Summary: Welcome to a brand new episode series. Fast 5 (you know we LOVE a Fast & Furious pun here) is a new monthly segment featuring 5 recommendations! This month we're diving into the Super Sorry podcast, Elle on Amazon Prime, Heartstopper Movie on Netflix, The Bear on Hulu, and My Lady Jane on Amazon Prime. Nostalgia rules this episode as we gush over the perfection of Elle and send off both Heartstopper and The Bear!

Want to join a bustling community of feminist fangirls? Come hang out in my cultural salon, 2 Femme, 2 Furious

Mentioned in this episode of the pod:

• Go listen to SUPER SORRY Podcast!
• Support the pod & Buy the Heartstopper Graphic Novel

Welcome to Femme and Furious. We are out here smashing the patriarchy one episode at a time. I am your host, Julia Rose Portela and today we have a new type of episode that will be coming out on the feed once a month. It is called Fast Five because you know your girl can't resist a Fast and Furious pun on this podcast. the Fast Five episodes will give you

Five pieces of content that I am engaging with right now that I think that you should check out for yourself. Or maybe sometimes I think you should not check it out for yourself. But today they're all pretty much like green light go, you should probably go and pay attention to these things. So let us start with a podcast that is called Super Sorry, and in particular, there's Super Girl Coverage. So

This podcast is like a superhero commentary companion podcast. It is available, I'm pretty sure, everywhere that you find your podcasts. and it is a podcast that sort of skips the recap and goes straight for all of the juicy bits, especially in Supergirl.

It uses all of the emotional beats in the movie as a springboard for talking about communication and true to the name of the show, the art of apology. So, real talk. I missed Supergirl in theaters. I was out living my best life on vacation, meeting Toothless the Dragon for the first time ever in my life, and now I am complete as a person.

And by the time that I got home, the movie had pretty much disappeared from theaters. so not great as far as a testament to how it's being received by audiences. I've heard some mixed reviews online. So I personally have not seen this movie, which is why I'm recommending a podcast where you can go and listen to some information about the movie if you've watched it and you're looking for somebody to chit-chat about it with.

But I will say when the show lands on streaming, Femme Furious is pulling up on Supergirl, and Super Sorry made sure of that. So here's the vibe check.

the Super Sorry Podcast, is not a recap every scene podcast.

In fact, Super Sorry does the opposite. They zero in on actual moments that matter in.

Each movie that they cover, but in particular for Supergirl.

They end up turning those moments into a whole masterclass on communication. And true to the podcast name, they teach you why this was a good moment for apologizing or taking accountability or why it's not. And

These are people who have the power to lift buildings and they still can't say, I'm wrong. I'm so sorry. I didn't get that correct. and in it always comes with some sort of grand gesture, some kind of big sacrifice, or some sort of big fight with an explosion. and then there's no actual accountability, oftentimes for the destruction. Like I think about the Marvel Cinematic Universe all the time.

New York in Earth 616 is getting fucked up. I would like to know who runs their budget. Because Earth 616, New York just decimated every movie. and Super Sorry calls that kind of stuff out. They sit with these scenes where a real apology should be happening and

They talk about the apologies that are happening and they talk about whether or not those apologies count, and what could make them better and what could make these characters better as a whole,

and I think that's a really cool niche when it comes to a superhero podcast. Here's why this podcast is making the list. I have already read the comic, so I had some sort of knowledge about what was probably going to be happening in Supergirl.

You know, all superhero movies play fast and loose with the comics, but I had some sort of knowledge about Kara before we kind of came into this movie. and we had some knowledge of her from the way that James Gunn introduced her in the Superman movie that we've recently got.

I'm not gonna say I had the whole plot on lock, but I knew most of the beats and I thought I would be able to figure this one out by listening to the podcast. and still this podcast cracked open a lot of things for me in a completely new way.

That's the whole point of a good companion podcast. It's not here to tell you the story. It's here to make you see the story differently. And now I genuinely can't wait until Supergirl comes out on streaming so I can sit down and give this movie the full Femme & Furious treatment. Because apparently there is a whole layer and plot line that I wasn't really ready for.

And that is some of the feminist theming that I think is going to be really cool on this podcast. And they talk about it on Super Sorry, even though that's not the focus of their show. They do talk about some feminist theming that is happening along there.

