Agents of SMOOCH

Our agents are kicking off their Sunday shoes for this mission. It’s time to fight for your prom and get Footloose. This mission explores how teenagers gonna teenage and whether Footloose still holds up 40 years later. Join our discussion of sex, religion, politics, and shaking your bootie in a rainfall of glitter. Back to the Future makes several surprising cameos, but it all makes sense—trust us. So get up off of your knees and everybody cut footloose....

Our Agents were so excited about Mr. & Mrs. Smith, that they just jumped right back in with the 2024 series. This is not a chronological episode but entirely based on what the Agents are excited about. This is another intense relationship in an intense fantastical situation and literal booms exploding. We dig deep into love and communication while making wild speculations about what could come next for John and Jane if we get a season 2....

For today’s mission, our Agents take on The Buccaneers, an Apple TV series that is scandal-laden and somewhat historical. The modern sensibility and soundtrack laid over the historical invasion of rich American debutants into cash-strapped British upper-class society make for an energetic vibe. If you missed it, our Agents recommend catching up before joining us for a good gossip about the collection of characters. In lieu of research, these Agents have chosen to go for wild historical speculations. Warning! The Director permitted Agent Kirsten to swear and she took advantage so this episode is NSFW....

Our Agents are back with another Romance in Action mission with Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Part 1). We are starting with the 2005 movie that shows Great Truths Hidden Under the Fantastical. On the surface, this is a movie about two married spies flirting by trying to kill each other. Underneath the fantasy, this movie is about the safety of expressing your feelings and true self to your partner. Grab your hidden stash of weapons, it’s about to get dangerous-metaphorically. Don’t blow up your house, Agents. This mission includes a bit of a discussion about the Mr. & Mrs. Smith...

We are back with a classic Romance in Action from 1986: The Big Easy. We have Dennis Quaid practicing the art of seduction with Ellen Barkin amid a murder investigation. With a seedy 80s vibe, they follow a trail of clues that lead them deeper into a corrupt mess in New Orleans. The investigation keeps pulling them apart making us wonder: Will they or won’t they?...

Our Director Annette Wierstra interviews playwright and writer Reina Hardy in advance of the release of her Hallmark movie Paging Mr. Darcy. They discuss Jane Austen, conferences, Regency dancing, and casting Austen heroes. They also dive into how one gets into writing a Hallmark movie, the logistics of writing a screenplay, and the experience of having your script come to life....

I’m freeing my squee about this new podcast on the Incomparable. Drs. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet asked me to join them on Free The Squee for their holiday episode about Round and Round, the time loop Hanukkah movie. We loved it. And we are sure you will too. To get more Free the Squee, subscribe on your favourite podcatcher, or find them on the Incomparable website: https://www.theincomparable.com/fts/...

It’s time for our annual holiday movie marathon. Don your Christmas PJs, gather your festive snacks, and get out the Holiday Bingo Cards. Our Agents watched three Christmas movies of varying quality and enjoyed every minute of it. We watched: A Biltmore Christmas Christmas in Notting Hill Where Are You, Christmas? We also discuss other movies we have watched this holiday season: Must Love Christmas Checkin’ it Twice Fit for Christmas Ex-mas Mystery at Mistletoe Lane Merry Mystery Christmas Join us to find out who made “the stupidest peanut butter cookies I’ve ever seen” and a surprising amount of sports...

It’s time for the holidays! And what better way to celebrate than with the Christmas action movie Long Kiss Goodnight with Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson? You might think this movie is the antithesis of a Hallmark holiday movie, but it is the struggle between the two sides of amnesiac Samantha/Charlie. Will she stick with the idyllic small-town family life she created or return to the life of an international spy?...

For this mission, our Agents discuss Ocean’s 8 as part of our Romance in Action series. How much do we love this all-women heist movie cast? A lot. A lot a lot. Join us as we discuss a fantastic cast of characters, couture fashion, and safe spaces. And of course, we dive right into the romantic tension that underlays this entire film. Bring on the sequel, please....

We are back with another Romance in Action with a mission in praise of fluff. Ghosted matches up Chris Evans and Ana de Armas again in a spy/not a spy action adventure. We don’t recommend it as a stalkering road map for finding love IRL, but it is full of chases, OTT villains, and a plot that takes us across the globe. If you want a fun escape with pretty people in nice clothes chasing MacGuffins, this movie is about as deep as you need it to be....

Surprise! We are dropping an extra special episode because we wanted to spend Halloween with you. We’ve got a wonderfully gothic romance for you to read from Uncanny Magazine which will set the perfect seasonal scene. So light some candles, close the doors and windows tight, and join us as we explore Radcliffe Hall by Miyuki Jane Pinckard....

