Sofia Carson goes to Oxford

I know I am not alone when I say this but you don’t have to admit it: I have watched all of Sofia Carson’s movies on Netflix. My algorithm just serves them up to me and it’s like I am helpless to resist. This started with Feel The Beat a few years ago, followed by Purple Hearts, then Carry-On last year, and most recently The Life List. These four titles are among Netflix’s most watched movies so when I say it’s not just me, I’m coming with the numbers. 

Here's the thing though – these movies are terrible, LOL. Sofia is not terrible in them, I like her very much, but the movies, especially Purple Hearts, are not good. Purple Hearts, for me, turned into a hate-watch five minutes in, during which I spent the next two hours texting Kathleen, because she saw it before I did, commiserating over how bad it is. And yet. It’s not like I turned it off, and she didn’t either. 

What I’m trying to say is that this is a skill. And even though it might not sound like I’m complimenting Sofia Carson, I actually am. It’s not easy to star in movies that aren’t critical winners and still keep people engaged. Like, I’m a big JLo fan and there are some of her movies that I can’t finish – for example, the one with Owen Wilson; I quit after 15 minutes and fired up a K-drama instead. That never happens to me when it’s Sofia Carson, whatever drug she’s putting in her movies is potent. And this is why she’s being called “Netflix’s First Bona Fide Movie Star” with a feature in Vanity Fair.

This week a new Sofia Carson movie will drop on Netflix – My Oxford Year on Friday 1 August. It’s a familiar formula: American girl is studying for a year at Oxford, falls in love with a hot British TA with a mysterious past. There are a lot of peacoats and beautiful campus shots. At one point they go on a Bridget Jones style minibreak, her head covered by a scarf. They lie in bed with a book, eyerollingly his is Sylvia Plath, LOL FOREVER. 

Also, lots of kissing and angst-teasing, complete with melodramatic dialogue. And Corey Mylchreest. Who? King George in Queen Charlotte, the Bridgerton spinoff. He is HOT. And that’s the other secret weapon when Sofia and Netflix do their thing: the leading men understand the assignment. See Nicholas Galitzine in Purple Hearts, hated his character, but again… I Could Not Turn It Off. Corey Mylchreest as the British Teacher in Boring Slacks with a Secret and A Hot Mouth is exactly right. 

Obviously I will be watching the sh-t out of My Oxford Year. This is what happens when Sofia + Netflix, I am powerless to their alliance.

Here are Sofia and Corey in NYC today promoting the movie. 

 

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What else happened today…

Love Island USA hive, where are you!? Was your phone blowing up all day yesterday like mine? The group chat was on fire yesterday because JaNa, Serena, and Leah, plus Miguel and Kordell, all unfollowed Kenny. And it went on for hours. JaNa and Kenny were just at a party together and seemingly happy hours before on Saturday night, posting on socials too. Now PEOPLE is confirming the split but that there wasn’t a dramatic blowup – nobody is buying this. It had to have been messy if everyone is unfollowing and JaNa is scrubbing him from her socials. (PEOP

I love that Keke Palmer is making sustainable fashion a priority. And almost always, it works for her. But this Versace dress is… well… the Fug Girls are right, it looks old, worn, tired. It looks like it’s been to too many parties with too much coke. In fact I may have been at one of those parties in Cannes watching a Euro model in this dress doing coke. (Go Fug Yourself)

How much did Marc Maron pay to use a Taylor Swift song in his show? For regular degulars, this is a lot of money. In Marc’s world, it really isn’t. (Pajiba)

Sydney Sweeney is doing ads for American Eagle and people are big mad about the jeans pun. I’m not big mad because there are other things that are occupying my anger, but I can definitely hear the whistle. (Celebitchy)

John Oliver unpacks the Trump and Epstein scandal. (Mashable)