You Only Love Once

It's spooky season, and here at You Only Love Once we want only the freakiest things this month. Join us as we discuss Freaky, a film about murder, high school, and young love. Is this film a romcom? How tall is Vince Vaughn? Is the Final Girl trope alive and kicking in 2021? Listen now to find out the answers to all these questions and more... Please be aware this episode contains discussions of sexual violence, homophobia, police violence, racism, and murder.

For this episode, Cassie and Hel delve into Gregory's Girl - a Scottish coming-of-age romcom bound to get you into your nostalgic first love feels. Does Gregory get the girl? Is fish and chips the perfect first date? Why are football films so entertaining? Answers to these questions and more inside the latest YOLO episode. Please be aware that we discuss voyeurism, sexism and misogyny, and inappropriate teacher/student relations within the episode.

We're back, baby! After a summer hiatus Cassie and Hel are coming back to the airwaves to celebrate the Cassie Birthday Special! And what better way to celebrate than by watching the CLASSIC romcom, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Congratulations to the happy couple, and also, to us, and also, to you.

This episode Cassie and Hel delve into the modern indie classic, 500 Days of Summer. Does this 2009 romcom stand up to 2021 standards? Probably not, but we had fun anyway.

We're back with another Hel Birthday Special, and continuing the theme from last year we are covering Shrek 2! Hell yes this is a romcom and we are here to tell you why. This is a beloved kids film from our childhoods, but has it stood the test of time in this here 2021? To celebrate the birthday special, Cassie has put together a very exciting Shrek 2 quiz so get your pens and paper at the ready and play along with us! While Shrek 2 is a kids film, we do discuss themes that we were disappointed to be present in this film, namely sexual violence and transphobia.

This week Cassie and Hel delve into the Park Chan-wook romcom I'm a Cyborg, But That's Ok. A fun change from his usual dark, violent films, I'm a Cyborg is an experimental take on classic romcom themes. This film and podcast episode include discussions on topics including disordered eating, suicide, mental health issues and institutionalisation. The film also depicts violence that you might not expect from a romcom.

Join Cassie and Hel for this week's YOLO episode discussing the 2000 film, Punks. This film follows Marcus and his three close friends through their trials and tribulations in the world of love, friendship and queerness. Will Marcus find love? Will The Sisters stay family? Will friendship endure? Only time (and listening to this episode) shall tell...

Diving deep into the ocean of teen angst, loneliness and identity, this episode we are exploring Richard Ayoade's directorial debut, Submarine. Don't worry though, it isn't all doom and gloom. This week Cassie and Hel traverse the usual YOLO segments and get into what makes this gritty and slightly surreal film one of the best British coming of age romcoms there are.

We recently celebrated our first birthday as You Only Love Once, and to do so we hosted an online viewing party of Wild Child. Join us as we dive deep into what this film means to our generation, why a soundtrack can make or break a film, and question the existence of painfully boring boys. Thank you to everyone who has listened from the start or who has just found the pod - we love and appreciate every single one of you!

For the YOLO 25th episode, Cassie and Hel discuss the 2001 Danish rom-com, En Kort En Lång (or the English title, Shake it All About). Starring a young Mads Mikkelsen, this film is about a happily engaged gay couple who hit some bumps along the road of their relationship. Getting into our usual segments including astrology, racial diversity and the YOLO reboot, we sure had a lot to say about where this film succeeded and unfortunately fell short in some ways. We do discuss biphobia in this episode, as well as a brief tangent on a Black Mirror episode that explores sexual abuse and violence.

You know when you meet a girl and you like her and then suddenly she's in a coma and you have to make big medical decisions for her? Mood. The Big Sick is the (true!) love story about two unlikely sweethearts falling in love, in conflict, in family. Cassie and Hel take a look at 2017's biggest romcom in the latest episode of You Only Love Once. Spoiler alert: the soundtrack did not bang so Cassie and Hel chose their own bangers to make this episode tip top.

For our latest episode, we are discussing the newly-released Map of Tiny Perfect Things, a coming-of-age-time-travel-romcom. Join us for our usual segments including fashion choices and missteps; the YOLO reboot; and trivia, as well as some meandering tangents that leave us wondering... where did this thought begin and end?

Join Cassie and Hel this time as we discuss Harold and Maude, the unconventional dark romantic comedy from 1971. We discuss the importance of living in the present, finding joy in the everyday, and what our old lady sweet would be, as well as our usual segments. Content note for discussions of suicide and death and a mention of the holocaust in this episode, as well as graphic images of suicide throughout the film. We also discuss our least favourite words, in case that really grinds your gears.

Join Cassie and Hel as we delve into the joyful depths of Gurinder Chadha's Bend It Like Beckham. This film meant a lot to us both as children and teens but did it stand the test of time? We think... yes it did. Content notice for discussions around racism and homophobia in this episode.

We are back in 2021 baby, covering the 1994 Bollywood film Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! Join us for discussions on how fashion tells a story, the importance of family, and Bible study. Content warning for domestic violence which appears in one incident in the film and that we do discuss in the podcast.