This week’s mission is all about time travel, romance, and saving the human race from destruction by our robot overlords. As we continue our Romance in Action series we chose a classic favourite: 1984’s The Terminator. We are going to talk about the tension, the murder, the time travel, and the naked men. But we are going to focus on Sarah Connor and how great she is as a character and her epic romance story. Come with us if you want to live!...

Join us for a new series: Romance in Action. We are starting with one of our favourite actors Sandra Bullock in an Action RomCom Miss Congeniality (which definitely did not have a sequel). Over 20 years after it came out, Miss Congeniality still wins our hearts. Are we a Sandra Bullock podcast now? Maybe....

Our Agents did a double mission for this episode going to the Pretty Woman Musical and rewatching the Pretty Woman movie. They begin discussing how a 1990 romcom starring a sex worker held up much better than you might expect and they embrace being Julia Roberts stans. Then they discuss how the musical is good fan service and whether it can hold up to the source material. Put on your tallest boots and shortest skirt and join us!...

Welcome to season 4 of Agents of SMOOCH! We are starting with Queen Charlotte with a very deep dive into the Great Experiment, love and mental health, and tending your garden at any age. The series gave our Agents more feelings than they expected, in the best way....

It’s our 100th episode! It’s also our Director’s 50th birthday! That means this episode’s mission is a romantic trope draft. How else would the Agency celebrate? Our agents start by sharing their favourite memories from the past 100 episodes before diving into draft. Join the party and get ready to sniped....

Our Agents return to 10 Things I Hate About You but this mission investigates the 2009 television show. Director Annette and Agent Erika watch the first episode together for “a mere soupçon of crap.” This leaves the Director with a lot of questions which Erika tries to answer on this solo mission. Join us for 10 Things Erika Hates About 10 Things I Hate About You (the TV Show). For balance, she also lists 10 things she likes (hint: it’s Ethan Peck)....

Our agents gather to discuss Shakespeare turned teen romcom 10 Things I Hate About You from 1999. This is movie beloved by many agents for many reasons such as the soundtrack, Julia Stiles, and improvements on Shakespeare’s original story. Come back to high school and find out why we don’t hate this movie. Not even a little bit....

Most of our Agents aren’t fans of Zombies or horror but somehow The Last of Us television series kept them tuning in each episode. If you’ve been with us for a while, you already know why: it was love. Join us as we explore the romantic love, platonic love, parental love, and twisted love that is motivating the action and the characters within this series....

It is time for our Agents to get into the inspiration for our Pirates series: Season 1 of Our Flag Means Death. This romantic comic pirate series has inspired a lot of feelings from our Agents - not just for our lead characters: Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and Black Beard (Taika Watiki) but for the entire crew of misfit pirates. We are excited to bring you on board for this mission while we wait for Season 2 of this adventure on the sea....

Our Agents continue their pirate mission with a review of all five Pirates of the Caribbean movies. They tackle important questions like: Can a fight scene be too long? What is an acceptable age gap between suitors? When should your Kraken be light and when should it be intense? Join us as we try to focus on the first movie but end up discussing the full series at length. Trigger warning: We talk about the allegations about Johnny Depp from 50 to 62 minutes so you can skip that part or you can skip this whole episode if you prefer....

It’s time for more pirates and the beloved Princess Bride (1987) movie. This is a movie our agents know by heart but they are coming back to after a long period of absence. Does this change our perspective of the classic romantic adventure? We dive right in with a focus on the romance between Princess Buttercup and her Wesley. Is it a great epic romance? They also consider how this story might shift if anyone dared to give it a modern reboot (inconceivable!) or a sequel (looking at you Willow). Drop. Your. Sword. And get ready to skip straight to...

Git out yer swords and oversized hats, mateys! It is time for our Falling for Pirates series. Our first swashbuckling mission begins with the romantic, fairytale adventure Stardust, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. Our agents were happy to run through The Wall to follow this all-star cast in an epic chase with royal intrigue and magic with a side of sky pirates....

Our intrepid romancers are back with the continuation of our Valentine-themed romance RPG. While they literally try to herd cats, it becomes a romantic chase story. Who will find whom? What is happening with Magnus’ kids? Will this Valentine’s Day Dance ever happen? Tune in to join Betty (Kathy), Cameron (Will), Magnus (James), Mayor Miranda (Kirsten), Stella (Shelly), and Ms. Harper (Jean) in this rollicking romance....

A long time ago, for our second anniversary, we recorded a Valentine-themed romance RPG. As we head back into the new year, with our third anniversary fast approaching, we are releasing part one of this delightful, cat-centric romance story. Join Betty (Kathy), Cameron (Will), Magnus (James), Mayor Miranda (Kirsten), Stella (Shelly), and Ms. Harper (Jean) as they try to plan the Valentine Dance of their dreams. This is our second romantic role-playing game using the Warmer in Winter game from Will Lentz....

