It’s Kris’s birthday today! Happy Birthday, Kris. (How old is she? She’ll never tell.) This birthday episode is special in more ways than one. Our hosts compare war stories over driver’s license photos and Kris discovers Tara’s “sexy angry” face from the distant past.
Then it’s time for the *check notes* ONE official recommendation? That’s right, folks, there’s only one official recommendation today and it’s The Devil Wears Prada 2. The original film still has a thriving fanfic community, which is very important personally to Tara. Dive in with them as they discuss the original film’s legacy, the new movie, and all the fun they had.
Works/People Discussed
- Million Dollar Secret (Netflix)
- Survivor (CBS)
- Project Hail Mary (2026)
- Love is a Contact Sport by Frederick Smith
- Summer Official by Rebekah Weatherspoon
- The Long Con by Jenna Voris
- The Duke by Anna Cowan
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>> Kris Bryant: Hello, everyone. Welcome to Queerly Recommended, the podcast where we recommend queer books, films, TV shows, and more. I’m Kris Bryant, a contemporary romance writer for Bold Strokes Books. And this week I’m recommending a recently released film.
>> Tara Scott: And I’m Tara Scott. I review sapphic fiction at the Lesbian Review and Smart Bitches Trashy Books. And this week, I’m also recommending a recently released film. M. Kris.
Yes, it’s a special day.
>> Kris Bryant: Today is.
>> Tara Scott: By which I mean the day that this episode is dropping and not the day that we are recording.
>> Kris Bryant: Right. Today is May 12th. It is my birthday. Happy birthday. It’s my birthday.
>> Tara Scott: Do you have any plans?
>> Kris Bryant: yes. My sister is, taking me out. Nice to know. I’m just kidding.
>> Tara Scott: Are you doing a casino date?
>> Kris Bryant: We are. We’re going to do. We’re going to. Okay. So this really great, little, tiny. I don’t even know what to call it. It’s. It’s not a Mexican restaurant, but it’s also not. It’s. It’s. It’s one of those little hole in the wall type places where you can get anything. Like, I can get a taco, or I can get a pocket burger, or I can get, like, fried vegetables. It’s like a M. It’s. It’s very interesting. And we love it. My sister and I love it. And the restaurant by our. Where we grew up, a car ran through the whole restaurant, and so.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, my God.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. So they were out of. Out of business for a really long time. And they just recently reopened. And so my sister’s like, all right, I’m taking to lunch there. So we’re gonna go there and have lunch and.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: And then it’s casino day, so I’m taking half a day. I have to work in the morning, but then in the afternoon I can just let loose. And then we’re having dinner at my sister’s house. And my dad’s gonna come by and love that. We’re just gonna have fun. We’re gonna have cake. I actually ordered my own birthday cake. I picked it out. I didn’t order it. I picked out everything because there’s a fantastic bakery here. I mean, everybody has a great bakery, but you got to pick, you know, the type of cake flavor. So I picked almond cake.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, right.
>> Kris Bryant: That’s gonna be rich. And I got. And I have, like, purple buttercream frosting.
>> Tara Scott: Very nice.
>> Kris Bryant: And then the letters are white and they have, like, little. It was like a sprinkles cake or something. So it has sprinkles on it, but it’s like a three tiered, serves six to eight people. It’s perfect.
>> Tara Scott: That sounds delicious and amazing. And if you want to celebrate Kris’s birthday, then I think you should leave a review of one of her books.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, thank you.
>> Tara Scott: Or if there’s a book that you haven’t read yet, maybe. Yes, pick it up, check it out, and then leave a review of that one.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes, review for my birthday. Whether it’s my book or somebody else’s, that’s all I ask for.
>> Tara Scott: But even better, if it’s one of
>> Kris Bryant: Chris’s, it’s even better.
>> Tara Scott: Right, Fine, fine. Review your favorite book that you’ve read recently that you haven’t reviewed yet. Or review one of Kris. Exactly.
>> Kris Bryant: Preferably mine. But I’m not greedy. I like to share with everybody. You know, this is a small community and we have to support each other.
>> Tara Scott: So, m. So, all right, what else is going on with you?
>> Kris Bryant: okay, so because, because I have a birthday, my license expires. So. Okay, it depends on how old you are. But like, you get it for either like 8 years or 10 years or, you know, if you’re, you get one at 16, then you get one at 18, you get one at 21, and then you don’t get one for a while. I have, without a doubt, have taken the worst driver’s license pictures in my. I can’t even tell you how bad they are. One year I had one good driver’s license picture and I loved it. I think it was when I was 21. It was. I love that, picture so much. But every single one of them have been hideous. I. We talked about my passport pictures, how bad they are. I am just not a photogenic person at all. I just, I can’t even begin to tell you how poorly I take pictures. It’s awful. So I have to go. I had to get it done today because I go to the dermatologist tomorrow.
>> Tara Scott: Okay.
>> Kris Bryant: They’re going to be doing things on my face and I don’t want to go get my picture taken after that. Yeah. And it expires, so I’m just like, okay, I have no choice, but I have to go today. Today.
>> Kris Bryant: Okay. So I had to get the real id. And you’re like, what’s that? So the real ID is where you have to like pretty much give them your first child and everything because they need, they need your Social Security, your passport, your proof of residency, all this stuff. So that way you can travel with that ID across the country. And you don’t need a passport. So I have been traveling with my passport, but I think, you know, if I just go up to, like, Chicago or when I do gcls, I can just use my real ID now instead of, like, worrying about my passport and where to put. Why can’t.
>> Tara Scott: Why can’t you just use your driver’s license? Like, I can, If I need my ID for something in another province here, I can use my driver’s license.
>> Kris Bryant: I’m sure it has something to do with faking IDs, identification, things like that, because it has, like, certain, like, holograms and stars and gold stuff now.
>> Tara Scott: Feels like a scam to me. So they can make you pay more
>> Kris Bryant: money, but I paid more money.
>> Tara Scott: do you have to pay for real id?
>> Kris Bryant: You have to pay for a driver’s license, too?
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, but I’m saying. Yeah, that’s what I mean. Like, you’re all. You already have to pay for a driver’s license. So I was. Is there an additional fee?
>> Kris Bryant: I don’t think so.
>> Tara Scott: Reality.
>> Kris Bryant: It’s been so long since I had the last one. It was $34 for the next 10 years of my life, so I don’t want that.
>> Tara Scott: Okay, fair enough.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, so, yeah, I don’t know. So anyway, so she’s like, okay, smile. Which is weird because most people don’t smile in pictures. So I’m like, all right, I’ll smile.
>> Tara Scott: Hey, not for a driver’s license.
>> Kris Bryant: I thought they tell you not to.
>> Tara Scott: Is that a Canadian thing, too?
>> Kris Bryant: no.
>> Tara Scott: Smiling on drivers.
>> Kris Bryant: They tell you not to. And so she’s smart, so, like, smile. So.
So then I get the piece of paper, and I don’t look at it because, again, I take the worst pictures, and I don’t want to see it because I know it’s bad. It was horrible. Here’s why. My whole face takes up the whole picture. It’s like it’s my whole face. And then so. And then there’s, like, a light shining down on top of my head. Kind of like. See, when you have lights above, it looks bald right here.
>> Tara Scott: She didn’t think that was a problem.
>> Kris Bryant: I think. I truly think the DMVs have a game on who can take the worst picture of somebody and they submit it into some pool, and they all put X amount of dollars in. And, like, maybe once a month, they pick out the worst pictures. And I feel like mine is somewhere in these games that the DMV plays.
>> Tara Scott: Well, if they do that, I feel like they should pay you out of the pool. As well. It should be whoever took the photo and whoever the photo was of so that you at least get something back for being treated so badly.
>> Kris Bryant: Well, and here’s the thing. I didn’t see the color version. I just saw the black and white photo. That’s what I carry around until I get the actual thing.
>> Tara Scott: Mm.
