Ah, November. The sweet time of the year when everyone is either still hungover and reliving their glory from Halloween (your costume wasn’t even that great, chill), or already setting up their Christmas tree and writing their Hanukkah wish list. There. Is. No. In. Between. Despite the fact that Thanksgiving is around the corner, nobody really seems to care about #turkeyszn. But, fear not! I’m here to make the irrelevant month of November more relevant again. Here are some new shows and movies coming to Netflix in November that you can get excited about.
‘Grease’
It’s finally here! You may have seen my recent article on a new Grease series that is yet to come, but honestly, what can ever compare with the original? Grease is the ultimate classic you can enjoy with bae, your mom, your friend, or alone. Get your pink jackets, poodle skirts, and singing voices ready, ladies!
‘Step Brothers’
Netflix, did we just become best friends? Thank you for bringing us the joy of watching Brennan and Dale’s rivalry and brotherhood blossom and the laughs that is Step Brothers. Having a bad day? Need a pick-me-up? This is the perfect comedy to turn on and cry of laughter to. I love you, Will Ferrell.
‘A Bad Moms Christmas’
Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn. An amazing trio, I must say. A Bad Moms Christmas is the perfect feel-good and hilarious holiday movie about three overworked moms who rebel against the expectations of motherhood during Christmas time. If you’re already prepared to sit on Santa’s lap this week, this is the movie for you. Let’s get in the holiday spirit! P.S. Kristin Bell is me during the holidays.
‘A Holiday Engagement’
Bonnie Somerville stars in this this holiday rom-com about a woman named Hilary Burns who constantly feels pressure from her mother to marry (same, girl), and when her new fiancé suddenly breaks up with her, she scrambles to find a replacement. So, she hires an actor to pose as her fiancé in front of her family, as ya do. Honestly, the only reason I even know Bonnie Somerville is from her role as Mona on Friends, but this movie is a pretty fun storyline to follow. Oh also, Hilary Duff’s sister, Haylie, stars as the snobby sister, so that in and of itself should be your reason to watch.
‘Queer Eye’: We’re In Japan!
The wait is finally over. It’s been a long three months without JVN on our Netflix screens, but the Fab Five are back and truly better than ever. They are abroad in Japan to help four Japanese men and women find confidence in themselves. Unfortunately, the season is only four episodes long, so pace yourselves accordingly.
‘The Crown’, Season 3
The Netflix series—which won the 2017 Golden Globe for Best Drama and a handful of Emmys, is back with season 3 spanning from 1964 to 1977. Yeah, 13 years of history is a lot to get through. The show follows the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and the ups and downs of the royal family. What’s interesting about the show is that the actors change every two seasons. For this season, actress Olivia Colman will take over as Queen Elizabeth, Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret.
‘The Great British Baking Show: Holidays’, Season 2
Dig out your ugly Christmas sweater because The Great British Baking Show is back for Season 2 for the ho-ho-holidays. This holiday extravaganza will see competitors from past seasons of the show reunite under the tent. Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith are back judging this season, and the fans are going wild. We’re in for a treat, literally.
‘Atypical’, Season 3
This Netflix drama follows Sam Gardner, an 18-year-old who’s on the autism spectrum, who decides it’s time to find love. His journey sets his mom and family on their own path as Sam seeks independence. In the new season, Sam starts his first year of college and is faced with the challenge of figuring out what success means for him. The show is a great presentation of life in a family, specifically with a special needs child. If you haven’t seen the show yet, I definitely recommend trying it out.
Unfortunately, when one door opens, one must close *sobs*. While we are so excited about what’s to come this month, we also have to face what we are leaving behind. Here are the movies leaving Netflix this month: Caddyshack and Caddyshack 2, Chasing Liberty, Groundhog Day, Sex and the City: The Movie, The House Bunny, Mamma Mia!, and Coco. Enjoy them while you can!