It’s that time of year again! We’ve got our ugly sweaters on and some of the agents who are all in the same city gathered for snacks, cocktails, and a daylong holiday movie marathon! We discuss the ineffable definition of chemistry and why some actors have it and some don’t. We also evaluate the quality of the movies we’ve been watching from a variety of criteria: Is it good/good? Is it bad in the best way? Was there chemistry? Did I have a good bingo card round? Does it remind us of Doctor Who? Were the musicians actually playing? Did...

We are back with Season 3 of Agents of SMOOCH. We couldn’t let prime romance movie season pass us by. So we are starting with Lindsay Lohan’s holiday offering: Falling for Christmas. Join our agents as they discuss what worked, what didn’t, which snow was fake, and what makes this a very good movie for our holiday bingo cards....

Join our Incomprehensible Agents of SMOOCH for a special Halloween movie commentary. Cue up the 1991 version of The Addams Family and get ready for some serious romantic gazes with the Addams Family. This movie is a family classic but under the surface has a lot of simmering heat that makes it perfect for a romantic Halloween mission....

A brief announcement from our Director and a preview of what is coming in Season 3 of Agents of SMOOCH on starting October 28....

Join us for a mission of love of Ever After. Is it the perfect retelling of Cinderella? Possibly. For a movie that is 25 years old (seriously, we are all old), it generally holds up. All the Agents on this mission have been watching and rewatching Ever After for all those years and are prepared to pick apart what they like, what they would fix, and why they mute the credit. Get your apple throwing arm ready and join us for our happily ever after....

Our Agents revisit a modern classic or perhaps a cult favourite for many of us. A movie about books, authors, readers, and a cognizant watch that is, indeed, Stranger than Fiction. Some of our Agents have seen this movie repeatedly, but we have two Agents coming to it with completely fresh perspectives. We delve into the twists and turns of this movie to decide if this movie holds up and how we feel about Will Ferrell’s performance (variable). We’ve got romance, academics, and Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Queen Latifah, and a very academic Dustin Hoffman. Grab a plate of warm...

By special Agent request, our Agents are discussing a 2022 independently-published book Legends & Lattes: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes by Travis Baldree which will be re-released this November through Tor. This warm bath of a book gave us all a warm glow and we just wanted to share that feeling with all of you. Take some DnD style characters in a setting reminiscent of the Forgotten Realms but (mostly) put down your weapons and pull up a chair for a latte and warm pastries. We have so much we want to share with you....

Our agents want to talk about Stranger Things. It is a nostalgic-filled, horror-fueled, teen drama with SO many ships to sail. Join us on this mission that covers all four seasons of the show. This episode is full of spoilers but our Agents spend little time talking about the plot. We do talk about character arcs and relationship development. The Agents realize that they have impassioned opinions about OTPs the NOT OTPs and who is the most boring burger. Not even our Agents knew how much they cared until they got into it. We have a lot to say about...

Our Agents are back again to complete their romantic adventure in Hopewell Springs. The morning dawns over our winter festival and almost everyone is excited. But not everything is happening quite as they wanted. Will we save Ruby’s mysterious ritual? Will we ever see Big Foot? Will anyone actually SMOOCH? Join Ruby (Julia), Amelia (KatyBeth), Jac (Heather), and Ellie (Riley) in our grand finale....

Are we a romance podcast if we aren’t talking about Bridgerton? We are back for Season 2 and Katony is here to try to win our hearts. Join our agents as they discuss love triangles, chemistry, and a slow-burn romance. We are in love with all the South Asian and Bollywood influences on this season. Do we love everything? Is there too much scandal? Did they show us the wrong wedding? Get out your mallet, it is time for the pall mall....

Join our Agents as they reunite for the Matrix Resurrections movie. We are enjoying that this sequel confirms all our predictions and feelings about the Matrix being a romance series. The sequel was an unexpected surprise 20 years later. Although it was pretty much nothing like we were expecting it was the romance we wanted. We may not like everything about the sequel but in the end, we are painting everything with all the rainbows....

We are back with a rollicking romantic adventure! Our Agents went to see The Lost City in actual theatres with snacks. And they were not disappointed in Sandra Bullock’s comedic performance in the sparkliest hot pink jumpsuit. Listen to our Director try to say Channing Tatum while our Agents are oozing love for Dash/Alan. Warning: This episode could result in giant tables of charcuterie. Incomparable Memberships!: Sign up, support our show, and get access to exclusive podcasts!...