>> Kris Bryant: It just looks like I have this massive, like, bald spot right here because the light is so bright. So, like, right in here, it just looks like I don’t have hair. So I’m like, are you kidding me? It was funny. I showed people at work, and they’re laughing their asses off. They’re like, you can go to have the taken again. Like, go have it taken again. I said, well, if it’s really bad, then I will. Like, I need to see the color version.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, man. I still have my. So here, you’re supposed to renew it every five years, and this time they let me renew it online with an option to just keep the same photo. And so I have my. I have the photo that was taken during the pandemic. And it, like, it’s not an amazing photo. It’s not brutal, but it is from that, year or two, when I shaved my head instead of going to my stylist. I. I only had, like, one really, really great photo, and it was my learner’s permit. Did I ever show you that?
>> Kris Bryant: No.
>> Tara Scott: I look like a hair model. I. I’m going to get. Actually going to get the photo for you because it’s one of those, like, unbelievable. I was 16.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: I was smizing when smizing wasn’t even a word and I didn’t know how. Yes. Here we go.
>> Kris Bryant: Okay, let’s see. Holy. Holy. Wow. Right? Look at that.
>> Tara Scott: Incredible. Do I look in that, photo?
>> Kris Bryant: That’s amazing.
>> Tara Scott: It’s.
>> Kris Bryant: I.
>> Tara Scott: It might be the best photo. Photo ever taken of me. It’s certainly one of them.
>> Kris Bryant: Almost. Okay, so it almost looks like you’re from, like, a, 70s. Oh, I don’t want to say that. Cancel. Scratch that. Okay. Can I just tell you so we can erase this later?
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: It kind of looks like you, like, on a. On a FBI’s most wanted list or like, a terrorist group list. Like, Munich, 1972. Now the sexy, like, mean, badass bitch.
>> Tara Scott: I think it looks like a, like from an old Clairol ad.
>> Kris Bryant: No, I like mine better. I think, like, if I were to see this, I’d be like, oh, it’s like, you know how those people who,
>> Tara Scott: like, if I were in Ocean’s Eight, if I remember those.
>> Kris Bryant: Something like that. You could be Ocean’s 8. You could have been a bad girl turned good, slash Ocean’s Eight type person.
>> Tara Scott: I was a good old church girl at the time.
>> Kris Bryant: This does not like you were angry in this picture, but it’s sexy angry. It’s not like. It’s like, I know who I am. I’m learning myself. This is that picture.
>> Tara Scott: Such a smirk.
>> Kris Bryant: It is. That’s hilarious. I love it. I absolutely Love it.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. 16.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
Oh, 16.
>> Tara Scott: We knew everything about everything about it.
>> Kris Bryant: We did. We did. Hands down.
>> Kris Bryant: Mine, I don’t even know where any of my driver’s license. So I think I told you this picture. The. The story of my passport picture.
>> Tara Scott: Maybe. I don’t remember though.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, my passport picture was so terrible because she didn’t even tell me where to look. So I’m looking off and it was so bad that I think it was when I was coming back in from Ireland. Like, the dude takes my passport and leaves the booth and he goes next door and he shows the guy my picture and they’re laughing. That’s how bad it was. I’m not even lying about it. I’m not. It’s. It is. I was so glad to get a new passport. And that picture is bad, but it wasn’t like, it was not terrible. Like, my last one. Like, to have somebody, like, literally stop customs and go show somebody. Like, I’m in so many pools out there at passport photos.
>> Tara Scott: Uh-huh.
>> Kris Bryant: Driver’s license pictures. I am in that. That is. That is happening in my life. Yes. So, yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Wow.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. So that’s enough about my life.
What about you? What’s new going on with you? What’s happening?
>> Tara Scott: Things are good. Except we had. Our oldest came home from school last Wednesday and fell asleep on the couch. And I was like, oh, that’s not something you do. and then the next morning was like, I have a really sore throat. And then was just like, sick, sick, sick. And so all weekend, Neil and I were like, am I getting sick? Are you getting sick? Are you getting sick? Am m I getting sick? So we’re recording this on Tuesday, May 5th. And yesterday morning, I woke up with a migraine and I had had like, a rotten sleep kind of the night before. And so I just. Neil gets the kids up for school and, like, he gets them up and gets them ready for school and all that.
>> Kris Bryant: And.
>> Tara Scott: And so I just texted him to say, hey, Don, that, you know, kid One knock on my door. Because they like to knock on the door and come in and hug me or whatever in the morning. But I just wanted to sleep because I was. Because my sleep was so bad. And he said, okay. Also, I woke up at 3am with chills and body aches and fever. And I was like, oh, so he’s been. He was in bed all day yesterday, all day today, the poor dogs. This is where. Honestly, this is again where I’m. So it’s for the best that we sleep in separate rooms. And we have since the first year we were married when I almost murdered him sharing a bed with them because I’m such a light sleeper and he’s not.
>> Kris Bryant: I love that.
>> Tara Scott: But it does mean that I saw Henry, our little guy, sat outside his door for nine or ten hours yesterday, just would occasionally lay down, but stayed, like, within three inches of that door waiting for his dad. It was the sweetest. And so now I’m kind of doing the. I’m back in the. Like, Am I getting sick? I don’t know. I don’t think I am. Am I. Could it be allergies? What’s happening? Am I gonna get sick?
>> Kris Bryant: Hate that. When you do that, swallow and you’re like, oh, my God, my throat hurts.
>> Tara Scott: I hate that.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes, truly.
>> Tara Scott: it’s like the anxiety induced. Yes. Am I sick? Do I have anxiety? Could it be allergies? It is may. Like, who can say any. So crossing all my fingers and toes, and when I’m deciding what to do next at work, the last two days has just been like, okay, what do I want to make sure I get done in case I have to take three days off? Because, like, watching the two of them, it does not appear to be the kind of virus that you can work through.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Because you’re going to sleep all day. So, I filled out my self evaluation for my performance review yesterday to make sure that got done.
>> Kris Bryant: That’s so weird to me.
>> Tara Scott: Self evaluations, I hate them. I’ve had. I don’t know if I’ve had to do them at every.
>> Kris Bryant: That’s so weird.
>> Tara Scott: But I’ve had to do them for the last decade for sure. I don’t remember jobs before that. They don’t.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. You know, I work for a small company. We don’t have to do that. Thank God.
>> Tara Scott: I mean, I know. No, no, no, no. So I. I lead a small team. I have two people who report to me that are awesome. And so I have to evaluate myself. I have to do the two of Them, of course. And I have to evaluate my boss.
>> Kris Bryant: Damn.
>> Tara Scott: Mm. So I got to do four.
>> Kris Bryant: Nobody would want me to evaluate them.
>> Tara Scott: Come on, Kris, evaluate me.
>> Kris Bryant: Go for it.
>> Tara Scott: How am I as a podcast part?
Well, you’re still here, so it’s.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes. Yeah. So I feel like my boss would hate that because he hates reviewing me. I’m like, I. They saved me for last because I’m a handful. Mm.
>> Kris Bryant: So, yeah. Ah, it’s not good.
>> Tara Scott: Well, I’ve had my current boss for a month, so we’ll see how it goes.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, yeah. So my current boss used to come in during high school and scan during the summers. It’s the boss, the owner’s son, he’s taking over. So, you know, so he’s. He’s been around for a while. But I remember when he used to come in when he was in high school and scan some paperwork all summer. He would just sit there and scan. Scan.
>> Tara Scott: That sounds, boring. Exactly the kind of work you get a high schooler to do. Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: And. And he probably got paid well too. So, I mean, if I was that age and got paid a bunch of money. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Tara Scott: All right, Kris, what have you been watching or reading lately?
>> Kris Bryant: Okay, so I like, blew through, a show called the Millionaire. And it’s very similar to the Traders, but just normal people, not celebrities. Just your average.
>> Tara Scott: Okay.