Images: Becca Tapert / Unsplash; Giphy (8)
Jonathan Van Ness seemingly became a household name overnight, with his overwhelmingly positive attitude and infectiously kind nature quickly rocketing him from being a member of Queer Eye’s fab five to a superstar who can’t walk down 7th avenue without getting stopped for selfies. On September 24th he released his highly anticipated auto-biography, Over the Top, in which he discusses a range of experiences, from growing up doing hours of gymnastics on couch cushions in his mother’s midwestern basement and being the first non cis-gendered woman on his high school’s cheerleading squad to sexual abuse, drug addiction, and an HIV diagnosis he’s now openly discussed on more talk shows than his young queer self could’ve dreamed of.
JVN, as he’s become known to most, stopped by Betches HQ to sit down with Chris and Bryan of our Everyone’s Gay podcast (listen here) to discuss the whirlwind that’s been the last two years, and how there’s much more to him than the sunshine and rainbows that he is so often portraying on television. When he came in, understandably tired from a 6-interview first day book tour, we were thrilled at the opportunity to discuss the book that made half of our office cry on their train commutes home.
Wearing a simple purple sweater and graciously accepting a glass of Prosecco, the feeling of familiarity was overwhelming as we quickly delved into what had just happened before he came in: a call from none other than the HBIC herself, Elizabeth Warren. JVN had endorsed her on Twitter earlier in the day, explaining how forgetting his HIV medicine in LA cost him $3500 out-of-pocket to refill here in New York, something he told us he absolutely wouldn’t have been able to pay for just a couple years ago.
Thank you for your support, @jvn! Shoulder to shoulder, we’re going to fight for #MedicareForAll. No one should be able to make a profit off of denying people health care—and together, we’ll win. pic.twitter.com/8aF4Ut55jq
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) September 26, 2019
He also recalled when he received his diagnosis several years back after passing out while coloring a client’s hair. His doctor told him not to worry, an HIV diagnosis nowadays isn’t the devastating thing it was in the 80s and 90s, telling him he’ll die of cancer or a heart attack before dying of HIV complications. After discussing the serious topics that he’s been talking about since his book’s release we quickly switched over to a lighter subject, the porn we used to watch as closeted teenagers, naturally, and how all three of us would sit near our family’s basement TV trying to catch a glimpse of man on man action, while being able to quickly change the channel if someone were to come downstairs.
During a game of Everyone’s Gay’s signature game, “c*ck it or block it,” (c*ck it, meaning we love it, block it meaning we hate it, obviously) we started with “impeachment” where JVN announced he not only would suck impeachment’s d*ck, but he would let all the Republican senators, with the exception of Mitch McConnell, c*m impeachment in his mouth. The game also revealed how he stans the new(ish) hosts and judge of The Great British Baking Show, and how he thinks Tonya Harding knew more about her infamous sabotage of Nancy Kerrigan than she lets on.
He truly lived up to the hype, with a warmness that is hard to come by, and kindly offered a group photo before leaving, instructing his publicist on the correct way to film an instastory video, which at Betches HQ is not something we joke about. The book truly struck a cord with this formerly closeted, hiding to watch Project Runway in his parent’s basement, still constantly socially anxious millennial, and is a book that everyone needs to read. Whether you’re LGBTQ, a former cheerleader, a gymnast, a sex worker, or simply someone that needs to read a book about someone who has been f*cking through it and came out on the other side thriving, this is the memoir for you.
Click these links to listen to the episode on iTunes and Spotify
If you have noticed that your hair inspiration goals are starting to be a little less Blake Lively and a lot more Jonathan Van Ness, you’re not alone. According to a recent study, 72% of women have reported wanting to emulate the Queer Eye star’s hair and twerking abilities. Okay, I literally just completely made that up, but it sounds convincing and is actually probably true. JVN has flawless hair and a legendary Instagram handle, so it might be a good idea to take every single word he says and apply it to your own life. Jonathan recently spoke to The Cut to share some of his hair secrets. Here’s how to use them as inspiration for your own life. And, because I’m better at repurposing other people’s inspirational quotes than Michael Scott is, I’ve even thrown in some extra tips that helped create my flawless, modest, head of hair.