We are back with a little teaser for our season 2 and to tell you about the amazing podcast network we are part of The Incomparable. Incomparable Memberships!: Sign up, support our show, and get access to exclusive podcasts!...

The S.M.O.O.C.H. Agency is making a change to our schedule. After two years of consistent podcasts, we are switching to a seasonal schedule. We are already hard at work recording new episodes for you and we will be back soon....

It’s our second Anniversary and the Agency has convened two groups of friends to play the romantic role-playing game Warmer in Winters from Will Lentz. In our first romantic adventure, our characters are gathered in the small town of Hopewell Springs just before the Winter Solstice Festival. Some ne’er-do-wells are trying to stop the festival because it is too witchy. Pebbles will be tossed. Ruckuses will be instigated. But will our friends save the festival? Will we actually see Bigfoot? When is someone actually gonna SMOOCH? Join Ruby (Julia), Amelia (KatyBeth), Jac (Heather), and Ellie (Riley) to find out if...

This week we are sharing an episode of our favourite Old Movie podcast hosted by Agent Shelly Brisbin. It’s time for Lions Towers & Shields. We discuss a classic mystery that mixes romance with suspense in the most perfect way… All this fuss over one lady in a painting. Laura! Loads of men want her, she has a song that’s quite memorable, and everyone in this movie talks about her constantly. Otto Preminger directs Gene Tierney, Vincent Price, Dana Andrews, and Clifton Webb. It’s a great cast, and the film comes just as we’re entering the film noir era. But...

Join our Agents as they dive into another romance-saturated, sci-fi story. This time they are discussing all 5 seasons of Fringe, because what was the pandemic for, if not to rewatch all our comfort shows? Fringe is more proof that you can take a procedural science fiction show and blend in the romance perfectly. Comparisons to X-Files were inevitable. We cover the important beats of all five seasons and ponder the important questions such as Do we like Fauxlivia? And why aren’t there more Astrid-centric stories? Are there any other sci-fi shows that do romance as well as Fringe?...

This might be the smoochiest of Agents of S.M.O.O.C.H. episodes and likely overdue. We are holding a favourite kiss draft just in time for the New Year. We have all kinds of kisses for you from movies and television, classics and new shows. They all get our Agents’ motors going and our hearts humming. So get out your chapstick and lip gloss. It’s time to SMOOCH. See our extensive show notes for all our picks and related links if you want to watch along....

Join some of our Agents for a cozy in-person recording. They are cozied up in Christmas sweaters and Santa hats (really) and surrounded by snacks (or the remains of them). They have paused in the middle of a Christmas movie marathon to tell you about their favourite Christmas movies and try to answer all your holiday movie questions: Why are there SO MANY Christmas movies? What makes a good one? What makes them angry? What would they like to see improved? Why are we eating so many snacks? Come listen in and then go on your own festive mission with...

Our Agents who knit and crochet convene for this mission about our favourite pop culture knitwear. Instead of talking about lovers, we are talking about something that we love. Join us as we discuss our fibre art origin stories and things that we like to knit or crochet. So often during missions, our agents end up talking about knitwear and wardrobe and whether or not Christmas sweaters are good sweaters. This mission is a grand experiment that lets us fawn over pictures of knitwear so we can discuss what we like (or don’t like) about cable-knit sweaters. Yes. Of course,...

The Agents who have gathered for this mission really like The Matrix. Like really like it. We even like the sequels like it. And they are all very excited for the fourth installment dropping this December. We’re here to decide if this trilogy is really is as smoochworthy as we remember. Is it our destiny to find The One in The Matrix? Be ready for wild speculation about numbers and the upcoming fourth movie. Forget blowing up helicopters and buildings, we blow our own minds....

Our Agents are wrapped in flannel and grooving to grunge for this mission. Get your video dating profile ready because today we are all Singles. This beloved 90s romance classic from Cameron Crowe brings back fond memories of a bygone era. Our Agents delve into whether or not this movie is romantic even if it is packed with romance and whether or not that building actually has an elevator. Join us as we reflect on the technology of the past and speculate on what the modern-day sequel would look like for these characters. Bonus Mission: Can you guess what are...

Join our Agents for our second OcTOMber mission. This time we join Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain in a haunted house story: Crimson Peak. This beautiful gothic horror, directed by Guillermo Del Toro, is full of tension and just enough scares to please our Agents. The Agents go on side missions about Burn Gorman and sink repair. They heroically save the dog through headcanon. Help us ponder burning questions such as: How do you pronounce “magnate?” What is Hiddlestuff? Is this a vampire movie? Who knows?! You will have to listen to find out....