>> Kris Bryant: Like 10 people. And I really liked it. it was entertaining. The person who won, I didn’t mind it. And it wasn’t these. I feel like these people, maybe a couple, were maybe in it to get famous, but I feel like a lot of them really into the game because they’re trying to figure out who the Millionaire is. And it was nice. It wasn’t stressful. it was kind of a nice, easy, I really don’t care who wins type show because it was entertaining.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: So that I get that. But it’s over and I’m still watching Survivor. Like, we’re down to like the last seven or so people, which means it’ll be done by the end of May. So they’ll knock out two or three people per episode until it’s done. So I’m sure before June 1st it’ll be over. And I went to see the movie Project Hail Mary.
>> Tara Scott: How did you like it?
>> Kris Bryant: So good. I absolutely loved it. Loved it. I thought it was so great, so clever. And I love the ending. And I cried and cried and it was good tears, good tears.
>> Kris Bryant: But it was so cool because the hero was exactly who you wanted a hero to be like, who didn’t want to be hero? Was absolutely like, I do not want to do this. This is not what I want to do with my life. You know, basically Earth is dying and they need to figure out how to save Earth.
>> Kris Bryant: How they get him in space and how he, works through a bunch of problems. It was actually really good. And I called my dad and he had read the book and I was like, wow. Like dad. Because he’s really into science fiction right now. And he’s like, m. Yeah. I was hoping it was going to be a really good movie. So I said, I already saw it. It was really good. And he was jealous.
>> Tara Scott: Neil really enjoyed it too.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, it was a really good movie. I liked it. And then I started a book. Shut up. I know, right?
>> Tara Scott: Hey, congratulations.
>> Kris Bryant: I know. So I started Love as Contact Sport by Frederick Smith. And I love him.
>> Tara Scott: Friend of the pod, Frederick Smith. If you haven’t listened, there was an interview with him a while back, quite a while back. But he is just like one of the loveliest people to speak to. And he’s a great author. Yes.
>> Kris Bryant: I’m enjoying his book. And so I’m thinking that this might become an official recommendation. So I don’t want to say too much, but. Okay, I will say this.
>> Tara Scott: Okay.
>> Kris Bryant: University of Missouri.
>> Kris Bryant: Yay. Mizzou. So he got his, degree in journalism. My degree is in creative writing. I did not know the connection. I did not know that we had. We shared that because as I was reading it, I was like, there’s a lot about Missouri in this book. Like what? Not a lot, but I mean, it references a couple times. And I was like, okay. All right. So then I did some research. I was like, oh, oh, tiger.
>> Tara Scott: So very cool.
>> Kris Bryant: yeah, so I was really excited about that. Yeah. So that’s what I’m doing. And I’m. I’m reading this time, which is great. And I also picked up a, a book at a thrift store. So I’m gonna start that at some point when I’m done with her. Okay.
>> Tara Scott: So that sounds fun.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. so that’s what I’ve been doing. What about you? What are you reading? Watching, Playing.
>> Tara Scott: All right, I’ve been reading. So I haven’t been.
I put my Nintendo down and just haven’t picked it up in a while. I know I was playing it consistently for probably two years or something like that. I think the blessing and the curse of the game Final Fantasy Tactics, is that it’s so Easy to put down. Like it’s very put downable. It’s before games were super addicted and yes, I have all these other games that I could play but I’ve really been back into reading and reading books and I’ve been really enjoying it. And I’m still reading fanfic too but like on average I’m reading kind of between episodes. I’m probably reading two to three books and then two to three book length fanfics. So it’s just amazing. I know it’s been so good and I think it also helps just giving my eyeballs breaks from screens.
So the first one that I read is the. It’s the latest from Rebekah Weatherspoon. It’s called Summer Official. This is one of her traditionally published books. Mild disclaimer I edit. I’ve been editing her self published books for the last decade so I am not an unbiased reader. But I enjoyed this one and the dedication is actually to me which was like such a sweet and lovely surprise. I know. How wonderful is that? Such a lovely surprise. So Summer Official has two side characters from her Good side, which is another traditionally published ya. So this is a YA story and so in that book it had a boy and a girl get together and in this book it’s their best friends. So Sailor and Heaven, they’re both biracial, they’re very, very different from each other. So Sailor has a, I believe has a black dad and a white mom. She’s super like, she’s really bubbly, she’s a sports girl. she’s always had a boyfriend except she, you know, recently came out as a lesbian. She’s going to basketball camp. Like she’s kind of excited. Heaven, she’s an artist. She’s very grumpy. She’s a little bit, you know, all black wardrobe. You know, skater girl, wants to be a tattoo artist when she’s a little bit older, which is exciting. And so Jacob, her best friend who’s from the first book, his parents own a tattoo shop and they’ve kind of agreed to mentor her and do the, do the apprentice thing. So Sailor is at basketball camp and her mom puts out a viral video because her mom is an influencer, online and she’s one of those family influencers. So all of her content is about the family and has been, you know, some of those ones where it’s like white mom with black kids.
>> Tara Scott: And we’re going to do their hair and we’re going to do all these things Right. But she does this, like, 10 minutes crying video about her daughter recently coming out to her as a lesbian. No warning. And this is all, like, part of the setup. And so it’s like, it’s not. It’s. I’m giving you a little more than what’s in the blurb, but I think it just, like, it sets it up so well. And so Sailor’s really distracted when she’s, like, actually on the court, and she breaks her arm, so she has to go home because obviously she’s not gonna be. And so she’s like, oh, I don’t want to be at home with my mom making content all the time. Meanwhile, Heaven, her dad, creates her this, like, summer bingo thing to do every summer. So it’s like, look, you need activities. You have to, you know. And he does the activities around helping her build confidence and skills. And some of it is just, like, doing things that are fun, but it’s just a. You know, like, it’s.
>> Kris Bryant: It’s.
>> Tara Scott: I love Heaven’s parents. Also, for me, they’re the MVPs of the story. They’re like, oh, my God, I love them as much as I hate Sailor’s mother. And so they kind of, like, run into each other at the grocery store, I think, with their parents or something. And Sailor goes to Heaven and is like, look, I need to do this bingo with you. I know we’re not friends. I know you don’t really like me, but, like, I need to not be in the house with my mother. Please, please, please let me do this with you. I can help you get your social media presence going to get you ready for when you’re apprenticing as a tattoo artist. And here’s the thing. Sailor has had a crush on Heaven for a while and has been afraid to say it. And Heaven hasn’t thought of her that way before, but she also thought that Sailor was straight. And so learning that she’s not straight and spending time with her, even though she is much more, like, quiet and not confident and that kind of thing, they maybe start to, have that little bit of a mutual crush. This book is so, so cute. It’s so cute. I really enjoyed it. I think I read the whole book in a day. It’s a lovely, quick, fun summer read. If, you know somebody is looking for a YA book for, like, a kid in their life but is concerned about, like, sex scenes because it’s kind of like, you never know with YA books. Some have sex don’t. This one does not have any sex at All. So if that’s like, I think it can go to, like, even like, a precocious younger kid who wants to read ahead. And I said I hated Sailor’s mom. And I think it’s just, like, because I’m a parent with kids that are of similar ages to her kids. It was so wild to me, like, seeing the way when you’re a family influencer like that, and when you’re making content about your kids, you’ve effectively turned them into your co workers. Or your employees. And that was really gross. But I. I did appreciate how we got to see Sailor’s perspective on that and. And how, like, it really did bother her in a lot of ways and in a lot of really understandable ways. and I also really. I think one of the best things for me was seeing how much more confident Heaven got as they worked through this bingo together. Because she learned, like, it’s not as scary to go out and talk to people or go check out new things or whatever. It just. It was lovely. This is a really cute one, M, that I think is worth checking out.
>> Kris Bryant: That sounds cute.
>> Tara Scott: And then I read one called the Long Con by Jenna Voris, and I’m gonna do something that I don’t usually do, and I’m gonna actually read the blurb verbatim.
>> Kris Bryant: Okay.
