Everything we canât stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture.
[Manage newsletters]( [View in browser]( [The logo for Daily Beast's Obsessed] Everything we canât stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture. with Kevin Fallon Everything we canât stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture. with Kevin Fallon This Week - The world canât wait for [that Challengers kiss](.
- The most annoying meme of the week.
- Stars are just faking relationships now.
- The most hilarious response to [that Bluey episode](.
- Spice up your life! Challengers Is Gonna Be a Huge Deal Every once in a whileâin spite of the inferno of lunacy, cruelty, and soul-crushing stress flaming all aroundâthe world resembles one that I still want to live in, that reflects my deepest values and belief in a society that is fundamentally good. By some soul-affirming miracle thatâs happening right now: People everywhere canât wait to see Zendaya and two cute boys kiss. This is my America. I canât remember the last time Iâve observed as much anticipation for a movie as Iâve seen these last few weeks for [Challengers](. The new film features [Zendaya]( as a tennis superstar at the center of an erotically charged rivalry-turned-love-triangle with her husband, Art (Mike Faist), and her former loverâand his former best friendâPatrick (Josh OâConnor). Directed by [Luca Guadagnino](, who steamed up screens previously with [Call Me By Your Name]( and [A Bigger Splash](, Challengers has been [steadily accruing buzz]( with months of titillating ads and trailers, scores of advanced screenings that produced ecstatic social media reaction, and a dizzying press tour spotlighting its starsâ charm and chemistryânot to mention Zendayaâs jaw-dropping fashion looks. Originally planned for a September 2023 release during the prime of award season, the film was pushed back seven months because the Hollywood strikes prevented the actors from doing press. Putting out the film anyway, as weâve now learned, would have robbed us of one of the most delightful interview onslaughts from a cast in recent memory. Plus, Challengers was originally set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival. As [Variety wrote](, âIf Zendaya canât walk the carpet at the Venice Film Festival⦠then whatâs the point?â A more indisputable question has never been asked. The result, quite appropriate given the nature of a film, has been seven months of foreplay. The promise of Zendaya in a sweaty, sexy movie with two male co-starsâeach of whom has charged up the ranking of The Internetâs Favorite Boyfriendsâwas tantalizing on its own. But then came each new interview, review, and report about Challengersâ most talked-about scene: the threeway kiss that concludes with OâConnor and Faist making out with each other. Anecdotally, my interminably online self could sense people on social media practically throbbing with anticipation for the filmâs release this weekend. Iâve been doing this long enough to know that this kind of pre-release enthusiasm for a film is extremely rare. Iâm not saying that Challengers is going to do the box-office numbers of a [Barbie]( or an [Oppenheimer](; itâs a specialty release on a far smaller scale than those blockbusters. But thereâs been a palpable thrill surrounding the buildup that has managed to remain almost relentlessly positiveâmade all the more impressive by how atypically long this march to the cinema has been. This Challengers affection runs counter to how the internet typically treats everything. The list in this famous quote has expanded in the modern media age: The only things certain in life are death, taxes, turning on the news will horrify you, needing a nap, and that there will always be people lurking to ensure that you donât enjoy anything fun for too long. As powerful as fans are on the internet, they are helpless to the terrorizing ways of cynics and buzzkills, the two entities that control the world. (The âworldâ in 2024, of course, being âthe discourse.â) If something seems fun, and people are outwardly excited for it, someone beams a Bat Signal. Then, they arrive heavily armed with an artillery of âWell, actuallyâ¦,â âThis is problematicâ¦,â âIt is actually bad becauseâ¦,â and detailed arguments as to why you are a loser for liking the project in question. Iâve been struck by (again, anecdotally) how this backlash has largely not surfaced with Challengers, at least not on the scale Iâm used to in pop culture. Not only have people been giddy at the opportunity to finally screen the movie, but those who have been able to see it in advance have been rapturous, stoking the excitement rather than extinguishing it. (Iâm not naive: There is indeed a section of the internet where people are primed to hate Challengers, and it shouldnât be shocking that itâs the extremist bubble where straight white men live.) The Daily Beastâs Obsessedâs Coleman Spilde [wrote in his review]( that âheat swells, tensions flare, and skin is slick with perspiration, but fatigue never once sets in,â a sentiment that was echoed in the glowing reactions lighting up social media:
I keep waiting for the other (tennis) shoe to drop. The serve to fault. Break point to be lost. But, implausibly, the closer Challengers has gotten to this weekendâs release, there have only been more reasons to be unapologetically stoked for the movie. There have been [more]( [interviews]( with Zendaya, OâConnor, and Feist that are impossible not to grin ear-to-ear to while reading. More euphoric reactions from early screenings. And then, the game-set-match point, at least for me, is this beautiful, ebullient quote from Guadagnino in reaction to all the chatter that the filmâs already iconic threeway kiss scene was going to generate. âItâs beautiful to kiss people!â [he told Variety](. âThatâs what I want to say. People, kiss! Do not make war.â Do not be surprised if, by Monday morning, Iâve had that quote stitched onto a throw pillow, painted onto a billboard, papered in flyers all over town, and tattooed across my body. Why are we all so stressed? Why is there so much hate? Why am I still sitting bleary-eyed at my laptop typing this damned newsletter? Letâs all go kiss! (And then go see Challengersâ¦and then kiss again.) Iâll meet you outside. Advertisement