Welcome to OcTOMber! Our two-part celebration of spooky romances starring Tom Hiddleston. We open with Only Lovers Left Alive, starring Tom, Tilda Swinton, and Mia Wasikowska as vampires. This is more of a melancholy installment in the vampire genre, but it is sexy and funny in a slow-burn kind of way. Our mission is stacked with lovers of this movie who are delighted to introduce it to our director. Be warned! They are ready to lure you into this world of lovers too....

Did anyone ask for this? NO! But we did it anyway, first just for our members and now we release it to all our listeners. After we watched all the Twilight movies together, we had to do the Twilight FanFic come 50 Shades of Grey. This is definitely an NSFW and not safe for little ears episode of drinking, giggling, and entertaining each other when the movie fails to. There was pre-drinking. There will be much disdain. No one will actually know what is happening but when do we? Are we sorry we did this? Maybe. Will we do the...

Our Agents are taking a short vacation. In the meantime, you can revisit our very first mission. We start with little pre-episode reminiscing about the past 18 months of Agents of S.M.O.O.C.H and then return to our inaugural Valentine’s Day episode. We celebrated the holiday of love with a draft of our Special Agent’s favourite romance movies paired with a romantic dessert. Will we pick your favourite romance? Maybe Probably not. But we promise it will be delicious....

It is time to close our Summer of Love with one last summer wedding with 2001’s Monsoon Wedding. It is a multi-generational family story of love and romance set at an Indian wedding. The story shows us a glimpse into the life of this family and household as they prepare for the wedding. Bringing together family members from far-flung reaches of the globe awakens the drama and ultimately brings us to our happy ending. We sidetrack into Indian weddings generally, all the beautiful wardrobe changes, and just missing weddings generally. *Trigger warning: Sexual assault, 26:00-31:30 when we discuss Ria’s storyline....

In our continuing Summer of Love, join our Agents as The Wedding Date. This 2005 film takes the classic pretend lovers trope and mixes in family drama and secrets. Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney lead the cast as the estranged sister of the bride and her hired escort. The Agents side track into a lament for the lack of modern, middle-brow romcoms in theatres (even in non-pandemic times). Join us as we montage our way into our perfect wedding outfits as we try to answer the ultimate fashion question: who should change when your outfits are too matchy matchy?...

Join us for our continuing Summer of Love series for a crossover episode with the Lions, Towers, and Shields podcast. We go back in time for the wedding movie The Philadelphia Story. It’s the best-loved of the four movies Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant made together, and the one that also stars Jimmy Steward. Another George Cukor production, this was Hepburn’s triumphant entry into MGM, and her middle finger to the “box office poison” label of the late 1930s. “Hullo, George!”...

Our summer of Love continues with a second ABBA laden movie. Join our Agents while they attend Muriel’s Wedding. Or is it Mariel’s Wedding? This is a movie full of bad decisions and terrible people, and yet we don’t hate them? Our agents discuss how the movie balances a line between tragedy and comedy. They explore their feelings about wedding bouquet and garter tosses. Does this 1994 wedding age well? Tune in to find out....

For this episode in our Summer of Love wedding movie series, we are going to Greece for the musical joy and wonder of the Mammas Mia! movies. It’s a lovefest for this set of comfort films that set the standard for how musicals should be transformed into movies. There’s a lot of time math and we can’t make it add up, but we have a lot of fun and we don’t sing. Much....

We continue our Summer of Love and wedding movies with Imagine Me and You. This 2005 movie was ahead of its time bringing together comfy fashion, flowers and the perfect chemistry of Piper Perabo and Lena Headly. It’s a comfort movie worth rewatching or watching for the first time if you’ve missed this one....

Do you hear the wedding bells? We are starting our Summer of Love with all wedding episodes. Our first mission is Bride and Prejudice which is a modern, Bollywood take on Pride and Prejudice and four weddings. Our Agents do a deep dive into the music and dancing, barely restraining themselves from breaking into song. We are having fun in this three-continent, cross-cultural retelling of Austen....

In this episode’s mission, our Agents return to the Netflix series, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before* to discuss the final movie in the trilogy, Always and Forever. This third story shows us Lara Jean at the moment before she jumps out of the nest into university. Our Agents discuss the concept of a “safety school” and how Dad must be loaded. Will Lara Jean and Peter survive always and forever? Our aged Agents are perhaps less optimistic than romantic but they wish these two teens well. Listen to our episode about the first two To All the Boys...

Our mission today is to talk about office supplies and how can staplers be so sexy! It is time for our Agents to return to the world of kink—this time with more enthusiasm. We are discussing the 2002 movie Secretary starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader with our returning Special Agent and Kink expert Veronica Yanhs. Join our Agents in this discussion of why this movie makes us feel things in our hearts and some other parts. And yes. We do talk about 50 Shades of Grey again. Honestly, if Agents of S.M.O.O.C.H. has an arch-nemesis, 50 Shades is it....