>> Tara Scott: M. I typically make up my own description when I talk about books on here, but I’m doing it on purpose because I think it’s important.
So. Nothing brings Chloe Bly more joy than swindling rich people out of their money. Ever since her mother’s funeral, she’s used her hotel catering job to slip into people’s rooms, pawn their valuables, and use the hall to pay off her family’s medical debt. It’s a perfect system until she finally gets caught. But instead of turning her in the eccentric billionaire hotel owner as an aside, he actually owns the hotel where she works. But the eccentric billionaire hotel owner wants to hire Chloe for a job. The con is simple. Infiltrate his rival’s new luxury hotel. Pure opulence from its lavish suites to its guests, attire accessible only via yacht. Steal back his missing Hotel Excellence award, and get away clean at stake enough money to offer Chloe a way out of debt, out of Miami, and away from her problems forever. And this is the part why I wanted to read it verbatim. The only problem is that Chloe won’t be working alone. Instead, she must team up with Harper Parisi, the disgustingly wealthy, frustratingly gorgeous con woman who’s been crashing Chloe’s jobs all year. Suspicious about why Harper would risk it all for the billionaire’s scheme, Chloe doesn’t trust her or the complicated feelings she sparks. With time running out and millions of dollars on the line, Chloe must get in and out without letting her emotions sabotage her chances of getting rich or getting even. So I enjoyed this one a lot. It’s not my usual fare, but I went to Goodreads and I noticed the reviews are very, very mixed on this one. And I think it’s because the blurb makes it sound like a romance. Like especially that last paragraph about Chloe and Harper. Like it sounds like it’s an enemies to lovers romance.
>> Kris Bryant: Right. It does.
>> Tara Scott: this book is not a romance novel. It’s a heist thriller. And so I also saw people were commenting about how, like, the characters don’t change, like they don’t have big character arcs. And again, I think that comes down to if you think you’re reading a romance novel, I can’t think of many or any where at least one of the character doesn’t have a massive shift in who they are from the beginning to who they are at the end. Because romance novels, they always end up having some kind of transformation for at least one of the characters. But again, if it’s a heist thriller, it’s about, do they pull off the heist or not? And can they, like, how do they go about it? Are there any other twists or mysteries at play? So the long con is absolutely. It is sapphic. Harper and Chloe have some really interesting chemistry, but I kind of think the blurb does it a big disservice. Yeah. Kris.
>> Kris Bryant: I would like to add that the genre on Amazon says contemporary women’s fiction. But then when you go down and they have, you know how they pull like, they pull in bullet and bold. Yeah. What am I trying to say? Like, reviews. And this one here. So this one says two rival con women team up on a high stakes heist at Miami’s most exclusive new island resort and the sultry slow burn thriller. So the slow.
>> Tara Scott: Right.
>> Kris Bryant: Tells me that that’s a romance.
>> Tara Scott: Right.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, that probably needs to be edited
>> Tara Scott: then I will say,
>> Kris Bryant: is there any smooching?
>> Tara Scott: Yes.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, well, okay. Okay.
>> Tara Scott: There is a. The ending is open to interpretation. I m choose to read it in an optimistic way.
>> Kris Bryant: Okay.
>> Tara Scott: For the two of them. But it is very open to interpretation. And so I just think, honestly, I think it’s. I think it’s a bit of a shame that the blurb makes it sound like a romance novel when for what it is. Like, I actually think it’s a really fun book. Like, it’s a super fun, super interesting, really quick read again. Like, I couldn’t put it down. Just if you’re going to read it, don’t expect it to be a typical romance novel, because it’s absolutely not.
>> Kris Bryant: Women’s fiction.
>> Tara Scott: Women’s fiction.
>> Kris Bryant: Women’s fiction.
>> Tara Scott: And then the other book that I’ve started, this one is a historical romance. It’s called the Duke by Anna Cowan. This one was released quite recently. The interesting thing with this one is that. So it’s set during the time of the French Revolution with a little bit like the. The first chapter is set in. In Paris. The rest of it, I believe is all going to be in England. But the idea is that women can be dukes too, and they can marry other women. Why not?
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. okay.
>> Tara Scott: Why not? So Kate is the Duke of Howard. Everybody knows her as this, like, terrible autocrat. Don’t cross her. She’s horrible. She’s there in that sort of first chapter in France. She stops in to visit a friend who she knows is about to go to the guillotine.
>> Kris Bryant: Ah.
>> Tara Scott: yeah. Well, I mean, it’s the French Revolution, right? Lots of people went to the guillotine. Unfortunately, so did this guy. But she’s there looking for a letter that she sent him when she was, I don’t know, 12 or something, where she admits to having committed treason when she was a kid. So she’s there thinking, like, I just have to get. I have to get this letter and then it’ll be okay. And the chapter is mostly told. It actually starts out from the perspective of the other woman, whose name is Celine, and she is his courtesan, and she’s very beautiful, and she’s kind of at the, like, top of the game as a courtesan. And then somebody tells her there that, like, hey, by the way, your dudes go into the guillotine, you’re gonna be fucked. And she’s like, what? And so she’s like, how do I survive? What do I do? What do I do? And that same night, her. What do you call them, man? I guess the person that sort of kind of belongs to, he says, hey, the Duke of Howard’s coming next week, and I’m going to, like. I want you to show her a good time. And so she’s like, okay. Thinking to herself, you’re going to be dead, and what am I going to do? And so she goes into his office to try to see if there’s something that she can find or something that can, like, help herself survive. And meets the Duke of Howard and is like, oh, he was going to give me to you. And so they have this, like, one kind of incredible night. Kate gives her a ring. The next morning, leaves. Three years later, Celine shows up at the Duke’s home, not in the best of shape because it’s been a rough three years. And she’s like, hey, I found a letter about you.
>> Kris Bryant: Ah.
>> Tara Scott: you want to see it? And of course, you know, the Duke throws it into the fire, but she has other copies. And so she says, you’re gonna find me a husband or I’m gonna hand this over. And so that’s kind of the. The, like, where it goes from there. Kate doesn’t really have a choice because she doesn’t want to deal with treason and. Fair enough. And so I guess they’re going to find love along the way somehow. Okay, I’m not super far in this one. Like, I’m a few chapters into. Basically, I’ve gotten as far as Kate going, I gotta figure this one out. Like, she’s got. She’s seeing the letters. She’s like, I think my favorite.
I’m gonna read you my favorite review for this one. I gotta find it. It’s a Goodreads review. And I. I don’t know if it’s, like, silly to read somebody else’s review, but I just thought it was so fun and so, like, it made me crack up when I read it. And I actually, like, I laughed so much that I sent a screenshot to a couple of friends because I was like, oh, my God, this is my favorite review of anything ever. And I think the person who did it is an author themselves. Oh, it’s C.L. clark, who wrote the Unbroken and some other novels. So this is. This is a review from an author. The Duke is mean and hot in her thighs, in her buckskin breeches. And she’s mean and butch and hot. And then says official blurb that is more coherent and fit to publish in professional venues. Bridgerton, with butches. Say less. The dupe of everything I want in a historical romance. And it’s elegantly woven, it’s sexy, it’s passionate, and its characters are flawed but deeply human. I absolutely loved it. So I’ve been excited about this one for a while. So that’s what I’m reading.
>> Kris Bryant: Nice now.
>> Tara Scott: But, Kris, we’re going to do something we are never done before. We’re just doing one official recommendation this time. We are sharing it because there is, like, a big cultural moment for the queers right now. Kris, what are we recommending today?
>> Kris Bryant: We are recommending The Devil Wears Prada 2. Yay.
>> Tara Scott: So I actually wasn’t sure if I was even going to watch this one.
>> Kris Bryant: No.
>> Tara Scott: Well, we talked about it possibly even recently. I think we talked about it either on the episode or before or after recording one when we chat. because I hadn’t seen the first film in many years. I didn’t see it in the theater, but I would have seen it probably on rental, like, shortly after it came out, because it came out in 2000, and I didn’t like it.
