which was awful, because that would have been the end of us. But I think that it's like really creating a comfortable, even for adults, a comfortable set. And now what I actually love for more, this isn't really in rom-coms,

but for example, Divorce Bait is a comedy and it's a little bit more of a like raunch comedy, like in the spirit of a girl's trip. And there were moments where it was alluded to, you know, things that were intimate. And so I love that we now have the intimacy coordinators, you know, that there are rules. And I, as a woman, appreciate it so much. And I, when we didn't have like an official, before that we would have women in the room, and I would be in the room, and if I was just producer. So yeah, that's what happens behind the scenes.

Just really making people feel comfortable. Yeah. Just at my step. A cute story. At any age. Oh man, I can't imagine being seventh-grader with all those people feel comfortable. Yeah. Step by step. A cute story. At any range. Oh man, I can't imagine being seventh grader with all those people watching me. Oh my goodness, they did a great job.

And they had to do it, I think, they had to do five takes maximum. And every time I would say, okay, we need to get one more time, both of them would give me the evil eye. Are you kidding me. So cute. Okay next category is the no one talks like this in real life award. This is a little tricky because Cameron Crowe movies are so naturalistic and it's hard to find that that sounds like a movie. For me what stood out was again back to the gas and sip when the guy when Lloyd's been dumped and one of the one of his pals says, we're going to

find you a hot-lipped babe. Nobody talks like that. I was alive in the late 80s. Nobody was so hot-lipped babe. That was the one moment that didn't sound like believable dialogue to me. Did anything jump out to you? So the one that jumped out to me was the scene at the party where Lloyd's outside and the counselor comes to the party. B.B. Newworth. Yeah. Yeah. And and so the counselor gets out of the and she goes to this party like that to me was unbelievable. Right. And she sits there and they talk about like, what are you going to do

with your life, Lloyd? Everybody told us what their career choice was gonna be. And it just, it seemed a little expository for me. That's like the only writing critique I had that really stood out. Like, number one, why would anybody invite adults to this party? Why is the 30-year-old counselor at this party with a bunch of 18-year-olds? Correct. Yeah, that was the only thing. Gotcha.

Just because I had to find something. But you're right, that's weird. What is it, the sip and go? The gas and sip. Yeah, gas and sip. Find you a hot-lipped babe. And then, oh man, just how about this? So B.B.

Neuwirth, who plays Lilith on Frazier, I'm sorry, on Cheers and guest-starred there on Frazier, in a movie with Frazier's dad. Oh man, parallel universes, who knows? Okay, next category, the Judy Greer Award. For the side character who deserves their own movie, for me, this is an easy choice. I think Lily Taylor as Corey is incredible. The song she sings, the heartbroken song she sings about the guy who ended it with her, I think she's a scene stealer.

The whole movie about her writing bitter love songs, her finding love, I would love to see a movie about Corey, Lily Taylor. Absolutely. And that song, Joe Lies, Joe Lies and Cry, must be made into a single. Joe Lies. What a scumbag he is, that character. Oh my gosh. But the fact that he's even in there, the fact that we get to meet him and see what a douchebag he is. And again, it's been so long since I'd seen this until recently for your chat with me today that I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I'd forgotten. And I was waiting for her to collapse into his arms. Instead, she's like, eh, you're not good enough for me.

Yeah. Yes. Yes. I love her in that. OK. Next, we have another category I just made up. So it's OK if you're not ready for this one. I just was thinking of some fun things to talk about. This is called the Oscar Doesn't Go To Award for Overacting. It's just a small moment.

This is when an actor just dials it up to an 11 and isn't necessary. It's when Jeremy Piven is freaking out at the party and about the keys or whatever he's yelling about. And that's the moment when Lloyd has to say, you must chill. You must chill. But Piven dials that way up to 11. Other than that, I felt like everybody was really grounded

and totally believable. That was the moment where I thought, okay, dial it down there, Jeremy. Yeah, I would have to say I agree. I totally agree. The first time was really funny and then it was a little much. But I still, again, I appreciated there was these characters in the 90s movies that like, I don't know, what was the movie? Another John Cusack movie where there was this kid that was running

around asking John Cusack's character, I think it's One Crazy Summer for $2. The kid would just be on a fight. Oh, my $2. $2. Yes. I forget the name of it, but I know exactly what you mean. Is it One Crazy Summer? I think forget the name of it, but I know exactly what you mean. Is it One Crazy Summer?

