Rom-Com Must-See: Italy's Gen Z Version of Sex & The City
Don't disparage if you're stuck inside with a cold. "An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts" makes for an easy and breezy escapist delight.
I’ve long been intrigued by horoscope signs. Enough to know my Sun, Rising and Moon signs matter and how they all interplay to make me who I am.I also once got my birth chart done, though can’t remember too much from that. I also dig a fun personality test and have taken the Myers-Briggs’ test (MBTI) and the popular, 16Personalities which I feel like MBTI has morphed into because it makes for a quick quiz with empowering game-y descriptors (Defender, Commander, Protector, Advocate) that work teams can bond over.
So what does any of this have to do with the An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts (2021) on Netflix? Good question.
First off, the entire series is 2 seasons long with 6 episodes in each season for a total of 12 episodes. Yes, I can do hard math. tyvm. The length of each episode runs around 35 minutes so it’s perfect as far as commitment and you can easily binge 2-3 in a row. Multiply all this by the sheer delight that each episode is named after a different astrological sign which is really connected to the show’s main character, Alice, an overqualified assistant at a TV station, who also happens to be a Libra (like me) and unlucky in love, being convinced by her new friend, Tio, who knows a ton about astrology, to try dating different men based on their horoscope sign. He does warn her that certain signs she will have more compatibility with than others.
Alice, our show’s heroine who is looking for romantic love on her journey to self-love, is not only unlucky in love but also works at the TV station with her ex who is now engaged to another co-worker at the station with whom he is having a baby. Her ex is also still hung up on her, a bit. Then, there’s Davide Sardi, the hot new creative director who’s been tasked with turning the station around and finding the next big show, so the station can survive. And you have all the elements of a Soapdish style plot, but with the updated Gen Z casting.
A highlight of the show is Alice’s relationship with her friends. Her new friend, Tio, who is bisexual and by his own admission, “loves who he loves,” is incredibly supportive and fun and then there’s Paola, who is perpetually exhausted with a young kid and a loving husband but exhausted, nonetheless. She still finds time to party with her unattached friend though. So there’s that. Tio often feels like the wise older brother or uncle to Alice advising her to live her life. Worry less, but build self awareness and growth in the process. Whereas Paola is in some ways, trying to keep pace with Alice’s active social life and simultaneously providing her with a warm place to land when she’s in over her head. This happens.
What makes the show so compelling, is that despite all the dating of men happening, of which there is less than 12 men so it’s not like 1 dude per episode or anything, is the “Will they or won’t they?” between Alice (Claudia Gusmano) and Davide (Michele Rosiello). You know there’s a spark and definite chemistry and all the makings of a rom-com coupling, and at times, you may be tempted to fast forward to the final episode (if you’re anything like me), but don’t do this. There’s joy in each and every of the 12 episodes here.
So turn on the subtitles, listen to the show in Italian, lavish the pronunciation of “Alice” in which the ending syllable “ce” sounds like “chi,” and take in the aesthetics of Rosiello and Gusmano as they wind their way in and out of a potential relationship.
I do hope you all steer clear of the cold or flu or any illness that makes you have to avoid people for an extended period of time, but if you do, consider yourself entertained for a short while. And then leave your comments here to let me know how you liked it.