>> Kris Bryant: And that’s interesting. And you’re like. You read the fanfic all the time now.
>> Tara Scott: So here’s the thing. I started same way a lot of other people started the first of the fanfic, because I’ve been. Yeah, you’re right. I’ve been. That’s my main fandom and has been for about a decade. and it was. It started with Truth and Measure by Telenu, who went on to publish it as original fiction under Rosalind Sinclair, which, of course, you know, I’ve gushed about at length in previous episodes.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, I know.
>> Tara Scott: I really fell in love with the fanfic because it hit a bunch of tropes that I love, like age gap, ice queen, grumpy sunshine, workplace. yeah, Financial gap. And I couldn’t. It’s funny, in retrospect, I couldn’t remember why I didn’t like it. I just remember watching it going. But then reading that story, and it just blew my mind. And I heard about it on a podcast. Andy Marquette and Jove Bell used to have a podcast. What’s it called? It might have been called Women in Words, like their website. and one of them was telling the other one about it. And I remember reading it, and it, like, I can. It just consumed me. Like, it just absolutely sucked me. And it’s like, almost 300,000 words. I read it probably five or six times. I’ve read the published version a bunch of times, too. And then I’ve read many, many, many other fics. That’s where Lee Winter has written in that fandom. Rosalind Sinclair, of course. Apparently, Truth and Measure was like, the first really long fic. Like, there were a couple of short ones prior to that, and then this dropped. And then. So it’s kind of like one of the canonical biggest ones. And then there are other authors in the fandom that I love, like Chilly Flame Jinstan. And like, there’s so many more I could go on forever and I’m not going to. But I was talking to one of my co workers who is also a big fanfic and fandom person. She’s not in this particular fandom, but she’s like, but like, you’ve, you’ve gotta watch it, right? Like, are you gonna watch it? And I was like, ah, I don’t know. Like I’m so what if I, what if I watch the original one? Like, what if it changes my relationship with the fix? Like, what if I can’t read it anymore? And she’s like, that’s super fair. Yeah, I didn’t.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: And last week Neil said, what do you think if we go watch the new one on Sunday? And I said, sure, but I should probably watch the first one. And so we watched the first one again on Friday.
>> Kris Bryant: I loved it.
>> Tara Scott: Yes. I think I know why I didn’t like it though. And I think it was. I don’t tend to like movies where people are really mean to one character. I don’t like meanness, but. And I especially don’t like when it’s all directed on one character. But I buff even before starting to watch that, I watched some of the press that the core cast has been doing for the new film and like, seeing them talk about the lines that they love, like, oh my God, some of the lines are so good.
Like, what are your favorite lines and what did you love about the characters? And what was the reception like? So, like seeing them talk about it so fondly and having had pretty much all the moments filtered through millions of words of fanfic that I’ve read. Oh yeah, it was so good. Like, it’s so good. Like Emily Blunt’s line about like, what, are you late? Are you gonna be late for some hideous skirt convention? I think is one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard in a movie.
>> Kris Bryant: You know, when I watched it again.
>> Kris Bryant: Because I saw it last night. So I saw the. I saw number two last night and the night before I watched the original and watching the original now, 20 years later, 20 years of experience, 20 years of being in a man’s world, 20 years of, being accused of, you know, bitchiness, meanness, whatever. It was different for me because the first time I watched it I was like, oh my gosh, she’s terrible. You know, clutching my pearls. Oh, she’s such a bad person. Miranda’s so bad. And then watching it 20 years later, I’m like, yeah, she said some mean things, but she also kind of had a, you know, her whole entire dynasty and, and everything. She had to build it up and she had to have the armor on and do twice as hard, you know, work twice as hard to get to where she is being a woman. And so, yeah, she was kind of mean. But I also think she did that to test people. And I thought she did it to figure out who was going to be. Who was going to get through into her inner core. Like, she does not have a lot of people in that inner circle. Like 2, 2, 3, 4. The twins.
>> Tara Scott: It. Yeah, yeah.
Well. And one of the things I will be referencing the the all the like press interviews just because at this point it’s like all one thing kind of shoved together in my brain. But something Meryl Streep said that was like super fair is if Miranda had been Michael.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh yeah.
>> Tara Scott: If she had been a man, there wouldn’t actually be a film because it just would have been normal. But this idea of a woman behaving a little more like a man and kind of like standing in her power and knowing she has power and being willing to go toe to toe with the CEO of Elias Clark and say, yeah, we did burn 300,000 or $350,000 on a shoot. That’s not usable. Go fuck yourself.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, right.
>> Tara Scott: Which, of course she would never actually say the go yourself part, but like there was something really groundbreaking about that and I thought it was so interesting to hear her say that, like. No, it wasn’t. Everybody wondered if it was based on Anna Wintour because the original book was written by somebody who had worked for Anna Wintour. That’s not who she drew from at all. She said all of her bosses had been men. And so she based kind of some of the. The way she approached things, like. Because she never yells. She doesn’t have to. No M. She based it off of two directors she’d worked with before. She based it off of Mike Nichols and Clint Eastwood and how they ran things on set and how they kept people on their toes with this like very quiet, minimalistic communication style, which I thought was super interesting.
>> Kris Bryant: But she definitely got her point across the.
>> Tara Scott: Oh my God. For me, I think my favorite thing that she says because she has some great lines, but I think my favorite is the why is no one ready? It was just this like almost boredom in.
>> Kris Bryant: It was just she had great lines and this. See, I feel like, like in the first one.
>> Kris Bryant: We talked about this a little bit about how you didn’t get to see her vulnerable very often.
>> Tara Scott: No.
>> Kris Bryant: Like, one time and then maybe two. I think we figured that out.
>> Tara Scott: Yes. It’s like, really, the the main for me, the main place is when she’s in Paris. She’s found out her husband has asked for a divorce. And she’s sitting there. She’s in a bathrobe. She has no makeup on. And she’s clearly been crying and and cries a little bit. Like, talking to Andy about it and says, like, it’s not even about me. It’s about my kids. I don’t want to take them through all of this. It’s like a version of her that’s not seen anywhere else in the film. And happens in a way that, you know, it almost makes you wonder who else has gotten to see this? Maybe Nigel.
>> Kris Bryant: Ah, maybe. Yeah. I was thinking that. Yeah. I, Nigel. We’re gonna have to talk about Nigel.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, my God. He’s wonderful in that one. What was it? Something like, be nice or I’m gonna feed you to the model.
>> Kris Bryant: So Nigel had some great lines in both movies.
>> Tara Scott: Yes.
Well, should we. Should we talk a little bit about the the new movie and what’s it and what it’s about?
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, yes. I’m so sorry. I’m jumping ahead. I’m all excited because I have so many.
>> Tara Scott: That’s okay.
>> Kris Bryant: Thoughts. I’ve thought.
>> Tara Scott: I know. So, yes, the new film happens. so it’s 20 years later. Andy has had great. You know, the the first. When the first movie ends, she’s thrown her phone into the fountain. She does not want to. She does not want to be like Miranda. She’s going to do her own thing. And so she’s, gone off. And she’s had a lot of adventures as a journalist. But, you know, the media landscape and especially journalism. Like, it’s been absolutely decimated by digitization and the push for profits over truth. And so it opens with her being, like, losing her job as she’s receiving an award for it. It’s, There was a piece in Vulture, I think, that talked about how for a lot of journalists. Watching that particular scene, like, was almost giving them palpitations. Because it just feels very real. And so while kind of at the same time that that’s happening, Runway, it’s still around. It’s mostly a digital brand at this point while it still prints, you know, magazines. That’s not where they make their money anymore. They’re in trouble because they ran a fluff piece on an exploitative fast fashion brand. And so Elias Clark CEO Irv Ravitz, he’s still around, he’s still a bit of a background, but he hires Andy Sachs to come in, become their features editor and turn around the reputation. So it all kind of goes from there. I don’t really want to get into too much more than that of the plot, but I just thought it was such a good, smart follow up. And also interestingly, even though the novel does have sequels, it’s not based on that at all. It’s a totally original story.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, nice.
