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PODCAST

Love at First Screening

Chelsea Ciccone & Madison Hill

An examination of classic tropes and iconic characters pits connoisseur against cynic—one romantic comedy at a time. The cinematic world of love and laughter had rom-com enthusiast Madison head over heels from the time Harry met Sally. For genre skeptic Chelsea, however, it’s been a grueling enemies-to-lovers plot. In Love at First Screening, Madison introduces Chelsea to all the fan-favorite love stories she’s never wanted to watch. One friend’s passion might be the other’s displeasure, but doesn’t

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

01:07:36

Birds Are Very Queer (But I'm A Cheerleader)

Love at First Screening ·

2025/03/28

It's Cynic's Choice, baby! Chelsea reminds us all what this podcast is truly about-- romantic comedies and queer love. Listen in as our hosts discuss the high camp of But I'm A Cheerleader. Listen as they discuss gender as a performance, how Natasha Lyonne should never again play a straight character, and how brilliant satire like this handles heavy topics like conversion therapy so deftly.Connect With UsFollow us on Instagram @loveatfirstscreening or send an email to

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01:21:39

This Time Travel Tale Flatlines (Peggy Sue Got Married)

Love at First Screening ·

2025/03/19

This week, our hosts travel back to 1960 after a brief stop at a soon-to-be divorcee's 25-year high school reunion in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), starring Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage. While Chelsea and Madison's conversations about family, second-wave feminism, and meaningful character development remind us that this podcast still has a pulse, our hosts agree the film itself was dead on arrival.Connect With UsFollow us on Instagram @loveatfirstscreening or send an email to

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01:14:34

An Exploration of Grief (Sleepless in Seattle)

Love at First Screening ·

2025/03/12

This week, our hosts take on a well-lauded movie in the romantic (comedy?) genre, Sleepless in Seattle. While Chelsea would have rather watched paint dry, Madison defends the merit of the movie-- even if she doesn't buy into the concept that this movie is romantic, nor comedic. Would this be a thriller with a different lens and music? Does that poor child actor need therapy? Does Tom Hanks? Why did Rita Wilson play his sister in this? Our hosts had so many questions, but landed on one thing: this

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01:04:54

Madison's No-Good Charlatan Premiere (A Knight's Tale)

Love at First Screening ·

2025/03/05

In the season six premiere, our hosts prepare to joust over the not-so-romantic comedy A Knight's Tale (2001). Madison proclaims she has finally broken the season premiere curse, but Chelsea thinks her cohost has tampered with the results. Either way, they both agree that people would wage war for the pleasure of Heath Ledger's smile, and Chaucer has never been more accurately portrayed in film. With a stacked cast including Paul Bettany, Alan Tudyk, not to mention the deadly cheekbones of

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01:20:58

Gal Pals: A Sapphic Rom Com Roadtrip

Love at First Screening ·

2025/02/14

CW: moderately explicit sexual content, drinking, and rom coms that actually involve communication.On this heart-shaped holiday, our hosts invite you to take a drive with them through a nondescript mountain town to a sketchy distillery with three gal pals who take a trip that changes their friendship dynamic forever (possibly for the better). Mads drives Chelsea and you, dear listener, through a tale of unrequited pining, one-bed scenarios, and so much more on this especially sapphic

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01:07:54

Rom Com Respawn: Night at the Museum (2006)

Love at First Screening ·

2025/01/15

In their highly-anticipated Rom Com Respawn bonus episode, our hosts spend the evening with Ben Stiller and a menagerie of animated historical figures as they try to play matchmaker with Night at the Museum (2006). Chelsea supports the efforts of the National Wildlife Research Center to eliminate rabies in raccoons by 2053. Timothée Chalamet joins the ranks of Madison's celebrity nemeses. And amidst other tangents on child stardom, the lost art of the family film, and Delaware's unique license

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01:20:44

Gillian Anderson for Christmas, Please (Kiss Her Once...

Love at First Screening ·

2024/12/18

Get cozy this holiday season with a toasty drink of your choice in a well-loved mug and crack open a feel good rom com. Which one should you read? Obviously one of the best sapphic Christmas novels out there-- Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun! Ever since our hosts read this last year, they knew it had to be discussed on the podcast. Now, that dream is reality! Chelsea and Madison discuss themes of honesty, communication, and forgiveness and how these support the romance in this book while also

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01:17:47

Chasing Ghosts Through NYC (Serendipity)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/11/20

In the season five finale, our hosts return to an episode formerly lost to the internet ether as they discuss Serendipity (2001) ... again. (And if you're reading this, their second-chance romance had a happy ending!) Special guest Lily has qualms with the main characters' blatant disregard for their romantic commitments — although for fidelity's biggest fan, she would not hesitate to kick Madison to the curb for the coveted position of LAFS cohost #PodsBeforePals. Chelsea thinks it's absurd anyone

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01:30:37

Katharine Hepburn: An Icon (Desk Set)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/11/14

Madison puts on her smarty pants and comes prepared to talk all things Desk Set (1957) with Chelsea. This Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy romp explores the age old battle of the intersection of industrialization and the human condition. Digressions include the Luddite movement and AI, but the conversation in this one really serves to remind listeners that both hosts actually did get something from their degrees-- the ability to dissect this film in a way as fun and interesting as dissecting owl

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01:19:18

We're All Too Tired for your Nuptials (The Wedding Year)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/11/06

