TV Romance
‘Too Much’: A Guide to All Romance Movie References in Lena Dunham’s Netflix Series
[Warning: The below contains spoilers for Too Much Season 1.]
Too Much is anything but a typical rom-com. It peppers in moments of realism — some devastating, some intimate, some wonderfully cringy — that many other genre staples lack. Still, Lena Dunham‘s new Netflix series doesn’t brush off all of the onscreen romances that came before it.
That’s because Jess (Megan Stalter) is just as obsessed with Jane Austen stories and Julia Roberts rom-coms as we are. When she moves to London, Jess envisions a sprawling estate waiting for her (it’s not) and pictures her love interest (Will Sharpe) in an outfit straight out of Pride & Prejudice (2005).
As Jess falls in love, her imaginings and dependence on romance movies wane, but the show squeezes in quite a few references over the course of the 10 episodes. Heck, nearly every episode title is a riff on a romance movie. Scroll down for every reference we spotted.
What was your favorite reference in Too Much? Let us know if you caught any that we didn’t in the comments!
Too Much, Season 1, Now Streaming, Netflix
Sense and Sensibility (Episode 1)
After Jess and her long-term boyfriend break up, she’s forced to live with her grandma (Rhea Perlman), mom (Rita Wilson), and newly separated sister (Dunham) in Long Island. An average Friday night finds the four of them chatting while Ang Lee‘s Sense and Sensibility plays in the background.
“Alan Rickman is so f**king hot,” Dunham’s Nora muses. “It’s one of those faces you look at first, and you’re like, ‘Hmm.’ And then you look for longer and you’re like, ‘You could get it.'” Through Stalter’s narration, we find out Jess finds solace in “love stories set in pastoral England.”
Atonement (Episode 1)
On a plane to London, Jess turns on Atonement to pass the time. We catch a glimpse of its famous library scene as Jess tells herself some affirmations.
Love Actually (Episode 1)
When Jess meets Felix for the first time, he guesses that she’s one of those “Love Actually-loving girls” or that she’s obsessed with The Crown. Jess is quick to correct him, saying that she’s “a Wuthering Heights, Prime Suspect rising.” Plus, a later episode is called “Enough, Actually.”
Pretty Woman (Episode 2)
While the show doesn’t reference Pretty Woman by name in Episode 2, it does derive its title from the ’90s rom-com: “Pity Woman.”
Before Sunrise (Episode 3)
Not only does Episode 3 take its name, “Ignore Sunrise” from Richard Linklater‘s film, but its content also resembles it. Jess and Felix do everything but fall asleep, despite the fact that she has work the next day. They talk, they watch Paddington, they hook up, they watch more TV… you get the idea.
Grease (Episode 3)
Daydreaming about what her ex’s new fiancée (Emily Ratajkowski) might think of her if she really knew her, Jess pictures herself and Wendy as Grease‘s Sandy and Rizzo, ’60s garb and all. They’re in a slumber party setting, too.
Notting Hill (Episode 4)
As she walks to her boss’ dinner party in a fancy neighborhood, Jess remarks that it feels like the area is straight out of a movie, more specifically Notting Hill. She even makes Felix snap a photo of her in front of a blue door. “I’m Julia Roberts, b***h!” she exclaims. The episode’s also called “Notting Kill.”
Pride and Prejudice (Episode 4)
As Jess reprimands Felix for his “red flags,” she references Pride and Prejudice. She says her English dream involved being in bed with someone like Mr. Darcy.
Bridget Jones's Diary (Episode 4)
In that same aforementioned moment, she notes that her other dream man is “Hugh Grant in British Jones’s Diaries. Felix is quick to laugh and correct her — she meant Bridget Jones’s Diary — in the middle of their argument.
Blue Valentine (Episode 5)
Labeled “Pink Valentine,” Episode 5 delves into Jess’ past relationship with Zev (Michael Zegen), from the beginning to the end. Similar to Blue Valentine, things are great between them at the start, but the cracks form over time. “Pink” likely alludes to when Zev asks Jess to throw out all of her pink home decor when they move in together.
About a Boy (Episode 6)
Too Much makes yet another Hugh Grant reference with Episode 6, which is aptly titled “To Doubt a Boy.” Jess and Felix are going through a rough patch after he asks to move into her flat. (She thinks it’s too soon.)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (Episode 8)
Instead of Four Weddings and a Funeral, we’ve got “One Wedding and a Sex Pest.” Jess is Felix’s plus one at a wedding, which all of his stuck up boarding school friends are attending. Felix acts like someone he’s not to fit in, which irks Jessica.
Oh, and the “sex pest” thing is a reference to one of the guests. Jess finds out that she’s sat at a table next to someone who went to jail for sexual assault. While Felix asks her not to make a scene over it, she can’t get over it, and the couple has a huge argument.
The Idea of You (Episode 8)
The final episode’s title pulls from a more recent addition to the genre: 2024’s The Idea of You, the age-gap romance that stars Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine. Though, of course, they’ve swapped out “you” for “glue.”