>> Tara Scott: It’s the same screenwriter. And she basically said like, well, what would happen 20 years later? Look at what’s happening. Like what’s happened with digital transformation to these media properties. And you can even see it, like if you go to the Vogue YouTube channel, it’s like, it’s not just about fashion M anymore. How do you drive, you know, likes and subscribes and views and all those things. So there’s numbers that go up. So this one has. So it had the same screenwriter, has the same director, has a lot of the same crew. Like one of the people from costuming, the cinematographer worked on it. There’s a lot of other people. And so for me, I don’t know if you felt this way, but to me it did actually feel like a natural continuation. These are these same characters 20 years later.
>> Kris Bryant: And watching it back to back really helped. Watching the first one and then 24 hours later watching the second one.
>> Tara Scott: Yes.
>> Kris Bryant: The nostalgia, even though it was 24 hours for me, it still hit me hard. That’s great.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, I know, I know.
>> Kris Bryant: Can we talk about the cast? Can we talk about the cast?
>> Tara Scott: Yes.
>> Kris Bryant: So we know the four Core.
>> Tara Scott: Yes.
>> Kris Bryant: Core four. Four Core. Yes. Core four. Core four.
>> Tara Scott: Core four. Yep.
>> Kris Bryant: and. But here’s the deal. So not only do we have that, those back, we also have so many new faces in this, but everybody knows them, like Lucy Liu, Kenneth Branagh, even. I mean, we can talk about.
>> Tara Scott: Justin Theroux is in it.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, right.
>> Tara Scott: And there’s a lot of, there’s a lot of cameos too. It was interesting again, seeing them in the press, like they were talking about how they couldn’t. When they were doing the original, they actually couldn’t get designers to work with them for the most part because everybody was a little afraid of like, well, what if this is gonna be like bashing Anna Wintour? And because Anna Wintour had so much power, obviously she still does. But that wasn’t what it was about. It was not a takedown of her at all. She actually liked the film. And so now, like, Donatella Versace is in it, and Marc Jacobs is in it. Celebrity stylist Law Roach, who has styled Anne Hathaway in the past, he’s in it. They had, like, Jon Batiste and his wife. Like, just that there’s a.
>> Kris Bryant: There’s.
>> Tara Scott: There’s a party at one point. Lady Gaga is in it. Jenna Bush Hager is in it, like
>> Kris Bryant: Kara Swisher, and, there’s a ton. So me being from the Midwest, I know nothing about fashion. It’s not in my life. I wear black. You know, that’s. That’s where I’m at. But I. It was so much fun to recognize people in a flash. Like, so there’s this one kid. I have been following him on TikTok, and I don’t know for how long I’ve been following him. His, name is Calumny Callum Harper. And he, I think it was kind of like he was in high school, and, he wanted to be a model. Very thin, red hair. And I guess people were like, no way, you’re not going to be a model. And he actually started becoming a model. He got his first modeling. And like this, I feel like I was on this whole trip with him and I saw him and I was like, oh, my goodness, there he is. Like, for just a second, I was like, I’ve been following this kid for years, you know, just to see it, you know, in this movie. And Heidi Klum was in there.
>> Tara Scott: Yes.
>> Kris Bryant: Can I tell you my Heidi Klum story?
>> Tara Scott: Yes.
>> Kris Bryant: I mean, I don’t have a personal one, but this is kind of a fun thing.
So a lot of times, because I’m a very shy person, believe it or not, I am shy. I don’t talk to people. One of the questions I like to ask people after I meet them, and we’ve had a really good, you know, sit down and talk, blah, blah, blah. And this. This came up when I was in P Town and I asked, this a friend of mine. I said, who is the most famous person in your phone? Did I tell you this story?
>> Tara Scott: No.
>> Kris Bryant: Okay. And my friend said, Heidi Klum. I’m like, shut the up.
>> Tara Scott: That’s pretty famous.
>> Kris Bryant: Heidi Clum.
>> Tara Scott: I know.
>> Kris Bryant: So that is a good icebreaker question, by the way. who’s the most famous person on your phone?
>> Tara Scott: I think the most famous person in my phone is Kris Bryant. See?
>> Kris Bryant: Thank you.
>> Tara Scott: It’s also true.
>> Kris Bryant: And that’s such a Fun question. But Heidi, Klum. I’m like, so now. And of course I knew Heidi Klum because my mom’s German and knew Heidi. All that thing like growing up, like, I always knew Heidi Klum like, that she was just somebody. So it was super exciting to hear. My friend had Heidi Klum in their phone. Yeah. So. And then to see her, I was like, yeah, like we’re buds, Heidi and I like, because we, oh my goodness. Grew up like watching her and stuff. But yeah, so yeah, that’s.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, it was, I liked seeing kind of where they all landed and how they were all doing.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Like Andy, she. She still feels like herself, but she’s not. It’s not a coming of age story for her. She doesn’t need to like do a lot of growing up. It’s more like she’s so, she’s clearly so accomplished as a journalist, but journalism as a field is just not like, it’s really hard to sort of make viable. And so how does she find stability? How does she make it? Ah, like how is she gonna pay the bills? And interestingly, it’s coming back to the place that she walked away from.
So seriously, Emily, I love. I’m Emily Blunt in this role is so wonderful. She’s not at Runway anymore. She’s working at Dior.
>> Kris Bryant: And she has the best line.
>> Tara Scott: Oh my God. She does an affirmation. And this was very fun to see in, in the, in the interview. So it’s like, it’s this. I. I’m gonna say it anyway because it is in some of the like, press materials. I’ve seen that clip in other places. But she talked about how she improv that and she was trying to think like what would be the most talking, toxic affirmation that she could say. And so she’s like, she has these little eye masks on and she’s like tapping her cheeks.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh yeah. Doing the taps.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, doing some tapping to kind of like settle herself. And she says, may the bridges I burned light my way. And I just thought it is one of the funniest things I have ever heard.
>> Kris Bryant: She probably has the most clever lines in there because like, I loved when she sees Andy again. Like first the recognition.
>> Tara Scott: Yes.
>> Kris Bryant: And then as they’re walking to the conference room to have this conversation.
>> Kris Bryant: She says, you look different. You have confidence now.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: So I love that she acknowledged that because like, she has always been anti Andy. Never wanted to. At least that what we were aware of. Never wanted to have A relationship with her ever the entire time?
>> Tara Scott: Yes. Because Andy still has this very. Would you say it’s like a Midwestern sensibility?
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. Like, she’s not a very urbane. Like, very city centric. Like, she’s kind of like, down to earth.
>> Kris Bryant: Like, Girl Next Door, for sure. She’s like, oh, everything’s fine.
>> Tara Scott: Oh.
>> Kris Bryant: You know, she’s that kind of person who, like.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: Always looks for the good and things.
>> Tara Scott: But now in her early 40s, like, she’s grown up. She’s lived in a lot of places. She’s reported on some really big things. And so there’s not that same level of trying to keep up necessarily. Like, there is that real steadiness to her that I liked.
Nigel is still at Runway. He’s still devoted to Miranda.
>> Kris Bryant: He’s the hero.
>> Tara Scott: He. I love him. And he’s still too. He’s still snarky. But it’s so funny because his snark is. It’s almost loving.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. I don’t believe it. When he says it. You’re like, oh, yeah, sure. Like, you know, he meant it in a loving way.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. Like, he. He makes a TJ Maxx reference about. Right. Her.
>> Kris Bryant: That was a good one. Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: I, feel like Miranda is the one who’s changed the most.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, for sure. For sure.
>> Tara Scott: Because in the first film, she is absolutely at the top of her game. She is, untouchable. She can do no wrong. But the world has changed. The media landscape has changed. It’s not just about curating beauty into a magazine now is one of the things that they said that I hadn’t kind of put together. But, like, the iPhone hadn’t been released when the first movie came out.
