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    ‘Strategic Love Play’ Review: A Slightly Dark, Not-Quite-Romantic Comedy

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    In this first-date comedy, Michael Zegen and Heléne Yorke play people who might just be willing to settle for each other.There comes a time in some adults’ dating lives when the search for love slides down the priority list, and with it the pesky urge to be particular about who might qualify as life-partner material.What’s far more vital, suddenly, is simply to couple up — less as a bulwark against the world than as a defense against the paired-off friends who fret about your singleness. So what if you and your new plus-one aren’t besotted with each other? At least you’re not alone.This is where Jenny (Heléne Yorke) and Adam (Michael Zegen) find themselves in “Strategic Love Play,” Miriam Battye’s slightly dark, not-quite-romantic comedy at the Minetta Lane Theater in Greenwich Village. Directed by Katie Posner for Audible Theater and Chase This Productions, it unfolds over the course of a single rocky date.For both Jenny and Adam, who evidently matched on an app, the prospect of having a default person to stand with the next time they go to a barbecue is a potently soothing thought. Which is maybe why they persevere through this awkward first encounter in a charmingly lit bar, where sconces hang on the bare brick walls. (The set is by Arnulfo Maldonado, lighting by Jen Schriever.)Reserved and wary of Jenny’s big personality, Adam wants to bolt pretty much immediately, while Jenny is the kind of person who reacts to silence by trying to rile things up, get a reaction, be outrageous. From his rigid posture, his lack of interest is clear, but she is all about leaning in.“Two-drink minimum,” she stipulates, meaning he’d better not leave before then. “Anything less would be — rather unmerciful.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      7 Books Like ‘Heartstopper’ to Read After You Binge Season 3 on Netflix

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      Earnest love stories by Rainbow Rowell, TJ Klune and Talia Hibbert will tug at your heartstrings while grappling with real, often dark, issues.Break out the heart eyes and rugby kits: The much-anticipated third season of the gushingly earnest teen romantic dramedy “Heartstopper” arrives on Netflix on Oct. 3.The show, based on the best-selling graphic novel series by Alice Oseman, follows Nick Nelson, a golden retriever of a rugby player, and Charlie Spring, a sensitive drummer, who meet-cute one day in homeroom. They and their friends cover every stripe of the L.G.B.T.Q. rainbow. They’re also goofy and anxious and smart and exuberant, all of the things teenagers are as they discover love and attraction for the first time. The show deals frequently with difficult issues — bullying, eating disorders, gender dysphoria, housing insecurity — while also painting an effervescent picture of adolescence that, in a homage to the comics, is sprinkled with hearts and fireworks.There are five volumes of “Heartstopper” — plus two spinoff novellas and a stand-alone novel, “Solitaire,” about Charlie’s prickly, fan-favorite older sister — available to read while you wait for a sixth book (and a potential fourth season). But if you’ve already blown through Oseman’s oeuvre and are craving more young adult love stories that grapple with darker themes, these books are for you.I’d like a grounded, heartfelt love storyAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the UniverseBy Benjamin Alire SáenzWhen we first meet Aristotle Mendoza, he is 15, bored and miserable, staring down another summer in El Paso. Then he meets Dante Quintana, who teaches Ari how to swim at the community pool. Their friendship blooms from there, growing out of comic books, bus rides and heated debates about the literary merits of Joseph Conrad.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Love Is Blind’: Body Language Expert Offers Clues for Season 7

