Hollywood desperately needs more queer rom-coms, and Things Like This is filling that gap in the genre. Far too many queer stories center on homophobia and are rooted in shame — something that particularly stems from the number of queer films made by creators who aren’t in the LGBTQ+ community.
The few queer rom-com adjacent films and TV shows we do have tend to be coming-of-age stories. Yet adults want to see themselves on-screen, too. We want to watch queer characters fall in love the same way Meg Ryan does in rom-coms like You’ve Got Mail. Movies that center on queer joy are hard to come by. But Max Talisman’s queer-led film Things Like This is changing that narrative with the wholesome, funny rom-com that anyone can enjoy.
Talisman’s character Zack Anthony and Joey Pollari’s Zack Mandel just happen to be gay, and they happen to fall in love without painful coming-out arcs or storylines rooted in tragedy. Things Like This is a refreshingly witty addition to the genre by celebrating queerness and telling a quirky yet relatable love story.
I had the opportunity to chat with Pollari at the NYC Things Like This premiere, where we chatted about leading a queer adult rom-com, the authenticity of queer creators telling their own stories, and how he drew inspiration Meg Ryan’s movie, You’ve Got Mail.
This film focuses on adult queer relationships. What does that mean to you to be able to bring that to the screen when it’s not common?
Joey: Well, I mean, it’s just nice to tell a story about something, to bring some variety to the screen, and we’re really proud of the movie that’s a human story ultimately about what it means to fall in love — any group, any development, which is about trying to fall love and being so afraid to finally let go and just get in. So that’s what I’m really proud of.
And I love when movies are told by queer creators when it’s a queer storyline. So what does it mean to you to be able to do that?
Joey: I have a lot of good luck in life where a lot of the things I have done have been from creators who want to tell really personal stories, queer creators who wanted to tell that story. So anytime that it happens, I just feel really lucky to join.
Were there any movies that you were inspired by, or any that you kind of wanted to not follow in the footsteps of?
Joey: Honestly, I did watch a lot of rom-coms. I was watching Meg Ryan and things [like that]. I was trying to, it seems really common is that there’s one of them who’s super uptight, which is my character in this. And so I wanted to watch how you navigate that and how the uptight type a personality finally learns. That was really lucky.
Was there one in particular that you vibed with?
You’ve got mail. Yes. You’ve Got Mail, where it was just like, she doesn’t want to fall in love. I mean, this guy’s her enemy, and the other Zack is not my enemy in this movie. But I’m pulling away, and I do not want to give in. I think that’s just such a common situation, always one in the pair sort of pulls away, and the other one is drawn towards [love]. So I like that universality.
I’m obsessed with the final prom scene and how nineties coded it is with “Linger.” What was that like to film?
Joey: It was just so fun. I mean, we had such a big crew. You’ve got everybody firing on all cylinders. Our crew. I mean, those are the moments that I really love when I’m acting. It’s nice to be in something intimate. There’s no work. Okay, yes, it’s about the acting when all hands are on deck and there are 500 extras and you’re trying to get everybody to do this thing, I mean, that’s what we call movie magic.
Amazing.
This interview was edited for clarity.
Things Like This is now playing in theaters.
Xandra Harbet 
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