Iâm Heading to the Asylum The only thing worse than a meme that completely floods your social media timeline is not understanding what in godâs name the meme means. As a burgeoning Old Person, this has become a frustratingly common occurrence. So in between refilling my acid reflux prescription and icing my sore knees, I finally broke down and googled the provenance of the meme that had been assaulting me all week, and now Iâm more annoyed than I was when I was just blissfully elderly, clueless, and out of touch. All week, I logged onto Twitter, or X, or Absolute Hellâwhatever we want to call it these daysâand there were [endless posts of random images]( captioned, âYou wouldnât last an hour in the asylum where they raised me.â At first, I thought it was poetic, a rare instance of social media earnestness. Then I noticed some of the photosâa picture of Seattle Grace Hospital from [Greyâs Anatomy](, the storefront of Aeropostale at a mall, the log-in page for Tumblrâand wondered if the line was some nostalgic reference to millennial childhoods that I had forgotten about. Then [Monica Lewinsky participated]( in the meme, posting a photo of the White House along with the standard caption, and mainstream media started to notice and report on it. Thatâs how I learned that this whole meme is a reference to a [Taylor Swift]( lyric from [The Tortured Poets Department](. Seriously?! Look, Iâm not typically one to harsh anyoneâs buzz. People should have fun when they can in this miserable time right now. And I canât really articulate why this bothers so much, other than understanding that Iâm more irritated than usual by this particular meme. But thereâs something so dystopian about the inescapability: Beyond the discourse that has overtaken every other corner of the pop-culture water cooler in this last week, Taylor Swiftâs new album has now staged a coup over my social media timeline too. Iâm a Taylor Swift agnostic. Itâs a typically peaceful existence. I like her music well enough and have no strong opinion about her life and celebrity one way or another. I have curated my social media to avoid the absurd arguing over her and her music. So to have this meme be unavoidable where I have tried to avoid everyoneâs Swift obsessions entirely, well thatâs going to send me to the asylum. Anyway, rant over. Iâll go back to watching my reruns of Matlock and warming up soup. Hard Launching My Relationship There was quite the scuttlebutt this week when Glen Powell revealed in a [New York Times interview]( that the speculation that he and [Anyone But You]( co-star Sydney Sweeney were having an off-set affair was intentional and orchestrated by the duo themselves. âThe two things that you have to sell a rom-com are fun and chemistry,â he said. âSydney and I have a ton of fun together, and we have a ton of effortless chemistry. Thatâs people wanting whatâs on the screen off the screen, and sometimes you just have to lean into it a bitâand it worked wonderfully. Sydney is very smart.â Some people thought this was hilarious and applauded the pair for pulling off such a clearly successful marketing strategy. Others felt duped and betrayed by a celebrity romance (and scandal) that they had invested in. Is it kind of insidious to play the public and the press like that? If we canât trust extremely hot and rich celebrities with an army of publicists hired to manipulate the media, then who can we trust!? As for me, I totally get it. I too have been lying about a romance, though my paramour and I have been operating with the opposite tactic to Glen and Sydney. Rather than pretend to be in love in public, Jonathan Bailey and I have been keeping our torrid, sex-heavy relationship a complete secret from everyone. If you ask him about it now, heâll still deny it. Heâs really into this ruse. What can I say? Thatâs my guy! Everyone Wants in on Bluey Last week, I wrote about how [the special, supersized episode of Bluey](, âThe Sign,â made everyoneâmyself includedâcry. In the episode, the Heeler family is so heartbroken about the idea of selling their home and moving out of their neighborhood that, in the end, they stay put. It was a poignant portrayal of the meaning of home, memories, and community, and the scary uncertainty of journeying into an unknown that wonât guarantee you more happiness than you already have. Everyone seemed to love and agree with that message. Everyone except, it turns out, the people and companies whose bank accounts rely on families actually going through with selling homes and moving, unlike the Heelers. Zillow has, hilariously and shrewdly, [released a new commercial]( in response to Bluey, hoping to convince buyers and sellers that they should still embrace the idea of movingâemotional cartoon dogs, be damned. âDespite how a certain childrenâs show made us all feel recently, moving into a new home might just be a good thing,â an appropriately Australian narrator says. At the end of the commercial, which lists the positives of moving, four real-life dogs are shown and, in another nod to Bluey, look forlorn while sitting next to a For Sale sign. âDonât look at me like that,â the narrator says. âCâmon guys, youâre killing me here.â I honestly love this. Good for Zillow. Watch the commercial [here](. You Gotta Get With My Friends Itâs a miracle that this newsletter exists this weekâor that any task was accomplished at allâbecause my brain has solely been preoccupied by one thing: the Spice Girlsâ reunion performance of âStop,â with the original choreography, at Victoria Beckhamâs 50th birthday party. Join me in watching it for the 479th time [here](. More From The Daily Beastâs Obsessed It must be so embarrassing to be a major celebrity who hasnât received Meghan Markleâs limited-edition jam yet. [Read more](. The ShÅgun finale was excellent, and it made one of the most surprising decisions a major TV production could make. [Read more](. HBOâs Weâre Here is consistently one of TVâs best reality series, and this season matters more than ever. [Read more](. [See This] - The Big Door Prize: If there was justice in the world, this would [have as much attention]( as Ted Lasso got. (Now on Apple TV+) - Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story: Spending several hours [looking at Jon Bon Jovi]( is always a valuable use of oneâs time. (Now on Hulu) - Challengers: At long last, my love of tennis is considered [hot and sexy](. (Now in theaters) [Skip This] - Unsung Hero: Even God canât save this [snoozy faith-based movie](. (Now in theaters) - City Hunter: They have all the money in the world, yet Netflix [canât make a good]( anime adaptation. (Now on Netflix) Like our take on what to watch?
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