Girls creator Lena Dunham's Netflix movie Good Sex has officially started filming in New York City — and it looks like all of our rom-com prayers have been answered. The film stars Natalie Portman as a 40-year-old couples therapist navigating the New York dating scene, only to findi herself in a sexy tryst with a young Brookyn hipster, as well as a more conventionally-minded man from Manhattan. We love a love triangle.
And the first look pictures from set are already reminding us of the very best romantic comedies have to offer. NYC brownstones! Pitch-perfect springtime outfits! It's giving Nora Ephron. It's giving Sex and the City. It's giving Materialists.
I mean look at these:
If the pics aren't enough to get you hyped, allow us to introduce the supporting cast — because it includes true rom-com royalty. When Harry Met Sally Star Meg Ryan is set to appear, as well as 13 Going On 30 star Mark Ruffalo.
This comes as we eagerly await Lena's upcoming TV series Too Much, which also follows a New York woman's dating exploits when she moves to London after a break up.
It will be the latest film to tackle and portray age-gap romantic relationships, with the latest Bridget Jones movie Mad About The Boy and Nicole Kidman's Babygirl also exploring what happens when a woman in her ‘middle age’ era embarks on a sexual and/or romantic relationship with a younger man.
We cannot wait.
Portman has spoken out about the fact that Dunham had inspired her to overcome her fear of sexism in Hollywood. “I remember seeing Tiny Furniture, Lena Dunham’s film, and when the credits rolled I started crying because it was written by Lena Dunham, starring Lena Dunham, produced by Lena Dunham, and directed by Lena Dunham," she said in an interview. "This young woman has no fear of [saying] “I did it, I did all of this.” And it was so good.”
She added that Dunham's determination to create, write and star in her own stories and hit back against the double standards that exist in Hollywood, particularly when women step into their own power, challenge authority or try to blaze their own path. “It inspired me to not be afraid of that [criticism], and I do think the 'vanity project' thing can go in the bossy pile of words that are used more unfairly against women than men,” Natalie said.
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When asked what can be done to challenge these perceptions, she responded: “More women need to be making films in general… I think once it just becomes commonplace, people will just say [it’s] a good or bad film, they’re not saying “female” or “male,” and it just becomes life.”
We can't wait to see these two team up. Lena was also set to direct the upcoming Polly Pocket movie, but has since spoken out about why she chose to step down. In a statement, she said: “I feel like the next movie I make needs to feel like a movie that I absolutely have to make. No one but me could make it. And I did think other people could make Polly Pocket.”
So is this the movie Lena “absolutely had to make”? Here's everything we know so far about Good Sex.
Good Sex plot
The movie's plot synopsis reads as follows: “After spending a decade in a failed relationship, successful couples’ therapist Ally (Portman) is turning 40 and is pushed, kicking and screaming, by her best friend back into the hopeless New York dating scene.
"But Ally finds her life pulled in opposing directions as she falls into a steamy fling with a 20-something Brooklyn hipster just as she begins a promising, more conventional relationship with Alan, a successful 50-something in Manhattan. As a romantic crossroads blossoms into a full-blown identity crisis, Ally juggles to keep these two very different men separate and to make sense of her own conflicting desires before she risks losing them both.”
Add all of these to your Spotify playlist now.
Good Sex cast
Joining Portman, Ryan and Ruffalo will be Parks and Recreation star Rashida Jones and Tucker Pillsbury, also known as American singer-songwriter Role Model, in his screen debut.
Good Sex release date
We don't have an official release date yet – we'll keep this article updated.
Good Sex trailer
It's too early in the production process for a trailer, but we're hoping for one this year!
