Your Place or Mine- a Bookish Rom-Com
Okay, yes, I know this is a book blog and this isn’t a photo of a book HOWEVER if you are a book lover and I’m guessing you are if you’ve landed on my page then it’s my responsibility as a bookstagrammer and book blogger to share bookish info and intel with you, the book adoring public. On Friday February 10th Hello Sunshine and Netflix released its much-anticipated Rom-Com Your Place or Mine starring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. Now, I have to admit I’m not much of a rom-com reader or watcher, but as I searched Netflix after a long day, I saw it as a new release and thought, “Okay, why not?” I became invested early when Debbie, Reese Witherspoon’s character says (as she’s falling into bed with Ashton Kutcher) “I’m a big reader.” Now, knowing how much Reese Witherspoon loves and promotes books and authors through her #reesesbookclub I wondered if her character was going to do that throughout the story and guess what-- she did! Not only did she talk about books and have stacks of books and overflowing bookcases and bookish things (yes, they even used the word bookish), the plot includes a trip to NYC, meeting (and getting to know) a renowned book publisher, a secret manuscript submission, an offer of representation (gave me chills) and of course a love story with a HEA.
Not only did I love the story, I also had a blast spotting the nods to the book lovers and writers throughout the movie. Debbie wearing a Powell’s bookshop t-shirt, Peter reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott while at the same time Debbie is reading White Teeth by Zadie Smith, the copy of a Harper Lee book behind Peter in the tub, the fact that there were books in the bathroom, the way Debbie smells her new pencils, and the way Debbie looks when she listens in on the lit class. Then there are the things that are said: Scarlet, the babysitter, using the phrase booky-books, the conversation about Edith Warton with Theo, Minka’s comment “It’s cute how you like book people.” All these things, the said, the placed, the worn, the overheard are done so intentionally that I can’t help but feel as if this rom-com is really a love letter to the book lover, the bookish, the reader and writer. As a booklover and a writer, I felt it, I received it, and I loved it. I loved seeing Reese’s character unapologetically loving her reading life (the scene where she knows all the Duncan books) and she wasn’t the recluse or the nerd, she was the main character, the one who gets to have the fun and fall in love.
Admittedly, the reviews aren’t stellar. The Guardian calls it ‘half-hearted’, the New York Times, says it’s ‘flat’ but neither comment at all on the bookishness. Don’t listen to the critics, book lovers, they completely overlook the real, deeper love story. They miss it. But you won’t, book lover. I’m sure you’ll see what I see and I’m certain there are many more nods to the book lover that I haven’t even listed. Go book lovers, enjoy Your Place or Mine, share with your book loving Valentine this year, and celebrate the bookish love woven throughout.