Dear Listeners, it’s time for another Book Club meeting. Our mission today is to persuade you to fall in love with the Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourne. Our Director frequently admits to having a penchant for the mystery/romance genre and this series ranks high on her list of faves. Join our Speedwellian agents for a spoiler-light discussion about Veronica and her growing collection of eclectic compatriots. The agents sigh a lot and wax poetic on the romantic tension in novels and their book crushes on Veronica and “Stoker” Templeton Vane. Bonus side trips into sibling relationships, fan-casting our dream...

Our Agents were feeling a little housebound, so we packed our culottes and curlers and met up with Barb and Star in Vista Del Mar. This movie starring Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo, and Jamie Dornan in a colourful and joyful spy romcom that exactly hits the spot for a quick getaway. It’s a movie about romance, but most importantly about that best friend who has always got your back. Most of the time. Well… some of the time. Join our Agents as they celebrate friendship and love and fishbowl-sized cocktails in the Florida sunshine. Comparisons to 50 Shades are inevitable,...

Our Agents travelling back in time on this mission to explore all five seasons of Poldark. The BBC historical drama provides our Agents with plenty of personal and political drama to fill several episodes, especially with side trips into Outlander and historical drama fandoms. We discuss how truly historical a historical romance is and how modern viewpoints always shape these stories. Lace up your corsets and buckle your boots, we’re smouldering and shipping and hating on as much as we can in our allotted time for this mission. Tigger warning Discussion of sexual assault in period dramas....

Join our Agents in our discussion about the 2015 film Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. Everything about this movie makes our Agents happy: Cate Blanchett, the story, the music, the cinematography, the wardrobe. Did we mention Cate Blanchett? We are just here to celebrate a historical lesbian film with a happy ending and to introduce our Director to memes just a few years too late. Digressions include historical lesbians, Emily Dickinson, and the last movie we saw in the theatre. It’s all in this mission with compliments of the season from the Management....

The Agents get soapy in this mission with a look at The Royals. The scandalous series about an alternate universe Royal British family that has almost as much drama as the actual family. Our Agents were lured into this mission with a promise of hotness and romance, and they were not disappointed. It’s another installment of “Stories where people keep more clothes on and yet are hotter than 50 Shades” rating system. We start with a spoiler-free pitch for why you should watch and a bit of Royal History head canon before we really dive in. Join us on this...

For our very first anniversary and our 50th episode, join us for our Valentine’s Day party! It’s part draft, part improv storytelling, part limes, and all ridiculousness. A large cast of our Agents has gathered to make the movie of our collective dreams. With no storyboards, no scripts, and no plans, we jump into the international waters of our imagination, each Agent bringing an actor of their choice. Together we find our North Star while singing sea shanties and folding towel art. Your Cruise Director is waiting! Meet us on the lido deck of the Agents of S.M.O.O.C.H. Love Boat....

Director Annette Wierstra (University of Alberta, MacEwan University, Royal Roads University) is joined by Agent Jean MacDonald (Beacon Hill, St. Lawrence, North Miami Beach Sr. High, University of North Carolina, Princeton) and Agent Sandra Wong (University of Alberta, Shizuoka National University) in this discussion about Kevin Kwan’s(1) (Crazy Rich Asians(2)) novel “Sex and Vanity.” This is an opulent(3) adaptation of the E.M. Forster novel and 1985 movie “Room with a View(4). This modern version is set in the decadent world of the uber-rich starring Lucie Churchill navigating family expectations and Society rules and high fashion(5). This retelling has all the...

Our Agents are on the mission of Bridgerton and ready to love and critique this new series that has taken romance by storm. We’ve got a lot to say about the adaptation from the Julia Quinn book series, how inclusive casting affects the story and characters, sex, speculation about what’s to come, and yes, even warp drives. Don your best frocks and suits, it is time to step out into a new kind of Regency society. Content Warning: Sex, Sexual Assault...

Let our Agents take you to Prom! We’ve gathered for this first mission of the New Year to think about musicals, adaptations, and how much we just like singing and dancing. The mission may start with some of our less favourite parts but then we celebrate that with the Prom movie is a joyful lesbian love story that hits us in the feels. Our Agents discuss how we need even more LGBTQ2+ stories and that they are important to show a diversity of queer experiences. Put on your sparkly sneakers and be our dates to Prom. (Hey high schools! We...

Happy Holidays! Welcome to our final installment of 12 Days of Love Actually. For today’s mission, our full ensemble of Agents come together to discuss the Red Nose Day Actually reunion video from 2017 and reflect on how Love Actually holds up in 2020....

