

until some classic misunderstandings knock them wildly off course and they part ways. And so the drunken meet-cute transforms into the beginnings of something more and they seem to be on the course for a successful romance. But most importantly, the pair just click, in the way that rom-com leads so naturally do: their chemistry is off the charts, their banter is quick and their interactions are never devoid of awkwardness but oddly, that makes them all the more charming.
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When they first meet, Tom finds Jessie's disdain for his acting career pretty refreshing - though it's mostly because she doesn't recognize him as a movie star. The superstar in question is Nikesh Patel's Tom Kapoor, who's struggling with the realities of fame and the expectations of his stardom. I totally don’t live in reality, I live in fantasy, so it. It's the typical millennial experience, but with a dash of "Notting Hill" - because after a New Years' Eve one-night stand, she discovers that she slept with a famous movie star. It follows, then, that there’s an air of midcentury romanticism to Starstruck, the HBO Max show Matafeo created and stars in.

If you missed out on this critically-acclaimed rom-com last year, now is the time to check it out."Starstruck" lives somewhere between screwball comedy and emotional dramedy, tracing the story of 20-something Jessie, a New Zealander living in London and juggling two jobs she doesn't particularly like.
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Patel’s character is further fleshed out in a Christmas-set episode that introduces viewers to his parents and brother Vinay (Parth Thakerar), who proves to be a thorn in Tom’s side at various points throughout the season.įor romantic comedy lovers, Starstruck is must-see TV - and at six, 25-minute episodes, it’s an easy lift. A-list stars are inherently unrelatable, but Patel continues to bring a lovable, neurotic energy to Tom, lending an air of believability to this unlikely pairing. This downward spiral requires more of Matafeo, who played up Jessie’s eccentricities in Season 1, but the creator and star is up to the challenge of teasing out her character’s vulnerability.Īs Jessie flails about, Tom plays the straight man, working tirelessly to stabilize both his relationship and his career after starring in a box office flop. After Jessie (Rose Matafeo) chooses to stay in London for Tom (Nikesh Patel), she’s immediately confronted by the financial and emotional implications of her decision, which continue to weigh on her throughout the six-episode second season. Starstruck offers a clear answer to this question - no spoilers - but getting to that point is just as entertaining the second time around. Is love enough to sustain a relationship between two people from entirely different walks of life? The comedy’s sophomore outing is just as heartfelt and hilarious as before, but it elevates its game as it explores what happens after the grand romantic gesture. But if Starstruck’s first season was about embracing rom-com conventions, Season 2 is about transcending them.

Beyond the obvious plot similarities, Starstruck’s first season captured the endearing, witty nature of Notting Hill, and it successfully brought the film’s screwball comedy tropes into the 2020s with diverse characters and modern-day obstacles. When Starstruck debuted last year, it immediately drew comparisons to Notting Hill, Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant’s 1999 romantic comedy about the romance between a London bookseller and an American movie star.