And I believe this is the beginning of our journey with Supergirl. She is somebody who's going to grow into herself, I think. I don't know if we'll get more of her, if this movie is considered kind of like a box office flop. but I'm hoping that we'll see more of her because I think her character is really interesting. I think she's young and has a lot to learn. And I think it'd be really cool to watch this sort of coming of age story for a superhero in a way that we typically don't.

get. We usually get an origin story, but we don't always get a coming of age story. And by the way, the fact that Spider-Man and coming of age happen at the same time is why Spider-Man remains year after year like everyone's favorite superhero. so I think that Kara has like a lot of really good runway here as far as being a long-term character that we might be exploring on this podcast.

Who needs Super Sorry in their ears are superhero girlies who want a cute little snack-sized listen in between those bigger deep dives. This is not a substitute for the movie, even though that's what I did, but because I had some foreknowledge of the comics, I was happy to listen to the show and take the risk and take the gamble. because I knew I wasn't gonna be able to see the movie until it comes out on streaming at this point.

But for the normal average person, I would say you wanna think of this as like

a really good dessert coffee or a nightcap. Like this is something to sort of top you off at the end of your supergirl viewing experience to help you think about this movie or digest it from a different perspective.

If you're the type of person who likes a companion podcast on your commute or while you're doing chores, this slots up perfectly for you. But heads up, bestie, you might feel behind if you haven't seen Supergirl yet. It just is what it is. So go add it to your watch list because it's getting added to mine. We can watch it together. I will be covering it on this podcast.

It's just a matter of when it comes out on streaming is as fast as I'll be able to cover it. but it's no longer playing in theaters by me at all.

Either way, I think you can totally just vibe with the podcast.

All right, here is your

Recommendation report card. Binge factor. This podcast, the Super Sorry Podcast, is the perfect side dish to the entree that is whatever movie they're talking about. And so in this case, it's Supergirl, but you can go back and listen to any of the other shows that they've talked about. They are currently making their way through the MCU.

The femme factor

If you're somebody who's listening to my podcast, Femme & Furious, for all of the feminist bits that we do,

then you're somebody who might really enjoy a podcast like Super Sorry where you're going to get a little bit of that therapy homework vibe and not a full-on rage spiral that I do on my podcast often.

And you'll get a nice balanced perspective between both a man and a woman and how they are both digesting specific content. Is it group chat worthy?

If you have friends that like to geek out over superhero stuff, send them a link. I think that they would love this in the group chat. And last but not least, is it commitment phobe friendly? This is the easiest thing for you to do. There is zero plot memorization required to listen to this podcast. You can just show up, you can listen, you can have a good time, and then you can leave.

And that brings us to our second recommendation, which is Elle on Amazon Prime, which is a coming of age dramedy slash mystery based on legally blonde.

Here's your spoiler free premise Elle Woods reimagined for a new generation with scented paper, messy love triangles, and bruiser's origin story all included, but with a whole new layer of coming of age, queer plot lines, and mother daughter drama.

Personally speaking, I went into this prepared to side-eye it. I d I did, and I hate to say that. My social conditioning and most of our social conditioning has us r already deciding that Elle is going to be vapid because that's what we've been trained to think, and that's how she is set up in the beginning of

legally blonde. And so you're wondering if she's going on this whole arc during Legally Blonde, where is she before this? and that's what I was thinking. Like, how are they going to bring us into this

Without dismantling all of the

Fun feminist themes that are in legally blonde.

but babe, I was wrong. I was wrong. I was wrong. And I can admit it. Elle is the prime example of a girl's girl. And I was not ready for how much I actually was going to love this show. so here's your vibe check. This is nostalgia served on like a silver scented paper platter.

In the same show, and I think that that is just a mega hit that you can't replicate all of the time. I also have to talk about Lexi Minetree because she is perfect in this role. Perfect. I did not expect to be this floored. She takes this character that could so easily be flattened under the original performance, and she gives

Elle this fullness, this wit, this warmth, this jovial naivete of like being youthful and young and discovering the world, and you believe every single layer that she brings into this character. So why is this show making a list?

Wonderful, I would love to tell you. This show is genuinely rich in its feminist territory. The way that it interrogates who we assume to be smart, who we assume is just pretty, who gets taken seriously, the type of behavior that we expect from specific characters, particularly our female characters, and why we expect that.

And honestly, I wish I had time on this podcast to give Elle a little bit more breathing room because there is so much to dive into on this property. But some of the drama does stretch a little far for my taste.