Welcome to our 12 Days of Love Actually. Today’s mission is Sam, Joanna, and Daniel with Agents Kirsten Goruk and Kayti Burt....

Welcome to our 12 Days of Love Actually. Today’s mission is Natalie and David with Agents Kathy Campbell, Moises Chuillan, and Brian Hamilton....

Welcome to our 12 Days of Love Actually. Today’s mission is Harry and Karen with Agents Jean Macdonald and Sandra Wong....

Welcome to our 12 Days of Love Actually. Today’s mission is Colin and the American Girls with Agents Kirsten Goruk and Kayti Burt....

Welcome to our 12 Days of Love Actually. Today’s mission is Billy Mack and Joe with Agents Kathy Campbell, Moises Chuillan, and Brian Hamilton....

Welcome to our 12 Days of Love Actually. Today’s mission is Juliet, Peter, and Mark with Agents Jean Macdonald and Sandra Wong....

Welcome to our 12 Days of Love Actually. Today’s mission is John (My friends call me Jack) and Just Judy with Agents Kirsten Goruk and Kayti Burt....

Welcome to our 12 Days of Love Actually. Today’s mission is Harry and Mia with Agents Kathy Campbell, Moises Chuillan, and Brian Hamilton....

Welcome to our 12 Days of Love Actually. Today’s mission is Jamie and Aurelia with Agents Jean Macdonald and Sandra Wong....

Welcome to our 12 Days of Love Actually. Today’s mission is Sarah and Karl with Agents Kirsten Goruk and Kayti Burt....

Welcome to our 12 Days of Love Actually. Our Agents are taking on Love Actually one relationship at a time. From now until Christmas our mission is a deep dive on the holiday classic. We start by looking at our traditions for the movie and our initial thoughts about this movie. This special holiday advent mission is brought to you by an ensemble or our Agents of S.M.O.O.C.H....

We are jumping back in time with a Christmas crossover episode with Lions, Towers & Shield podcast. By popular demand among both members and panelists actual and potential, we explore this 1945 classic. Peter Godfrey (who?) directs Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan and a cast of delightful character actors in a holiday story about covering up lies with more lies on a farm in Connecticut on Christmas Eve. Holiday food and sleigh rides aplenty....

Join our Agents as they travel to the Czech Republic with Queen Latifah in Last Holiday. On this mission, we find the joy of the season and of just being kind in the most glamorous of hotels. So throw that pashmina over your shoulders and meet us for an exquisite meal in the hotel restaurant or at least for a roast chicken in First Class....

We jump right into the holiday with a little international house swap movie called The Holiday (2006) starring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, and Jack Black. Our Agents debate which storyline is more romantic and which actor is the weakest link. Our agents do deep dives in our various headcanon proving they’ve thought about these characters a lot. Sidetracks include: Who is taking care of the dog? Would Idris Elba be a good rom-com movie lead? Where will everyone live after the movie ends?...

Here at the S.M.O.O.C.H. Agency, we like to jump fully into the Holiday spirit as soon as the Halloween decorations are put away. There is a Christmas Tree in every corner of the office. Christmas Sweaters are required Agent wear. And excessive tinsel is drifting through the air. We are starting our SMOOCHtastic holiday season with a BONUS! Incomprehensible Commentary for the beloved Christmas Classic The Christmas Prince (2017). Get out your cozy slippers, your eggnog, your whimsy, and your love of fake European royalty and join our Agents on this mission to Balmorovia or something like that....

Our SMOOCHtacular Halloween month is ending with the modern classic and original ZomRomCom: 2004 Shaun of the Dead. Join our Agents as they search for love triangles and zombies on this spoOoOooOOoky mission. This movie is every bit as much a romance as it is a horror-comedy and is halfway to a musical with its precise choreography. Agents also discuss the Cornetto trilogy and reminisce about early 2000s technology. Will we make it to the Winchester? We got you covered with our kitchen implements and cricket bats. But, um… you’ve got red on you....

Join our Agents for a bonus mission to the Back of the Moon. This film is part of the upcoming online Canadian South African Film festival and we got a sneak preview. We follow the gangster Bra Max on the last day in 1958, in Sophiatown, a black community just at the edge of Johannesburg. Our agents look at the local gang battle set within the greater story of Apartheid in South Africa. And within these threads sits the romance of Max and the singer Eve Msomi who get one night to explore their love before everything changes. Content Warning:...

We are continuing our SMOOCHtacular October of spooooky romances with the classic Practical Magic. We stan the sisters Gillian and Sally and their perfectly witchy aunts in this movie that is a romance and so much more. Get out your broom as we discuss all the Halloweeny, witchy things and multiple generations of powerful women who come together to cast a spell on us....