For our last episode of 2020, we dig into The Holiday. Join Cassie and Hel to discuss the future of the pod, our own challenges of representation, domestic violence, and of course, Christmas.

Continuing the Christmas Advent, Cassie and Hel deep dive into the 2020 romcom Happiest Season. Perusing the subjects of astrology, fashion, meet-cutes and more we get into what Christmas really means to us. Content note for discussions of homophobia and coming out.

I think you'll find if you look closely, that romcoms, actually, are all around. Continuing our Christmas Advent episodes this week we are discussing Love Actually. You might want to get yourself some festive snacks and a cosy setup for this, the deepest of dives into the Richard Curtis canon.

Welcome to the first of the YOLO Christmas Advent - that's right, we are doing weekly releases throughout December to keep you company during the festive season. First up, Cassie and Hel discuss the 2019 Christmas romcom, Last Christmas. Prepare for unlikely twists, confusing timeframes, and questionable writing.

For this episode Cassie and Hel welcome their very first GUEST OF THE POD, Zoe, local podcasting legend from the much beloved pod 19 Years Lived, and soon to be iconic pod Hugh Do Hugh Think Hugh Are!!!!! Together we watched the 2020 adaptation of Jane Austen's novel, Emma, and oh what a riot it was. This film and episode is for fans of sexual tension while dancing, stunning fashion, and choirs.

Welcome to Spooky Season, where Cassie and Hel cover the first ever zom-rom-com, Shaun of the Dead. Join us on this wild ride as we give you relationship advice, talk about our crushes, and debate which records we would use to murder a zombie. Content note for mentions of the current pandemic and suicide.

For episode #13 of You Only Love Once, Cassie and Hel are covering My Beautiful Laundrette - a story about love, family, duty, identity, and yes, laundrettes. We discuss our usual segments including astrology, representation and fashion... and go off topic... maybe... a couple of times.

We Object... to criticsm of this film! JK no movie is perfect but this is one of our most requested films and despite some things that have NOT aged well overall this is such a fun film that we had so much fun covering! Join us as we discuss 2000s bunny fashion, girl schools and living your best life. You might notice some slight snap, crackle and pop in this episode! We promise it's still totally listenable and we are in the process of levelling up our recording rig so future episodes will be extra sparkly clear.

For the Cassie Birthday Special we watch the 2004 romcom 13 Going on 30. Join us as we delve into this Normie Noughties Romcom and discuss our likes, dislikes, and confusions.

Taking it back to 1994 for this episode, join Cassie and Hel to chat about this hilarious, poignant and memorable movie, Muriel's Wedding. We cover our usual segments including representation, astrology and fashion, and traverse many other topics along the way.

Celebrate Yorkshire Day with YOLO as we watch the 1998 musical romcom Little Voice. Set in Scarborough, Jane Horrocks gives a career defining performance as downtrodden LV, a quiet woman with an amazing ability to do musical impressions. CN: fire, death, abuse, neglect.

All the weddings this summer have been cancelled, so Cassie and Hel have taken it upon themselves to bring wedding fever to 2020 if it is the last thing they do! Tune in to hear what they have to say about 2001's The Wedding Planner, discussing why gay is always better, why not to marry someone, and uncovering the truth behind the McConaissance.

In this episode, Cassie and Hel tackle their first non-English language film; Mine Vaganti. Join us as we journey through Greek mythology, validate the existence of bisexuals, and ask the question, what really makes tragedy so tragic? This film is full of gay, Italian fun, and we hope you love it. (cn for suicide, homophobia, disordered eating)

So you thought RomComs could only be live action movies about bored Gen X-ers who can't catch a break? Think again! They can also be animated movies about bored fairytale characters who can't catch a break. Cosy up with Cassie and Hel to discuss this childhood classic, Shrek.

For episode 5, Cassie and Hel take a deep dive into the teen romcom, John Tucker Must Die. Lean into the chaos while we discuss meet-cutes, astrology, fashion, representation and feminist alternatives to this wild wild ride. (cn for the movie are: misogyny, homophobia, transphobia)

For our fourth episode, we dive into The Watermelon Woman. Released in 1996, this is a romcom about black lesbian love, friendship and film - and spoiler alert, Cassie and Hel absolutely loved it.

In episode 3, Cassie and Hel fall in love with the 1999 classic, 10 Things I Hate About You. Join us discussing who invented the romcom, bad poetry, and floppy hair do's, as well as all our normal segments on racial and sexuality representation, astrological interpretations and fashion notes.

For our second episode Cassie and Hel chat about a teenage rom-com from our childhood - Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Join us as we discuss 00s fashion, hotties in boybands, and discover the only way to accept a compliment.

Cassie and Hel welcome you to YOU ONLY LOVE ONCE, a podcast about romcoms good, bad and cringe. In the first episode we discuss the 1998 classic You've Got Mail. We'll be taking a look at representation, fashion, astrology, tropes and romance.