But it's a lot in the way that a guilty pleasure show is supposed to be a lot.

Who needs this in their life right now? Anyone who grew up on Legally Blonde and wants the same energy with more emotional range. This is perfect for a binge weekend, especially if you want to have a binge weekend with like your girlfriends. Do some Legally Blonde on day one. Do the coming of age story on Prime on day two.

Make some pink drinks. Have a wonderful time. You're gonna enjoy it.

My only heads up, bestie, is that the plot does get soapy extremely fast. without giving too much away, I will say that there is a death, there is an illicit affair, there is bribery, and a lot more. Those are just a few of the plot points that are happening all in season one, with a season two seemingly impending and on the horizon. So if you like your drama a little unhinged.

you're in good hands. if you're somebody who relies on the realism of a particular world, this might be a little bit of a turnoff for you.

So let's talk about our recommendation report card, binge factor.

Super bingeable, you will not surface for air until the credits roll.

Femme factor.

Screaming because you're giving me a story about how we underestimate women based off of our social conditioning and preconceived notions. And not only did they do that perfectly in the movie, but they do that perfectly in the TV show. Is it group chat worthy? Well that depends.

If you want to be texting about the drama, the illegitimate love children and all of the bribery and the mystery that is unfolding in season one, you're gonna wanna text the group chat now.

Is it commitment phone friendly? It's bingeable. but the episodes are long. So there's eight episodes,

They're about forty five minutes each.

So it is a little bit of a commitment when it comes to this show,

And because most of us are already so familiar and nostalgic for Elle Woods, you can mostly leave it on in the background and kind of clock in and clock out and have a really good time with this TV show. But the soap opera steaks do ask a little bit of a commitment.

And that brings us to recommendation number three, Heartstopper, which

is a coming of age book to screen adaptation romance on Netflix.

Here's your spoiler-free premise. The movie conclusion to the beloved heartstopper story. It's queer joy, it's queer love, and it is a goodbye, wonderful homage to these characters who have become a part of the family. I love them so much. I need a second before I even start this one because I love these characters with my whole entire heart. I love them with every

inch and fabric of my being and I am not emotionally prepared to say Goodbye.

It is a eulogy for a truly wonderful story. So here's the vibe check. The movie is consistently, achingly perfect. I have heard some feedback about the book to screen adaptation. The book came out last week. The movie came out two days ago. So I have not read the graphic novel yet. I will be reading the graphic novel at some point.

But from my own perspective, I thought that this was a wonderful conclusion to the story. The musical storytelling, the visual storytelling with all of the comic bits that pop up, every single frame feels so intentional in a way that most coming of age stories can't even get close to attempting. it was so good at looking back without being cheesy, in my opinion.

Because oftentimes when things kind of come to the conclusion, they go back to the beginning and they're like, Look at all the things that we've done together. I thought that Heartstopper did that, but I thought that they did it in a way that was tasteful and felt purposeful to the story. It's heartwarming, it's hopeful, it manages to close out what might genuinely be the most wonderful coming of age story about queer love and queer joy that we have ever gotten. Period. so why

This is making the list. Because this is the ending. Because we watched these characters grow up and fall in love and figure themselves out. And this movie gives them and us the send-off that they deserve. It's not just a good conclusion, it's a beautiful one,

And it centers the complicated nature of what it is to grow up and to forge your own path without decentering all of the joy that we get when these characters are together.

So who needs to watch this? Anyone who has been on this journey with these characters from season one,

But heads up, Bestie, you will cry, and not just sad tears, but the good kind too.

The kind that has you feeling nostalgic and happy for the people that you're watching and devastated that something is over. And I think that that is the best kind of storytelling ever. So let us get to our recommendation report card, the binge factor. You'll wanna watch it in one sitting and then you're gonna wanna watch it immediately again.

Femme Factor, all joy, no rage, a rare and beautiful thing for a queer story. Is it group chat worthy? Absolutely, everyone's going to need to process this goodbye together. Commitment phobe friendly one movie, perfect payoff, zero regrets.

And that brings us to recommendation number four, which is the bear, which is like

workplace drama, comedy, experience. I don't know, dramedy. It's a workplace dramedy, it's got both in there. so here's your spoiler free premise. This is a gut wrenching conclusion to the bear.

Following these characters through one high pressure day as the story finally satisfyingly wraps up.