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      As Season 7 begins, an expert says figuring out a participant’s motivation is both an art and a science.Grab a golden goblet. The Netflix series “Love Is Blind” is back, with the first episode of its seventh season having been released on Wednesday, with the host Nick Lachey learning what a situationship is. The series that inspired drinking games (take a sip every time someone says the phrase “genuine connection”) — and is both a reality show and a social experiment — set up shop in Washington, D.C., this time to help 29 singles find love.The premise, of course, is that the singles can’t see whom they are dating because of a glowing blue wall between them intended to eliminate all of the superficial things that might get in the way of love. Once a couple decides to get engaged, they see each other for the first time and attempt to make their relationship work, with all of the complications that phones, work and physical attraction bring.Over the past few seasons, the nagging question concerning the show’s participants was: Are they here for love or for clout? (The recent season, “Love Is Blind: U.K.,” was hailed by many as a return to the show’s original vibe, for its generally emotionally healthy and low-drama cast.)CC Rice, a voice teacher, associate professor and energy reader who posts body language breakdowns of the show under the social media handle @guidedinspiration, says that figuring out a participant’s motivation is both an art and a science.“‘Love is Blind’ is this incredible opportunity to see people in private,” she said. “I’m listening for all of the cues: What do they bring up? Where do they look while they’re speaking? Are they avoidant? Are they trying to connect?”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      5 Books to Read After Watching ‘Nobody Wants This’

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      These romance novels feature cross-cultural connections, charming banter and plenty of heart.There’s a long history in Hollywood of cross-cultural rom-coms — films and TV shows such as “Keeping the Faith,” “Bend It Like Beckham” and “The Nanny” that mine clashing traditions to find hilarity and heart. Colliding heritages naturally lend themselves to moments of comedic gold: Just think of a nonplused Andrea Martin in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” reassuring John Corbett’s vegetarian leading man, “That’s OK: I make lamb.”The series “Nobody Wants This,” which premieres on Netflix on Sept. 26, is the latest entry into this oeuvre. Joanne (Kristen Bell) is an agnostic, sex-positive podcast host with a history of toxic relationships; Noah (Adam Brody — Mr. Chrismukkah himself, no stranger to interfaith high jinks) is a pot-smoking rabbi with a fiercely protective mother who spends his free time playing basketball with the Matzah Ballers. Their story is as much about the universal awkwardness and hilarity of a budding romance as it is about the complex differences in their worldviews.Interfaith and cross-cultural romances are nothing new in the literary sense, either. If you’re craving more stories about clever people drawn together by chemistry and circumstance who also face the difficult work of navigating disparate backgrounds, these romance novels have got you covered.I think hot rabbis may be the new hot priestsThe Intimacy ExperimentBy Rosie DananNaomi Grant is a bisexual adult film actress with a master’s degree who runs a successful online sex-ed platform; she wants to expand into live seminars, but she’s having trouble finding an institution to support her. Enter Ethan Cohen, an unconventional (and very attractive) straight rabbi who invites Naomi to teach a course on human sexuality and relationships at his synagogue — a gamble aimed at reaching more young Jewish people and saving his dwindling congregation.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Why an Asian American Reporter Wanted to Write About Romance

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      Hollywood has portrayed Asian American men in unflattering ways for decades. One Culture reporter aimed to bring the uncomfortable conversations out of group chats, and into The Times.There is a scene in the 2023 film “Past Lives” in which Nora Moon, the protagonist, calls Hae Sung Jung, her childhood friend, “really
masculine, in
this
way
I
think
is
so
Korean.”When I first heard that dialogue, I remember jolting to attention. It felt like the movie was going out of its way to label an Asian man as manly. I had never heard that kind of talk on the big screen before.And, if I’m being honest, it made me, a Korean American man, feel good.I knew there was more I wanted to unpack, and doing so falls into my jurisdiction as a reporter on The New York Times’s Culture desk. So I was delighted when The Times’s Projects and Collaborations team asked me if I’d be interested in writing about the representation of Asian American men — and specifically their romantic roles — onscreen.Asian and Asian American men have been emasculated and marginalized for decades on American screens, and I wanted to chronicle the modest, but meaningful, shift happening right now. The article, which was published online today alongside visuals from Ricardo Nagaoka, explores how roles available to Asian and Asian American actors have evolved, especially over the last few years.I spoke to almost two dozen Asian Americans: Mostly actors, writers and directors, but also scholars, historians and everyday people. I needed to understand how laws and immigration policy — and especially pop culture — had shaped America’s view of Asian men. And I was interested in how the years of unflattering Hollywood portrayals made Asian and Asian American men feel.Surveys from the 2000s and 2010s had concluded that Asian men, along with Black women, were at the bottom of the racial romantic hierarchy when it came to dating in real life. And the frustration felt by Asian American men in that realm has at times manifested itself in misplaced toxicity, anger and resentment — particularly toward Asian women.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Love Island USA’ Reunion: 5 Biggest Takeaways

