Simply Irresistible
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Amanda Shelton in Simply Irresistible (1999)
Happy Valentine’s Day, lovers! No matter what state of mind you meet this day with, I hope you remember that love is not something you do or even feel, but rather, something you are. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. On your good and bad days. On the days that you feel bonita (pretty) and especially on the days where you are carrying immense grief and righteous anger. Now. . .let’s get into it.
The last time I watched Simply Irresistible was in 2024 and it’s actually quite shocking how much can change in just a few short years. While it was still delectably cringey in the best ways, I found myself wanting to reach through the screen to grab one of those eclairs (yum) much less than I remember. This watch around, all I really wanted to do was shake Tom Bartlett, played by Sean Patrick Flanery, into acting right because. . .
Before I get into the parts that I did enjoy, as well as share some of my favorite quotes from the film, I must first address the elephant(s) in the room. The first being, the storyline and characters felt half-baked (pun absolutely intended)
After reading an interview with the (still married) writers of the film, Mark Tarlov and Judith Roberts, my suspicions were confirmed. The script went through several rewrites with Tarlov sharing,
“The script was so much better than the direction. The script was full of big ideas and most of them fell quite flat. On the other hand, over the last 20 years, this movie has played on and on TV all around the world. It has a small but devoted core of fans.”
Second, I was shocked (reader, I was not shocked at all) to learn that Sarah Jessica Parker and Greg Kinnear had originally been cast to play the leads, but studio heads nixed that because they were “too old” (they were in their 30s. . .) What’s actually quite funny (and has me considering work as a casting director) is that the opening scene immediately brought me back to the iconic, and at times insufferable, Carrie Bradshaw walking down the street of Tribeca or Manhattan.
I would not be surprised at all if they coached Sarah Michelle Gellar into embodying a bit of Carrie in the film, and if I’m being perfectly honest, certain pieces of the dynamic between Tom and Amanda screams Carrie and Big. Amanda is very alive (literally turned on) and (much too) available. Tom finds her alluring, but that ultimately scares the shit out of him. At one point, he even calls her cooking demonic. See what I mean about reaching through the screen to shake this man?
Now, onto the things I adored about this non-ordinary, unrealistic, Lynchian-lite film:
The constant and shameless references to the female anatomy, orgasms, and sex. At one point, you see a peach dessert split open by a knife and white cream spills out of it. Need I say more?
The mention of greedy landlords who raise the monthly rent of Amanda’s long established restaurant, which she inherits from her mother and runs with her aunt + sous chef/friend, played by the incredible Lawrence Gilliard Jr. who you might recognize from The Wire.
A beautiful example of how “words are spells” when Amanda feels nervous to cook for Tom and his uptight girlfriend, played by the brilliant Amanda Peete, so she begins speaking all of the different ways to call food delicious into the food she’s preparing. It works! Her words imbue magick into the ingredients she is working with and this sets the stage for her coming-of-age story.
Patricia Clarkson and Dylan Baker eating eclairs in the elevator. I adore a romance between supporting characters.
Everyone weeping after eating the food that Amanda cries into. Not exactly up to health code, but a nod to one of my favorite films, Como Agua Para Chocolate.
Lumi Cavazos as Tita in Como Agua Para Chocolate (1992)
I love how the film left me thinking about everyone’s catalyst for greatness. Not merely through the lens of a romantic partner, but in the room with our potential legacy, neighbors, community, family (both chosen + blood), and how central it is to making the impossible possible so we never lose grip, or belief, in our gifts.
How obvious they make it that the magick that Amanda holds has actually very little to do with Tom at all. Nor her dead mom, those heirloom earrings, or that cute crab that watches over her kitchen.
How often they lean into just how deeply Amanda gets under Tom’s skin. How they use food to describe ecstasy, obsession, sex, love. How paramount the idea of being in love is. How it is meant to feel better than the notion of falling in love because falling is actually terrifying (so maybe Tom isn’t a total asshole?)
The tension! The wit! The one man witch hunt! One of my favorite scenes is when they start floating up to the kitchen ceiling (very reminiscent of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory) and the bubble is immediately burst due to Tom’s fear of losing control. He tells her, “I’ve gotta be in control of my own destiny” She shoots back with, “A man’s character is his own destiny” The look on his face. The accusation of her doing something ominous. Hilarious, and unfortunately, quite a normal interaction for many mystics out there.
Amanda’s fearlessness as she takes on a new chef job with support from her loved ones while Tom does. . .nothing. Even when things go wrong, she has their support, her emotions (which empower her and envelope every meal she creates) along with a well-timed reminder from her sous chef, Nolan, when they lose a major ingredient (truffles) and have to replace them with figs (very Sylvia Plath coded),
“You gotta make your presence felt!”
Who is the last person that spoke life into you? Who reminds you that simply showing up and bringing your all is exactly what is required to make your dreams come true? Can it be you?
