True confession: I'm addicted to streaming on Netflix.
My family has been subscribing to Netflix since I was in high school. I was so loyal to the service that when I went to college I set up a personal account so I could get the red envelopes delivered right to my dorm room.
When they added streaming to the customer package I immediately began watching shows from channels I didn't get like Weeds (Showtime) and Friday Night Lights (Direct TV). I used it to start shows from the beginning that friends had been recommending for years like Brothers & Sisters and Parenthood. I even used it to re-watch shows I had loved in high school like Dawson's Creek and Ally McBeal.
Because I have binged watched so many shows, Netflix is running out of things to recommend to me. In fact, their suggestions keep getting more and more obscure.
This weekend Netflix recommended a romantic comedy called Ira & Abby. I recognized both of the actors on the movie poster, so I decided to click through for the full description.
The movie is written by and stars Jennifer Westfeldt. I was first introduced to her when she wrote and starred in Kissing Jessica Stein, a personal favorite. Most people think of her now as the writer and leading lady of Friends with Kids or as Jon Hamm's real life girlfriend.
In this movie, her love interest is played by Chris Messina, best known as Dr. Danny Castellano on The Mindy Project. The premise is that Chris' character Ira is stuck in a rut. He's living a pretty miserable life until one day he walks into a gym and tries to join. He waits 45 minutes for a tour and is then introduced to Abby (Westfeldt), the sales manager.
The two hit it off immediately and the movie follows their whirlwind courtship. I think one of the things Jennifer Westfeldt is best at is writing about the giddiness at the beginning of a relationship. She really captures that joyful, fizzy energy.
The movie's supporting cast has some heavy hitters with Judith Light of Who's The Boss fame playing Ira's mother, Robert Klein as Ira's father and Fred Willard as Abby's dad.
At the end of the film, Jon Hamm makes a cameo. I love that he pops up in all of her movies.
As the weather gets colder and you start to want to spend your weekends on the couch under the blanket, consider watching Ira & Abby. It clocks in at only 104 minutes and is a great reminder that your life can change any minute with just one introduction.
*Images courtesy of IMBD.
