# Romantic Comedy

By Curtis Sittenfeld

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/romantic-comedy-aa90a37d/

Sally Milz writes for The Night Owls, a live Saturday-night comedy show. She has built a sketch around the idea that ordinary-looking male colleagues date glamorous stars while women never get the same chance. Then pop singer Noah Brewster arrives to host, and their collaboration unsettles her theory.

## What makes it funny?

Sally turns her frustration with a colleague’s celebrity romance into the Danny Horst Rule. The opening also takes readers into the less glamorous business of comedy, where a crowded pitch meeting puts much of the staff on the floor.

### The comedy at work

Sally can spot the social rules governing everyone else’s romantic lives while doubting her own prospects. Her jokes about attractiveness and fame become awkwardly personal when she likes Noah.

### Try this if…

For readers drawn to workplace detail, a guarded woman’s inner commentary and a romance that asks who gets to be considered desirable.

### Good to know

The story moves from television production in 2018 into the COVID-19 shutdown. Kirkus praised its social observations but found the relationship’s resolution quick.

## What to expect

- Genre: Contemporary & literary · Romance
- On the shelf: Romantic comedy
- Kind of humor: Satire · Situational comedy
- Format: Novel

## Sources & further reading

- Review: [Kirkus review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/curtis-sittenfeld/romantic-comedy)
- Reading sample: [Opening excerpt](https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/romantic-comedy/excerpt)
- Author commentary: [Author](https://curtissittenfeld.com/books/romantic-comedy)