>> Kris Bryant: You’re right.
>> Tara Scott: And that changes. Like, the iPhone came out, I guess, a year later. And it changes everything. Everything.
>> Kris Bryant: Yep.
>> Tara Scott: And so now, like, trying to keep up. Like, we’re looking at. You know, we’re living in an economy where every company needs to grow no matter what. There must always be a number that goes up. It does. It’s not just about profitability. We have investors, whether it’s private equity, venture capital or even individual investors. Like, they just expect that return. And they want to squeeze every dollar out. And so you have Miranda, who, like, she still recognizes beauty. And she still has that ability to be the trendsetter. But also, that’s not what leadership wants from her. And it’s like, how do you drive engagement, not just sales. And it’s really interesting seeing her. I think some people. Some of the reactions I’ve been seeing, especially in the. Because I’m in the devil verse. Prada fanfic, like the Mirandy fanfic Facebook group. And the film is mostly getting a lot of love in there. But I also get the sense that some people don’t necessarily love that her power is diminished somewhat. Kind of like at that beginning. But when the world changes and the circumstances of why you have power change, it was something that worked well for me and I thought it made
>> Kris Bryant: a lot of sense, you know. And also, I don’t know how old she is supposed to be. Like, you probably have a better idea of that since you read all the fanfic.
>> Tara Scott: So probably. Well, in real life she’s 76, so probably in her 70s.
>> Kris Bryant: Okay.
>> Tara Scott: They don’t say for sure.
Also, how cool is it that Meryl Streep can still get roles like this? Like 76.
>> Kris Bryant: I love it. She’s. And she is one of my favorites. Always has been. Ever since I was small. A small young.
>> Kris Bryant: Kramer versus Kramer was like one of my. I was just blown away by her acting back then.
>> Kris Bryant: So I knew like I have seen almost every single Meryl Streep movie because she’s. I know it’s going to be a hit. I know I’m gonna like it because she, she does such a good job and she just seems like she’s a real genuine person. So it’s, it’s. I’m sure she loved playing this character because it seems like.
>> Kris Bryant: Like sometimes when you get to play somebody else, it’s so much fun because it’s not. It goes against everything you are. And I think that would be kind of be fun if you’re an actor.
>> Tara Scott: So it sounds like for the first one, the only thing is she kept herself a little bit apart from the rest of the cast. And so she talked about how like, they all got to have fun, but she didn’t get to have fun and she would hear them having fun. And so she didn’t do that this time. I guess that was the last time she did anything like that.
>> Kris Bryant: I bet. I mean, I would love to hang out with them too.
>> Tara Scott: I know, right? It seems like the most fun and then also like super fun. Seeing especially, I don’t know, any configuration of them, in interviews was fun to watch. But when it’s Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, it’s especially fun because they’re, they’re family now. Right. Like he, he’s married to her sister and so they know each Other really, really, really well. And, like, he met his wife because of the Devil Wears Prada. Like, he and Emily Blunt became friends on the set. He attended her wedding when she married John Krasinski. and he met her sister, and now they’ve been married for.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, I did not know that. That’s a sweet.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: I love Stanley. He. He pretty much is the hero of, what, 19 or 20, 26.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, yeah. Oh, my God, his Instagram is the best.
>> Kris Bryant: Well, yeah. Was. Didn’t he do the, Come on, help me out. Was it the basketball? Was it. No, it was hockey. The women’s hockey team, Wasn’t it? The women’s hockey team. He invited them to a nice dinner because. Yeah, Donald, I don’t say that our president, like, didn’t invite. They go. I guess I got to invite the girl. Girls. Remember when the men won and he called the locker room.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: And so. And so the women turned him down, and Stanley Tucci invited them to dinner. Uncle Stanley, I love you.
>> Tara Scott: This might be a bit of a weird thing to say about this movie, but I think one of the things that I loved about it is that as much as it felt like it was grounded in today, especially with showing that, like, what’s happening to journalism, right. What’s happening with the media, how shallow it kind of all is. I also forgot that Donald Trump existed. And that was amazing for the two hours.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Like, I forgot about politics, even though politics is all, like, it’s. It is everything. It was so nice to just escape and, like, are there problems with this movie? Probably. I don’t care. I do not care. Whatever. They might.
And some of the new cast was lovely, too. I was. So we talked about this a little bit. Like, Kris. So. Okay. Kris and I had, like, the full version of, like, what? We love the spoiler full version of this conversation before we started recording, because we both needed just do a little bit of.
>> Kris Bryant: Can you believe this part? I can’t believe this part. Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: But I was so happy to see Caleb Heron in the role of Charlie, who is Miranda’s second assistant, because he’s, like, a, gay, fat guy who grew up poor in rural Missouri. And this was, You know, he’s talked about how, like, this movie was so important to him growing up, and it’s hard to imagine, like, any fat characters in. In the 2006 version. So, like, to have somebody. And, like, he’s styled beautifully in it. He looks amazing. He has a couple really funny lines, and I just, like, I Love his podcast. So true. And I enjoyed his stand up special. And so I was just, so. I was thrilled to see him there. And I loved. Oh my goodness, the. What’s her name? Amari, the first assistant.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, that’s what I was gonna bring up. Yeah. Oh, gosh, what is her name? Simone. Simone. Ashley.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: Jason Bridgerton. Bridgerton. She’s one of the leads in Bridgerton. So it was fantastic. Yeah, I just love seeing all the different. Like so many people came together in this movie. So many people you can identify in both fashion and movies and tv and like, I couldn’t keep up. I’m like, isn’t that. Oh, wait, here’s somebody else. Oh, isn’t that that person? And, oh, this is that. How do I know this person? So that was just so much fun for me. Like I said, yes. I don’t know fashion. I don’t know. but you know, people, like, if you, you’ve just, just from just pop culture and just growing up in the last 25 years, you, you learn people and, and the important thing. And like we just had the Met Gala the other night too, so. Oh yeah, it was so fun to go into. I mean, even though that’s a whole controversial thing, but I don’t pay attention to that. But it’s all over social media too. So you had that Met and. Oh, we can’t end.
>> Tara Scott: I gotta tell you, my favorite Met Gala meme that I’ve seen after we stop recording. Because it’s actually a tiny spoiler for this film. Weirdly enough. Really, it’s one of those, if you’ve seen the film and you see the meme, it’s one of those like, if, you know, you know, but if I say it here, it’ll spoil it for people. So I’ll tell you as soon as we finish recording, which will be shortly. I just felt like the clothing was incredible and I loved how it continued to tell the story of who these people were.
>> Kris Bryant: Right. And the. I loved that at the end, I can say this at the end, during the Runway, during the show, they had all different body sizes. It wasn’t just like the perfect zero double zero. I say perfect, quote unquote, perfect.
>> Kris Bryant: But they had, they had people like average people. They still had, you know, the models. But yeah, it was, it was nice to see the mix, you know, because,
>> Tara Scott: yeah, there was real body size.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, I like that. I really did.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, I did too. And the. Oh, man. The other. I, I think the other kind of the last thing I’ll say. Is the budget disparity between this one and the last one.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Is so like, oh, my God. I know. They got so, so much money for this one. Oh, good for them. And I think they put it to fabulous use.
>> Kris Bryant: Right.
>> Tara Scott: So, like, during the fir for the first film, Anne Hathaway is the only one who went to Paris to do any kind of shooting because she had to be there to throw the phone in the fountain.
>> Kris Bryant: Ah.
>> Tara Scott: Meryl Streep didn’t go. Stanley Tucci didn’t go. So, like, the stuff that looked like them in Paris was actually them in New York. They all got to go to Milan. Oh, for this one. I’m just gonna check and see because I’m curious, how much money it’s made so far.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, yeah. I will say one thing while you’re looking that up is I liked how they did talk about or they didn’t talk about. They showed social media and the selfies and how important all of that was in this movie because that is such a big part of our lives now, whether you’re into it or not. I mean, that’s just reality. It is.