It might not be. I think it's a different name, but I know exactly the movie. Better Off Dead. Thank you. Nailed it. Yes. Better Off Dead. And it was, it's just these random little moments, and I think that this was one of

them. It really made me think like, oh, this is that those quirky moments, these quirky characters that just have a presence for like 15 seconds and then they're gone. Right. The genre swap award for possible other names for this movie if it was remade in different genres. Let me throw a couple ideas at you. Okay. Horror movie. I know you said anything last summer.

Yes. Or Nightmare on Dobler Street. Oh, that's a good one. I wouldn't mind seeing that. Or Cinemax After Dark, Lay Anything? Oh. Starring Deep Lloyd. Oh goodness, you went there.

Mine for the cinemax after dark was moan anything. Ooh, there you go. There you go. Terrible, terrible. Oh my goodness. All right. Next, the tear jerking trophy. I think we already talked about this,

the moment that really got your heart. Well, maybe you have another one for this. For me, it was that sweet little non-kiss hug at the end of their first date that we already talked about. That teared me up a little bit. And then just the moment when they're holding hands and about to fly off into the great unknown in the airplane in the very last scene, that got me. I didn't actually choke up, but I could feel the heartstrings being tugged.

What moment tugged most of your heartstrings? The moment where after she breaks up with him and she hands him the pen. Oh, of course. It's raining once again so it was really juxtaposing the kiss in the rain for me. He's on the phone with his sister in the phone booth and he says, she gave me a pen. I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen. Even now, I'm affected by that. It was tear-jerker. I felt so bad for him.

It was such a beautiful... It takes you back to whoever your first breakup was, the first time you were broken up with. For me it was Angie in college and I remember I just slept on a cot in my apartment for two weeks, never talking to anybody thinking, well, life is over for me. I'll never find love again. And come to think of it, yeah, that's probably how Lloyd felt. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

Happily ever after or happily never after? In other words, what's the over-under on how long these two last? They're so young. I mean, they're going off to London, so I suppose it'll last as long as she's there in London. But I can't see it going more than the duration of her... 20s?

Yeah. Basically, as long as they're in London, they have a shop, but they're basically each other's first loves, so they're going to look back at each other as each other's first true loves, but I think it's got six months max. Oh, six months. Wow. Okay, I'll keep it till the end of their 20s. It's got six months max. Oh, six months. Wow. Okay. I'll keep it till like the end of their 20s.

Man. Ooh. You really think there's a longer term chance? Yeah. Well, I mean, I don't know. I'm a believer in that in your 20s, you should go out and date as much as you can and get that out of your system, kiss a frog or two. And then in your 30s, that's when you can start really thinking about marriage and stuff like that.

So I gave him just a little more than, I mean, a lot more than you did, but I think he would want to marry her. But I think she would eventually get bored. Okay. You know, I don't know. But you know what, but there's another moment in the movie where, and I forget the exact quote, but he basically says, no matter what happens, I had the time with her I had. And I feel like he's always going to have Diane Court as something to feel confident about. I tell my clients that.

If it ends with a woman you were really into, I try to encourage them to say, okay, well, she wasn't the one long term, but that means you're capable of a wonderful woman in your life and it won't be her maybe forever, but that means you can find somebody fantastic. Hopefully, if... I think Diane will end it with Lloyd eventually and Lloyd is smart enough and resilient enough to say okay this happened for me not to me let me find somebody who's even better for me. Agreed. That's my hope anyway.

Two final categories. The Grand Gesture Award. Here's my question for you about this. Since we already pretty much talked about the boombox moment, this iconic grand gesture that's arguably more famous than the movie itself. If you, back your younger self, your younger single self, if a man was standing outside of your home with a boombox, what song would you want him to be playing? With the boombox. Mm-hmm. Oh Man or would you prefer it to be you mentioned the the trio of singers, right?

That's really I mean not that I prefer it. But what I mean any any uh, I used to be into R&B a lot okay, any any I used to be into R&B a lot. Okay, and so I Don't it's so R&B love songs back then like Keith sweat, you know Johnny, yeah. Okay any of those really? romantic songs that they sang Would really Tug at my heartstrings

Because just it's so nostalgic for me. But so any of those songs on a boombox would be fun. Great, I love it. For me, if a woman were ever gonna do that to me, I'm a musical theater nerd. So give me suddenly Seymour. Okay, you're so funny. I'm a sucker for musical theater.

