The 90s Rom-Com, Summery R&B, and Old TV That Got Us Through the Week

A hurricane on the West Coast? Wildfires in the South...and also the very far north? Vivek Ramaswamy leaping upwards in the polls? It’s more than enough to desperately crave disassociation. But since we can’t give you that (to whatever higher power is listening: lobotomies please), we’ll offer instead some distraction.

Here are our Jez Recs—across TV, music, and even scents—from the past week to keep your brain in a pleasant, disassociated cloud all weekend. Stay safe and distracted (oxymoronic? maybe!) out there.

Two years ago, Kourtney Kardashian’s friend Addison Rae dipped a toe into the sea of social-media-stars-turned-singers and the water was…not fine. Let’s just say her first single, “Obsessed,” got the meme treatment, thus unceremoniously throwing the rest of her album into limbo—that is, until it got leaked. I wasn’t a fan, but months ago when a colleague showed me the unreleased tracks on YouTube, I found myself hooked. Think The Idol’s “World Class Sinner”—but Sam Levinson or The Weeknd could never.

On Friday, Rae released a handful of the songs—some with a bit of an update—via a new EP, AR. Among the collection is “2 Die 4,” a collaboration with Charlie XCX, and “Nothing On (But the Radio),” a track written by none other than Lady Gaga. Both are pure, unadulterated, slutty pop Xanadu.

AR isn’t going to win any awards, but it’ll likely be a friend to all those who harbor nostalgia for the sounds of shallow, unserious Top 40 radio circa 2005. —Audra Heinrichs

This week, Sex and the City’s rebooted spin-off And Just Like That broaches the topic of unplanned pregnancy, when Charlotte’s friend Lisa becomes pregnant with her fourth child—just as her career is about to really take off. In an emotional conversation, she tells Charlotte through tears, “I just, I thought it was finally my time.” But as fans and critics have pointed out, the topic of abortion barely comes up. Lisa and her husband, Herbert, briefly discuss the option, but only in euphemisms, without even saying the word aloud.

To understand why some fans are regarding this plot line as a regression from the original series, I recommend watching SATC’s 2001 episode “Coulda Woulda Shoulda.” In it, Miranda tells her friends she’s pregnant and plans to have an abortion in commendably simple terms: “I’m not having it… This is not in my plans right now.” Samantha then volunteers she’s had two abortions herself, and Carrie shares that she had one in her 20s. While Miranda does ultimately decide against having an abortion (enter: Brady!), it’s still powerful to these iconic early 2000s characters speak openly about their abortions, in stark contrast with what we got this week.

Yes, “Coulda Woulda Shoulda” had its own problems (i.e. Aidan’s MRA rant about father’s rights), but it was bold for its time and remains bold and worth-watching today. —Kylie Cheung

I’ll give this Rec the ol’ two-pronged approach.

For people who’ve never watched Star Trek: This show about a rich, exciting sci-fi universe has remarkably less toxicity than certain other multi-verses and much more respect for exploring the outer bounds of humanity (and alien-ness), whether that’s accomplished via diplomacy, PSYOPs, or phasers set to stun. It will get you hooked on all things Star Trek.

For people who’ve been huffing Star Trek for years: Captain Pike (played by the man who played Britney’s love interest in Crossroads!!!) is at the helm here, and this show about his crew on the Enterprise (pre-Kirk...but....spoilers) deftly balances goofiness with trauma, workplace romance with scientific wonder, and violence with ~fun~. There’s essence of Original Series for sure, but with more riveting plot arcs, much like the excellent first two seasons of Star Trek: Discovery. My dad, Trekkie extraordinaire, loves it.

Season 2 of Strange New Worlds (on Paramount+) just ended with one hell of a cliffhanger, so the timing couldn’t be better. —Sarah Rense

I don’t write about music so this is not a review in any sense, just a “check this out, I think it’s cool” type of thing. I was put on to K. Roosevelt this summer (yes, I’m way behind his surge in 2011-2013, whatever). He has a new five-track EP called Kiss Me When You See Me that I can only describe as summery, chill R&B. Take a little spin, then maybe listen to 2022’s Solstice after. —Susan Rinkunas

I was 9 years old when The Cutting Edge (1992) came out, and it remains my favorite rom-com of all time. A sharp-tongued, wealthy Olympic figure skater (Moira Kelly, whom you may recognize from West Wing) is forced to re-partner with a former Olympic hockey player (D.B. Sweeney) from the working-class Midwest. Their personalities clash as she and her coach try to teach Doug how to figure skate, hoping they might qualify for the next Olympics together and revive both of their stunted careers. They seem to hate each other at first, but their chemistry is obvious and their banter extremely fun to watch.

I only recently learned that the film was written by the Pulitzer-winning Tony Gilroy, who went on to create the Bourne series and Michael Clayton. If you haven’t see The Cutting Edge, it’s worth a watch, and if you have—consider rewatching it when you need a hit of dopamine. —Laura Bassett

I’ve got a repeat rec here, but for good reason! A bleak but stunning novel, Sarah Rose Etter’s Ripe captures the depravity of the corporate tech industry and our unresolved contemporary sorrow with such precision, you’ll want to look away. But just as the black holes that pepper Ripe’s pages suck its protagonist into her own melancholy, Etter’s prose—both horrifically detailed and uniquely hers—will bring you back to the page for one hellish encounter after another.

The book’s discomfort is relentless: a dysfunctional family, men with ballooning egos who trudge down office hallways like gods, bottomless pits of loneliness, and lines of cocaine. Still, moments of repose bubble up just when you need them. Noshed pomegranate seeds between teeth. Handfuls of dirt stuffed into mouths. Blue, the color of “serenity, piety, sincerity,” and the Internet. Never have I read something that so pointedly chronicles our epidemic of sadness and our blind worship of tech kings, and I’m certain I’ll revisit Etter’s book, with all of its dog-eared pages, for years to come. —Emily Leibert

In light of our many fragrance journeys at Jezebel, I’ve become somewhat scent promiscuous, and the latest sample that I’m flirting with a full-bottle commitment to is Nishane’s recently released Hacivat X. It’s a lot like the cult fav Hacivat but missing the oakmoss accord, which makes it much, much lighter and perfect for summer. It’s a real scent tussle between fruity elements (pineapple, bergamot, lime) and earthier stuff (patchouli, cedarwood heart, vetiver oil haiti), and the result is well-blended, complex, and almost confusing in a what-on-earth-am-I-smelling kind of way. But, as with the best fragrances, it’s a good kind of confusing. —Rich Juzwiak