We are starting our SMOOCHtacular October with a mummy and a boy with a pretty epic treehouse. It’s time for a Brendan Fraser double feature! In this mission, we look at how *The Mummy *and *George of the Jungle *focus on the female gaze. And not just because both these movies have particularly pretty casts. We head into the jungle and the desert to look search for treasure, battle enemies, woo the handsome hero, and find out why these movies are still enticing us all off on adventures....

Mix two hot actors, a sexy red room, and a lot of sex and nudity, and you’d think you’d have sexy movie magic. But our Agents find the movie Fifty Shades of Grey lacking in chemistry and rather mechanical. We bring a new Agent with kink expertise on this mission to help us discuss our feelings about the book series, movie, and what we wish it could be. What do we want? More fun and humour and joy in the film’s portrayal of sex and romance. And montages. Sexy, sexy montages. The real question is: Can we do a Moises...

Join our Agents for an Incomprehensible Commentary where our usually refined and thoughtful commentary is subsumed under wine and cocktails. It starts chaotic and goes off the rails while we watch and sometimes discuss 1985’s The Jewel of the Nile. The commentary is a final bonus episode to end our 2020 Virtual Vacation. It is the (probably inferior) sequel to our more sober Romancing the Stone discussion. If this kind of nonsense is your kind of nonsense, you can sign up to be an Incomparable member to get access to all our commentaries and more member extras at: https://www.theincomparable.com/members/. *Caution!...

Join us in our final Virtual Vacation mission hiking through Columbia to rescue one of our own in Romancing the Stone (1984). Our Agents are relieved that this croc-laden 80’s adventure romance is more exciting than our last one. And ultimately, we acknowledge the greatness that is Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas (and their free-flowing hair). Our Agents use the internet to solve all our problems so we don’t have to go on an elaborate adventure due to the lack of a cell phone. Pack carefully because we’re tossing that luggage as soon as it becomes too much a bother...

In our Penultimate Virtual Vacation stop, we squeeze in a mission to Iceland and Edinburgh to watch 2020’s Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Our Agents discuss how comedy with heart is the best comedy and develop our spin-off movies and shows about Sigrid, Lars, Alexander, and Mita. Our resident Eurovision expert from Sweden, Julia, gives us the low down on how well this movie represents the Eurovision Song Contest and lots of Icelandic Elf lore. Warm-up your vocals, because there will be a song-a-long....

We’re in France for our Virtual Vacation! Drinking wine, eating cheese, taking the train across the country with French Kiss (1995). This classic Meg Ryan and Kevin Klein is a little bit rom-com and a little bit caper and comes together in Cannes for romantic hijinks. Will our Agents be swayed by Luc’s slightly greasy charm and Kate’s insistent quest to win back the man she loves? They definitely have opinions about French and Canadian accents. And about men who are like little boys who follow their whims without thought. Join us in France for a Sea Breeze by La...

Our virtual vacation long weekend in Italy with Only You (1994) begins with controversy because our Agents are divided about the quality of this movie. Only You is a road trip through Italy with your BFF who knows how to pack your bag better than you do. It is jammed packed with people making bad decisions while Faith searches for the elusive Damon Bradley who may or may not be her Mr. Right. Will any of our Agents switch allegiances? Probably not, but join us for a passionate battle to win your heart over to this film or to get...

Our Agents are traipsing through Europe in this Virtual Vacation, trailing after the president’s daughter Anna in Chasing Liberty (2004). While we like the scenery (Hello Matthew Goode and Mandy Moore), we question whether Anna should be quite so careless with her wallet and her wellbeing. Follow us on this caper through the countryside with side trips into Canadian and Newfoundland accents, the Good Wife, and COVID era travel (or the lack of it). Our Agents offer valuable travel safety tips to keep you safe on your own romantic virtual vacation....

Welcome to another crossover where Lions, Towers, and Shields podcast host, Shelly Brisbin, joins our agents for a timey-whimey road trip for our Virtual Vacation series. Our agents tease apart the five(?) timelines in Two for the Road (1967), starring Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney using the cars the characters drive. Join us as we criss-cross through ten years of time and space while road-tripping through France towards the Mediterranean coast. Sometimes it’s smooth sailing, sometimes it’s rocky, sometimes there are too many people in the car. Make sure you pack the sunscreen....

It’s time to visit Nairobi, Kenya on our Virtual Summer Vacation with 2018’s Rafiki. Our agents come away from this visit with a deep appreciation for the Afrobubblegum style of filmmaking and the beauty of the movie. The story of Kena and Ziki is set in the context of a community and country where being queer is banned and yet Rafiki portrays a confident and intimate love story. Our agents were both moved and hopeful for the story of these two young Kenyan women....