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      After a chaotic and fun season, even more drama unfolded on social media in the weeks that followed. This Peacock special broke everything down.This summer’s season of “Love Island U.S.A.” has been the most popular of the franchise so far. And, if it feels like everyone is talking about it, it’s because they probably are — during the second week of July, this show was the most watched streaming original series in the U.S., according to Luminate, an entertainment data tracking service. That means it outranked “The Bear.”Because of the season’s popularity, it made sense for the show to have its first ever reunion special. Hosted by Ariana Madix, whose training included being grilled by Andy Cohen during her many “Vanderpump Rules” reunions, the show featured 25 Islanders — both OGs and Casa Amor — discussing not only what went on during the season but also all the messy drama that has unfolded on social media in the weeks after the show aired.Here are the five biggest takeaways from the reunion.Full footage of the firepit vote between Serena Page, Olivia Walker, Leah Kateb and Kaylor Martin is revealed.One of the biggest and longest running dramas in the villa this season had to do with the dumping of Andrea Carmona. At the time, Carmona was coupled up with Rob Rausch, who had just gotten out of a couple with Leah Kateb.A handful of the women in the villa had to decide whom to dump between Carmona, Nicole Jacky or JaNa Craig.The decision to send Carmona home caused many fights, including one during which Martin and Walker told Rausch that Kateb had been the one pushing to send Carmona home — and this information discouraged Rausch from recoupling with Kateb. Kateb maintained that she “tried to take a back seat” in the decision making.Throughout and following the season, viewers asked on social media why the show didn’t just air the entire unedited footage of the four women making the decision, instead of allowing a seemingly endless “he-said-she-said.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      5 Takeaways from the ‘Love Island U.S.A.’ Season 6 Reunion

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      After a chaotic and fun season, even more drama unfolded on social media in the weeks that followed. This Peacock special broke everything down.This summer’s season of “Love Island U.S.A.” has been the most popular of the franchise so far. And, if it feels like everyone is talking about it, it’s because they probably are — during the second week of July, this show was the most watched streaming original series in the U.S., according to Luminate, an entertainment data tracking service. That means it outranked “The Bear.”Because of the season’s popularity, it made sense for the show to have its first ever reunion special. Hosted by Ariana Madix, whose training included being grilled by Andy Cohen during her many “Vanderpump Rules” reunions, the show featured 25 Islanders — both OGs and Casa Amor — discussing not only what went on during the season but also all the messy drama that has unfolded on social media in the weeks after the show aired.Here are the five biggest takeaways from the reunion.Full footage of the firepit vote between Serena Page, Olivia Walker, Leah Kateb and Kaylor Martin is revealed.One of the biggest and longest running dramas in the villa this season had to do with the dumping of Andrea Carmona. At the time, Carmona was coupled up with Rob Rausch, who had just gotten out of a couple with Leah Kateb.A handful of the women in the villa had to decide whom to dump between Carmona, Nicole Jacky or JaNa Craig.The decision to send Carmona home caused many fights, including one during which Martin and Walker told Rausch that Kateb had been the one pushing to send Carmona home — and this information discouraged Rausch from recoupling with Kateb. Kateb maintained that she “tried to take a back seat” in the decision making.Throughout and following the season, viewers asked on social media why the show didn’t just air the entire unedited footage of the four women making the decision, instead of allowing a seemingly endless “he-said-she-said.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 113 Shares189 Views

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      Rob Rausch and Aaron Evans Talk ‘Love Island’ Bromance