The pressure is on, literally. This entire season takes place over a single day, or predominantly takes place over a single day, and it feels like every second counts. Get it? We've been on the trauma train with these characters for so long, and this season

We finally, mercifully, have reached our destination. Here's the vibe check. The cinematography this season is fucking stunning. Every single frame earns its place, and the story doesn't just end, it genuinely brings everyone home. Every single loop closes, every single arc completes. This is a satisfying ending in the truest sense of the word. We get to watch these characters.

finally forge their own path forward and cultivate their own version of happiness after everything that they've been through together. Despite every obstacle that is thrown at them over the course of this one day, the restaurant comes out on top. And so does everyone in it.

This is making the list because this is what a real ending looks like. Not everything tied up neatly with a bow, but everyone finally moving forward towards something that looks like their version of peace and contentment and happiness.

I really, really loved it. So who needs to watch this? Anyone who has stuck with the show through the chaos.

And needed to know that it was going to be worth it. Especially if you were fifty fifty about last season, which I liked last season, but I know not everyone was hot on it. So

I think this was a great ending. I thought it stuck the landing.

But heads up, bestie, this is a gut-wrenching watch before it's a satisfying one. So get ready to feel every visceral second of that last day. Here's your recommendation report card. Binge factor. One day, zero breathing room, all consuming.

Femme factor.

Yeah.

Sydney literally said watch me shine and then blew it out of the water. Group chat worthy.

Yes, because we are all stuck in Jeremy Allen White's piercing gaze, and that's exactly where I want to be. You've caught me exactly where I wanna be, so I will be texting my friends about that. It's mandatory. Commitment phobe friendly. Well, the trauma train has finally reached the final destination. was it worth every stop? Absolutely. This is mostly pretty bingeable.

There are some longer episodes. So I would say it's pretty, pretty commitment bow friendly. You can watch this in a weekend if you'd really like. And that brings me to my last recommendation, which is My

Lady Jane, which is like a rom-com historical parody.

It's playing on Amazon Prime. Here's your spoiler-free premise. This is a funny, silly reimagining of Lady Jane Grey's story. It follows Jane and her new husband, who is an Ethian which is a shapeshifter that has magic that is hunted throughout their land.

It's a story that keeps the loose historical facts intact while going full fantastical for a younger audience. I need to say this out loud, and I need to be very clear about it. My Lady Jane was unfairly cancelled.

This show has such a loyal fan base. And I had seen a few episodes but never finished the season. So this was my first time being able to go through the entirety of the season. but I think for a season one, it ends perfectly. We get like sort of a lovely conclusion.

But let me get into our vibe check. This show is funny and silly in the best way. It pokes fun at period pieces, but modernizes the whole genre for a younger audience and somehow still keeps some of the historical facts pretty accurate, some of them very loosely accurate, while going completely fantastical. so we're following Jane and her new husband.

It's genuinely hilarious. And then to top all of that off, it's giving enemies to lovers, sexy, yearning, slowburn,

So if you're a romantic girly, this T V show is made for you.

It's making the list because it does everything right. It's funny, it's fantastical, it's romantic, it's got great music, it's

got a strong badass female main character and yet it got canceled anyway. it's got a loyal fan base, and it's a show that deserves way more attention than it got. And I need people to watch it before it's completely forgotten.

So who needs to watch this? Anyone who's a romantic lover, any sort of period peace skeptic, this is for you. And anyone who wants their history with like a side of shapeshifters and yearnings.

But just a heads up, Bestie, it was canceled after season one, so you might be left wanting more. Watch it anyway and get mad with me later. Okay, let us dive into

Our recommendation report card. Here's the binge factor. You'll finish it in a weekend and immediately want to start a petition to have them reinstate the show. Here's the FEM factor.

In a rage spiral because it's unacceptable that this was cancelled. Is it group chat worthy?

It is perfect for rallying the group chat if you want something that's silly and fun and engaging for all of you to watch.

Is it commitment phobe friendly? Well

one season, eight episodes, pretty bite-sized, to be honest, most of them. all yearning, no filler. Wonderful story.

It's going to take some commitment as far as the time goes to get through all eight episodes, but it's so fun and silly that it's not gonna cost you a ton of emotional weight to make your way through it. it's really good when you need a fun pick me up.

Okay, and that is our first fast five.

if you have a recommendation that you want me to watch and review and cover on this series, then please send me an email, [email protected], and I will see you next month.