Okay, last category, last big question. You're so funny. I'm a sucker for musical theater. Last category, last big question. What is this movie's biggest love lesson? I thought about this as I was watching it. And to me, this movie just hit me in the strongest way, like a sledgehammer in a great way, when Lily Taylor's Corey says to Lloyd, so Diana's broken up with him and he's upset and he's trying to decide how to play it. Should I do this? Should I do that? Should I play it cool? And Lily Taylor just

says something so powerful. She says, look, the world is full of guys. Don't be a guy. Be a man. Basically, she's saying to him, she's dealing with is full of guys. Don't be a guy. Be a man. Basically, she's saying to him, you know, she's dealing with a lot of stuff, her dad's issues with the law, empathy, give her space. Don't play games, just be a man, not a guy. And I thought, oh my God, what an amazing lesson from this movie.

Be a man, not a guy. That was my biggest love lesson. What are you talking about? Why do you have to be like this? Because I'm a guy, I have pride. You're not a guy. That's that was my biggest love lesson. Yeah, no, I love that. I didn't even think of that. I feel like, you know, in the beginning scene they say, they're having that conversation and then they're like, he's like, they discuss like, what's a scam? It was like, Lloyd says, what's a scam? Corey says, going out as friends.

DC says, no, it's not a scam is lusting. And then, Lloyd and Corey say, then what's a date? Prearranged with the possibility for love. And then Lloyd and Corey say, then what's a date prearranged with the possibility for love? And then Corey says, Well, then what's love? So I feel like there's a whole movie. Answers just that. And for me, it's like, when it comes to love, you just have to take a chance. You know, and to what you're saying, I think with Lloyd, it was, even if it was 16 weeks, he was willing to be with her,

and that was his sole purpose, and then he'd worry about past the 16 weeks when it came. Right. Well, the cliche, it's a cliche, but I think it's true, better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Right. Well, the cliché, it's a cliché, but I think it's true, better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. And he will always have had her in his life and vice versa if it doesn't last long term. And hey, by now he's probably a champion kickboxer with some of wiping kids. Yeah.

Wonderful. Christina, thank you so much for being here. This was a blast. This was such a blast. Well, thank you for having me. And I want to let everybody know that Say a Little Prayer is coming out on Amazon Prime and Apple TV on Valentine's Day. And so it could be a Galentine's

or a Valentine's Day event for you. But please enjoy it. It's directed by Patrick Perez Vidauri, written by Nancy de los Santos and led produced by yours truly. And the very funny Chris Catan isn't it? Oh my gosh. SNL fame.

He's great. Chris Catan and Tatanka Means. Mm-hmm. We have telenovela royalty, Angelica Maria. Yeah. For those of you out there whose parents watched telenovelas growing up. Okay.

Yeah. And there's just, again, there's so many moments in the movie that are just fun and charming and sweet. And also, again, as a man who coaches men and dating, there's lots of little tips that are sort of buried in the movie. How to start a conversation with a woman in an art museum. Or say a little prayer. There's an actual prayer that they say to St. Anthony and this is how they all find love. So when in doubt, light a candle.

And what's next for you in movies? Any projects you can tell us about that are coming down the road, down the road a ways? Yeah. So currently I'm writing a horror. Yeah, we're I'm gonna deliver that and then I wrote a romantic comedy. It's a teen comedy and actually I really have John Cusack in mind and Molly Ringwald and so that is something that we're going to try to get funding for this year and package. But I wrote a teen comedy that harkens back to the 90s, the movies of the

90s. So that's how my focus will be this year. Count me in. Well, Christina Nava, thank you so much for being on the How to Get a Girlfriend podcast talking about one of your favorite rom-coms. Thank you for listening, by the way. I know you have a million podcasts out there you can be listening to. Thanks for spending some time today with Christina and myself. And don't forget, just like Lloyd Dobler learned with Diane Court, your dream girlfriend, she's out there and she's going to love you, but she's going to have to meet the real, authentic

you. So go out there, take those romantic risks like Lloyd had to take and be authentic and Carpe Datum sees the date. Until next time.