Podcast Summary: "What's The Best Holiday Rom-Com? (Small Stakes, Big Opinions)"

Podcast: All Of It (WNYC)
Host: Alison Stewart
Guest: Rebecca Alter (Vulture staff writer)
Date: December 22, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode dives into the much-contested world of holiday romantic comedies, exploring what makes them beloved cultural staples, how the genre intersects with nostalgia, changing cultural norms, and individual taste. Host Alison Stewart and guest Rebecca Alter, alongside calls and texts from the WNYC community, debate and celebrate the best holiday rom-coms—classic and new.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Holidays Inspire Rom-Coms

• Rebecca Alter: Holidays combine rewatchability and a sense of tradition—people want coziness and comfort, dropping cynicism for sincerity during the season.

  “There’s a level of coziness over sexiness. Or the coziness is competing with the sexiness.” (03:02)

2. Defining the Holiday Rom-Com

• Key distinction: It's the holiday setting's unique “coziness,” its ability to ground seriousness and sentimentality, that differentiates a holiday rom-com from other romantic comedies.

3. Breakdown of Major Holiday Rom-Coms

Love Actually

• Always at the top of lists for its sprawl of characters, interwoven stories, and iconic moments.
• Rebecca:

  “Even if it’s not the best movie, it’s the most movie. There are like 15 plot lines to keep track of.” (04:19)

• Discussion about how the film handles outdated stereotypes (notably “the girl who’s always called fat”) and the evolution of cultural norms.

  “When I was watching it for the first time, I probably thought it was like satire because it feels so divorced from reality. But that is also just what I think the early 2000s were like.” (05:44)

• The Britishness (Hugh Grant's “charming bumble-ness”) is central to its lasting appeal.

When Harry Met Sally

• Listener Natalie calls in, lauding its realism, relatability, and classic happy ending.

  “It has a happy ending that made me feel very good.... And it has that wonderful line that the mother has—‘I’ll have what she’s having.’” (Caller Natalie/Jennifer, 06:47)

• Rebecca: The film set a “template” for modern rom-coms by being "so witty, so charming," and "full of these little human moments."
• Noted for its seasonal versatility, spanning from Fall to New Year's.

The Apartment (1960)

• Cited for its blend of drama and screwball comedy, set between Christmas and New Year's.

  “That is just one of the best ever rom coms that also thankfully happens to largely take place in that week between... Christmas Eve and New Year’s.” (09:50)

• Discussion of changing sexual politics and workplace culture depicted in earlier cinema compared to modern films.

Shop Around the Corner (1940)

• Inspiration for "You’ve Got Mail."

  “It’s these co-workers... who work in this little Christmasy shop in Budapest during the Depression... they’ve been writing letters to each other so they don’t know that they are each other’s, you know, crush.” (11:39)

• Highlights the timelessness of anonymous longing and mistaken identities.

The Family Stone

• Noted for its ensemble cast and emotional complexity.

  “I consider Family Stone to almost be like a harrowing drama disguised as a rom com, but it also captures, you know, something very relatable to a lot of people around this time of year.” (13:58)

• Discussion of how holiday rom-coms enable star-powered ensemble casts and become part of people’s traditions.

Bridget Jones’s Diary

• Listener Jennifer declares it her favorite; highlights the Christmas setting and relatability.

  “You cannot think of that movie... without that image of Colin Firth in the reindeer jumper popping into your head.” (17:38)

• Praised for wit, soundtrack, and Renee Zellweger's performance.

Serendipity, Bell Book and Candle, Scrooged, Holiday Inn, While You Were Sleeping, The Holiday

• Listeners call in with wide-ranging picks, revealing the genre’s diversity.
  • Scrooged (Bill Murray): “A lot of calm over rom, but it’s so good.” (19:36)
  • Holiday Inn: “Most important, it yields the greatest Christmas song of all time, which is, of course, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.” (Caller Matthew/Mark, 19:46)
  • The Holiday (Nancy Meyers): Praised for its production design, especially kitchens; Jack Black noted as a standout romantic lead.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Rebecca Alter on holiday rom-com coziness:

  “There’s a level of coziness over sexiness. Or the coziness is competing with the sexiness.” (03:02)

• On Love Actually’s wild tone:

  “Even if it’s not the best movie, it’s the most movie.” (04:19)

• Listener Natalie/Jennifer on When Harry Met Sally:

  “It’s very real. This could happen. I identified with it, I identified with her, I identified with him. And it’s just beautifully, beautifully played out.” (06:47)

• Rebecca on Bridget Jones:

  “Relatable, self deprecating, witty, but still holding onto that, you know, belief and hope for something Jane Austeny and sweeping you off your feet-ish.” (17:38)

Audience Participation & Community Picks (varied timestamps)

• Listeners mention:
  • The Best Man Holiday (Rom over Com, a bit sad)
  • Bell Book and Candle (chic and holiday-adjacent)
  • Feast of Seven Fishes
  • Beautiful Thing (favorite queer rom-com)
  • The Man Who Came to Dinner
  • While You Were Sleeping
  • Bridget Jones’s Diary
  • Serendipity
  • Scrooged
  • Holiday Inn
  • National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (for comedic love subplots)

Overrated Holiday Rom-Coms (22:17)

• Rebecca: Open about loving “big name” classics but wouldn’t argue if someone called Love Actually overrated.
• Unexpected praise for Christine Baranski’s romantic subplot in The Grinch:

  “I think Christine Baranski’s Grinch character deserves a romantic spin off.” (22:25)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & Setup: 00:09–01:27
• Why Holiday Rom-Coms Matter: 01:27–03:24
• Love Actually & Cultural Critique: 04:19–06:31
• When Harry Met Sally Call & Impact: 06:36–08:26
• Classic Films & Generational Change: 09:41–12:37
• Community Picks/Text Responses: 13:43–15:14
• Bridget Jones Audience Call & Analysis: 16:36–17:38
• Listener Calls: Scrooged, Holiday Inn, Family Vacation: 19:21–21:03
• The Holiday & Why It Works: 21:06–21:49
• Overrated Picks, Elf Reflections: 21:55–22:25

Episode Tone

Warm, witty, and openly nostalgic, with a sincere love for the comfort food of the holiday rom-com genre, balanced by sharp cultural insight and cheerful audience engagement.