1. Stop Washing Your Hair Daily
“Not overwashing your hair gives it a nice shine,” JVN told The Cut. “Washing your hair every day dulls it out.”
I mean… not washing my hair is my favorite part of my beauty routine, and I’m so glad that Jonathan has confirmed that it’s his secret to Jesus hair. Personally, I’ve always been kind of skeptical of using dry shampoo, because I feel like if I’m not going to wash my hair for three days, and I look like a greaseball by day four, that it’s a sign that I need to just wash my damn hair. But like, I also understand that some betches get a lil greasy by the end of wash day one and should probably use some dry shampoo. If you’re going to trust any dry shampoo, I’d advise you to go with the one invented by the Olsen Twins named after a ‘90s grunge band. According to the reviews, this sh*t smells amazing and not at all like teen spirit. And no, that’s not the only Nirvana song I know…
Elizabeth and James Nirvana Dry Shampoo
2. Use Silk or Satin Pillowcases
JVN also mentioned that silk pillowcases are the move for achieving shiny hair. Please, let’s all just take a moment to close our eyes and visualize Jonathan laying on a heap of gorgeous silk pillowcases. I kind of feel like I just had a religious experience. You can probably pick up a silk pillowcase at a lot of places, but we at Betches love Slip pure silk pillowcases. They feel amazing and will make your fair so shiny, you’ll need shades. No sorry you’re right, that joke was terrible.
3. Use A Shine Spray
Jonathan doesn’t really use shine sprays, but he did tell The Cut that he recommends Aveda Brilliant Spray On Shine and Kevin Murphy Shimmer Shine. Personally, I just feel like that wasn’t his most like, fun recommendation. You definitely could spend $30 on one of the sprays that JVN stands behind but doesn’t really use. Or, you could FaceTime your long distance best friend on your way home from a date that went kind of okay, realize your hair looks a little dull in the front cam, stumble into a Duane Reade because you’re kinda drunk and want a snack, and then just like, discover your favorite $7 shine spray. I know I’m not a self-love guru, and I don’t mean to go against anything that the lord of shiny hair advises, but I also feel like that could be a really great personal journey and I don’t want you to miss out on it.
Aveda Brilliant Spray-On Shine
4. Become One With Nature
Okay, so, this next shiny hair gem actually just comes straight from me, so you’re welcome. Like Jonathan said, I try to wash my hair as infrequently as possible. So when I do actually wash it, I need something that’s going to work as hard as I do when I finally decide to take a weekend at the beach in late July after not having worked out since last September. LUSH’s Daddy-O Shampoo uses citrus juice and seaweed to make your hair super shiny and it smells SO GOOD because it has a ton of flowers in it. It’s supposed to be a brightening shampoo for blondes, but I’m a brunette and it keeps my hair looking like it’s insured for $10,000.
5. Protect Your Hair From UV Rays
Okay, here’s one more tip from me because I love to hear myself talk. Except, this tip is also basically from Jonathan because he loves a sun protection moment, and he is a graduate of the Aveda Institute. If you’re not already protecting your hair from harsh UV rays, you really should be. There are like, a million reasons why. If you dye your hair, the sun can seriously dull your expensive color. If you wear hair extensions that don’t receive the benefits of your hair’s natural oils, the sun will basically fry and ruin them. Even if your job title on The Bachelor would be “free spirit,” you need to protect your hair from the sun because it will seriously dry and dull your look, no matter how natural your hair is. This spray will help you minimize dryness, retain shine, and smell amazing.
Aveda Sun Care Protective Hair Veil
Images: Giphy; Sephora; LUSH; Aveda
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