>> Tara Scott: you know, opening weekend, it made $233 million.
>> Kris Bryant: Wow.
>> Tara Scott: Worldwide.
But what was interesting, one thing I did notice because I’ve. I’ve been avoiding reviews because it turns out I don’t actually care what other people think about this one.
>> Kris Bryant: No.
>> Tara Scott: I loved it so much. I don’t want to read other people talk about why they didn’t like it. I almost unfold somebody on Instagram when they said that Meryl Streep was too frumpy for this role. And then I remembered that, no, I generally like what this person posts, but it was like, off. She’s perfect in it. Go away. But there was some sort of a critique about how only 12% of attendees were Gen Z. And I was like, who gives a right? I don’t think this was made
>> Kris Bryant: for Gen Z. no, it was made for us. This movie was made for us.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. So it was just this very strange. It’s almost like it’s Kris. It’s almost like we can’t not pick it. A film that’s made mostly for the women, the gays and the. They like because it’s not centering certain perspectives, but like, how many Gen Z’s have, like, why are we going after them as the, as the. As the main audience for that? It doesn’t make sense. It’s for so many more people than Just that. And people showed up. I know. Like, there are people in the Facebook group who have already been to see it multiple times. Wow.
>> Kris Bryant: I mean, it’s so good. And it. It covers so many different things. It’s not just, you know, about this. The Devil Wears Prada, the Devil. You know, it’s not about that. There’s so many other things that are going on in this movie. And I loved it. Like you said, Miranda had such a good character arc and we got to see her and her, like. How do I want to say it? It’s not maybe the vulnerable moments of her. She had a lot more in this movie. Yes, she. She was more of a person in this movie. And it wasn’t like you sympathized, but you were all. You were Team Miranda, like this whole movie. Absolutely. You know, I think in the first one, Team Andy. I think of this one, Team Miranda.
>> Tara Scott: I mean, I.
>> Kris Bryant: That’s. I’m gonna go with that.
>> Tara Scott: I think I’m team, Ah, Mirandi, as always. They each do have. They each do have love interests in this one.
>> Kris Bryant: And I honestly, I didn’t mind them. Oh, no, I thought, I thought they added so well. M. Can I say things? I’ll say things. Yeah, I m. I liked how Miranda’s was established. I felt like she.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: So Kenneth Branagh plays her husband. And I thought he was. I thought he was perfect. It was nice that. He’s a good man.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, he’s a very good man. Very gentle, very loving. Very like, here, I’m your sounding board. Let’s go. I will help you. Let’s deal with this. Go take, you know, go rest, do whatever. I’m gonna take the dog for a walk. You do this. You settle, you know, just get comfortable. And like, we all need that, you know? Whereas Andy was just like, you know, she has lived her life like you said. She has traveled everywhere and her, love interest comes about in this movie. That’s fair to say. Absolutely. Okay. Yes.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. And he’s also like. He’s quite down to earth.
>> Kris Bryant: He’s nice. I like him.
>> Tara Scott: He’s Australian. He’s a nice dude.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Am I convinced that they’re together for the long term?
>> Kris Bryant: Happy for now?
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, exactly. I would call it a happy for now possible. Don’t know. But yeah. I think it was exactly the kind of escapism that I was hoping for.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, yeah. I mean, yeah, I liked.
Okay, so Andy in this one. So Andy in the first one. Andy was very young. I feel like she was not really Manipulated by her friends and boyfriend. But I feel like she was really influenced by them. Whereas in this one it was all about her. She was focused on herself. She was so secure in herself in this one. That’s why I feel like she was set in this movie where I think, you know, Miranda had to go through all of that. And that’s why I’m Team Miranda in this movie. Because Andy was already like where she wanted, sort of kind of where she was.
>> Tara Scott: She was set in every way except financially.
>> Kris Bryant: Right. Unfortunately. I mean, welcome to all of us, you know. M. Yeah. And so I, I really, I, I, I liked how this was about her. And she did so her one friend, Lily.
>> Tara Scott: M Still there.
>> Kris Bryant: Still there. Same person. And it was so funny because when I watched it again, I had forgotten that the person who plays Lily is also an actor from, the show that I watched. Super queer 911.
>> Kris Bryant: Last name is Toms, I think. I can’t remember her first name. But Hen. She plays Hen. She plays Hen. No, she doesn’t play Hen. She plays the wife. Plays the wife on of the, one of the EMTs. And love, it, love the show. Love her. And it was so cool because it was same, it was the same actor. I loved it. It was fantastic. So 20 years same. I loved it. That was great. Very clever.
>> Tara Scott: I’m so glad that we both chose this.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: As our official recommendation so we could just have a lot of fun talking about it. Because I have needed to have this conversation for three days.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, three days.
>> Tara Scott: I think for me it’s gonna be like, once it’s available to stream, they’re gonna be like the perfect Sick day double feature. Oh yeah. Or like sad day double feature. Like just roll directly from one right into the other one. And to bring it back to the fear that I had. Well, what if it’s gonna change the way I look at the fanfic? I think I love it more now.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, look at that. I feel like I feel that the relationship between them is more solidified now. I mean, I feel like. And so I feel, I feel the love that you would feel for this. I get that 100%. How you would appreciate the fanfic even more now because of this.
>> Tara Scott: Yes, I’ve read some, it’s mostly short stories that have come out inspired by the second one. I think there’s a long, I think there’s at least one long one, but I haven’t read it yet. M. I’m very curious to see what happens to the fandom going forward, because I think people are going to continue writing it, of course, and they’re still, like, it’s still very active fandom. I’m curious to see, though, are people going to mostly set stories based around or after the events of the first film, or are they going to start setting them around or after the events of the second? And I think we might see. I think we might see some of both.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, yeah, maybe so. Maybe so. Because I thought the ending was so strong and fun, and I feel like a lot of people can pick up from that. But also the. The little. Not tumultuous, but the. The une. Not uneasy. I don’t even. It’s like I write for a living and I don’t even. I can’t even find the word.
>> Tara Scott: You’re not writing right now. You’re talking. You’re talking. I know.
>> Kris Bryant: I’m trying. It’s hard. Like, just. It wasn’t tumultuous, but like, the whole unsteadiness of the. The. Their. The storyline. Like, I can’t. Without saying anything, just that I feel like, yeah, that would be a good place to kind of pull from. But I personally, if I were to write fanfic, I would write it from the end.
>> Tara Scott: Maybe you should.
>> Kris Bryant: No. Or.
>> Tara Scott: Right.
>> Kris Bryant: I think there are so many other people who are so good at this that I wouldn’t even know how to do fanfic. Not even kidding when I say that.
I don’t know the rules. I don’t know any of that stuff.
>> Tara Scott: But your editor might have something to say anyway.
>> Kris Bryant: That’s true.
>> Tara Scott: Where’s your next book? Why are you writing fan?
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. I will say that I did what I did read Lee, Winter did a post on, I think, Facebook. And after I read her post, I was like, okay, yeah, I’m in. I mean, I was going to go anyway. And then when you and I talked, I was like, okay, now I’m really going to go see this. And then. I loved it. I absolutely loved everything about it. It was so much fun to slip back into that and just. And watch their lives pick up 20 years later. Perfect. Loved it.
>> Tara Scott: I agree.
That is all for this episode.
>> Kris Bryant: We could go on and on, but we’re not.
>> Tara Scott: We’re taking pity on you all. We’re gonna cut ourselves off at this point. no, that’s all for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. If you have enjoyed it, please, you know, share with a friend if you think needs to hear anything that we’ve talked about today. and if you want to support us. We do have a link in our show notes to our coffee.
>> Kris Bryant: And don’t forget, because it’s my birthday, please leave a review for either one of my books or a book that you’ve read recently because it really helps us and it makes us feel good.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: As writers. Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Happy birthday.
>> Kris Bryant: Thank you. Or if you want to connect with us on your favorite social media sites, we have links in the show notes for that, too.