Pack your party-ready wardrobe because we've RSVPd "I do" to an engagement (or seven) with The Wedding Year (2019). Starring Sarah Hyland and Tyler James Willams, with a special cameo from Wanda Sykes, this marriage manic rom com has our hosts weeping for every guest's bank account—and cheering for the gays (the only healthy relationship in this mess of a movie). P.S. Everyone (except Mara and Jake) is invited to Madison's future backyard taco truck wedding ... so long as someone pays for Chelsea to

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01:19:31

Find Ella Somebody to Love (Practical Magic)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/10/31

Spooky season is upon us, the witching hour has struck, and our hosts alongside their fabulous guest, Ella, leap from the roof and land in the gorgeous New England landscape of 1998's Practical Magic.Ella provides valuable, fresh insight for a movie the hosts have seen a million times and reminds us that while the bar is set in hell for men, we can always raise the standards. Folks, if he isn't helping cover up the murder he's investigating you for after you killed your sister's ex twice, he's not

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01:10:08

All-American Silly Goose Keira Knightley (Laggies)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/10/23

This week it's another Cynic's Choice! Has Chelsea picked an actual Rom Com, or has she pulled a fast one on the LAFSters yet again? As our hosts dive into Laggies (2014), Madison may be too distracted by Keira Knightley's American-accented performance to notice. With Sam Rockwell and Cholë Grace Moretz, this tale of feeling lost in adulthood — caught between expectation and personal truth — leads to messy exit strategies. You may have your ducks in a row, or you might just be a silly goose swimming

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01:17:06

Andrea's Audition to be Nic Cage's 6th Wife (Moonstruck)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/10/16

As the moon grows fuller, our hosts and their fabulous guest, Andrea, find themselves quite Moonstruck (1987) by Cher's beauty and Nicolas Cage's dedication to his performance. Tune in as they discuss newly acquired vocal stims (MY HAND), the way Nic Cage should never say "To the bed" like that again, and how we should all revere Olympia Dukakis. Are men chasing youth (and women) to run from death? How many dogs does the grandpa own? Would you lose a hand to get out of a failing relationship? When

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01:14:36

What the Hell is MILF Cinema? (The Idea of You)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/10/09

This week, we circle back to Chappell Roan and the troublesome nature of parasocial relationships with a thoughtful discussion of The Idea of You (2024). Starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, this latest entry into the canon of what some are calling "MILF Cinema" has our hosts contemplating the perceptions of age gap romances, examining societal expectations of mothers, and asking: How the heck is Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, Princess of Genovia, old enough to have a teenage

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01:22:11

Justin Trudeau Fills a Power Vacuum (Wanderlust)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/10/04

This week, Mads puts Chelsea's friendship with her to the ultimate test as they watch 2012's Wanderlust. Do you long to be disturbed by Paul Rudd saying overtly disgusting sexual things in a mirror? Do you wish to feel let down by Jennifer Aniston? Do you want to question your allegiance to watching anything Kathryn Hahn is in? Do you want to replace Mads as Chelsea's permanent guest host? Boy, do we have a movie for you! For the first time in LAFS history, we are advising you to not watch the

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01:31:38

Daniel Radcliffe's Villain Era (The Lost City)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/09/25

This week, our hosts embark on a campy adventure to track down a priceless artifact at gunpoint with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum in The Lost City (2022). While Madison thinks the pink jumpsuit lasted far too long in that jungle, she agrees with Chelsea's assertion that this 21st-century take on Romancing the Stone improves the "romance novelist finds herself on a romantic adventure" plot. With memorable performances from Daniel Radcliffe and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, this

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01:24:50

A Plea for Libraries (Two Weeks Notice)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/09/18

This week, our hosts find themselves embroiled in a discussion of the issues of philanthropy, system theory, and who should be driving community support projects. Is Two Weeks Notice the rom-com exploration of Audre Lorde's quote “For the master’s tool will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change"? Oh, and they chat about Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock and how they make this

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01:21:12

Love Is Olympic Gold...I Guess (The Cutting Edge)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/09/11

This week, our hosts hit the ice with two Olympic hopefuls to discuss the sports romance The Cutting Edge (1992), starring Moira Kelly and D. B. Sweeney. While their banter about writing idols and the 2024 Paris Olympics had Chelsea and Madison feeling inspired at the onset of this episode, dissecting the film's middling romantic plot and character arcs left them dissatisfied. For the viewer, it may have been unclear if Doug(las) and Kate's dreams of winning gold came to fruition, but it's clear to

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01:24:25

A Shakesperean Return (Anyone But You)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/09/11

Welcome to Season Five! This first episode is classic LAFS! Madison is reporting from an underground tunnel by the sound of her audio and Chelsea admits that while this isn't the worst season opener, movie-wise, this still isn't quite her cup of tea.This week, our hosts see the beginnings of a return to a rom-com standard they've been longing for: Shakespearean rom-com adaptations. Rising star hot actors Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell have their first appearances on the pod as they star in the Much

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01:31:17

Never Date a Screenwriter (Tales from the LAFSters)

Love at First Screening ·

2024/08/14

In this special bonus episode, LAFSters write in to share their horrible, no-good, very bad dates with our hosts. From pretentious redheads with business cards to a man with the audacity to deny a woman the joy of laser tag, our contributors (and their poor cars) have survived the worst dating has to offer!Connect With Us Follow us on Instagram @loveatfirstscreening or send an email to loveatfirstscreening@gmail.com Production Hosts: Chelsea Ciccone and Madison Hill Music: Good Steph Artwork:

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