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      The “bromance” between Rob Rausch and Aaron Evans has helped make this season a hit. We talk to the pair about their special bond.The premise of “Love Island” is simple — put a bunch of attractive people on a remote island in Fiji where they have no communication with the outside world, are filmed 24/7 and endure silly (and often gross) challenges with the ultimate goal of coupling up with another islander.Like many dating shows, “Love Island” (which now has U.S., U.K. and Australia versions, among many others) doesn’t actually yield that many enduring romances. Instead, the friendships that form can often define the show. The bromance playing out between Aaron Evans and Rob Rausch on the current season of “Love Island U.S.A.” is a prime example.From left: Evans, Kaylor Martin and Rausch on “Love Island USA.”Ben Symons/PeacockViewers have seen both of them pursue romantic relationships — Evans with Kaylor Martin and Rausch with a handful of different islanders. But just as often as they were schmoozing and canoodling with women, they were sitting at the end of the villa’s dock shedding tears, laughing or talking about their feelings. This set off a range of comments online — some viewers celebrated their friendship with TikTok edits of their best moments, while others implied (or said outright) that they both wanted to be more than friends. Their displays of affection were startling to some viewers, as male friendships on TV are rarely cast in that light. The pair’s bond has been one of the major reasons this season of “Love Island” has become a breakout hit, topping most-watched charts during its summer run and finally matching up to the original U.K. version in the eyes of many fans. Over a Zoom call — where Evans was in a lodge in Britain that was shaking thanks to a rambunctious washing machine and a shirtless Rausch was in and out of bed in a house in Los Angeles — we discussed the response to their friendship and the portrayal of men’s vulnerability onscreen.When Evans (from the coastal area of southwest England) and Rausch (a self-described “snake wrangler” from Alabama) met, it was not friendship at first sight. They bonded when Evans offered Rausch a cigarette, but Rausch thought that Evans was too wild.

      @loveislandusa Brotherhood has kept these two afloat. Bye for now, Dock! #LoveIslandUSA @Robert Rausch @Aaron.evans ♬ original sound – Love Island USA We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      6 Books Like ‘It Ends With Us’ by Colleen Hoover to Read Next

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      Whether the Blake Lively movie brought you to the Colleen Hoover universe or you’re a longtime CoHo fan looking for more emotional, spicy stories, these novels are for you.In the past few years, no writer has dominated the best-seller list quite like Colleen Hoover. The prolific author was one of the breakout stars of the self-publishing boom over a decade ago, and her global following has only grown with BookTok’s embrace of her novels. Now Hoover — CoHo to her fans — is setting her sights on the silver screen, with the release of “It Ends With Us,” the first film adaptation of one of her books; the movie, starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, opens in theaters Aug. 9.Hoover’s fans adore her books for their emotional intensity: The stories often revolve around themes of trauma, resilience and hope, and the characters’ tragic histories and passionate struggles provide a catharsis that readers describe as not merely heartbreaking, but heart-stomping-into-smithereens. While she is commonly billed as a romance writer, Hoover also mixes in Y.A., thriller and horror, always with plenty of spice and drama. You can see her influence in the ample selection of new books that aim to walk a similar line — or by glancing around your local bookstore, where you can spot many covers that have gotten the “CoHo treatment.”Whether you’re new to Hoover’s work and looking to see what all the fuss is about, or yearning for some more high drama and emotional intensity while you wait for her next book, all of these options will keep you reading way past your bedtime.Book vs. movie, let me be the judgeIt Ends With Us, by Colleen HooverIf you’ve heard of one of Hoover’s book, it’s probably this one, which has spent a whopping 165 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Lily, a florist, is initially dazzled by Ryle, an enigmatic neurosurgeon. But painful moments from Lily’s childhood begin to echo into her present as she slowly realizes that Ryle’s charm belies an explosive temper — and when Atlas, her first love and her last tie to a life she’d left behind, reappears.Take me deeper into the CoHo universeWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More