Play of the Week: Movies and TV shows for your ‘SOUR’ sentiments

Taking notes from Taylor Swift – arguably the queen of breakup songs – Olivia Rodrigo, in her debut album SOUR, captures the acrid aftertaste of just about every love story (see what we did there?). Whether you’re going through a heartbreak or reliving one, Olivia Rodrigo will fit right in with your playlist. 

Once you’re done angry screaming, crazy dancing, and ugly crying, here are some movies and TV shows to complete the SOUR experience. 

‘brutal’ – Black Swan

(And other parables about the young artists struggling to cope with pressure, including I, Tonya; Sunset Boulevard; Whiplash; and Perfect Blue.)

SOUR’s opening track is a contradiction if you’re expecting an album of breakup ballads purely.

“brutal” unveils Olivia Rodrigo’s punk-rock sensibilities as she lashes out against the pressures of her milieu and her generation, writ large. Namely, grappling with imposter syndrome and failing to reach one’s potential after years of being built up as a “gifted child.”

Like Black Swan’s Nina (Natalie Portman), Olivia Rodrigo describes life as a ticking time bomb, as she tries to outgrow her past image while also enduring exploitation just to pursue their art. Both of them are perfectly flawless on stage until they’re not. 

Whether it be Nina, Tonya, Johnny, or Mima, we can all imagine them singing the lyrics, “they say these are my golden years, but I wish I could disappear.”

Black Swan is available to rent on Youtube Movies. 

‘traitor’ – In the Mood for Love

“traitor” is your go-to forlorn song when commuting at night.

It lets your mind linger on that one person. It’s orchestrated with mellow rhythms, accompanied by lyrics that sound like melting honey but are bitter pills to swallow. 

The song’s harmonies of angst and loneliness can be likened to Wong Kar Wai’s poignantly evocative visuals in In the Mood for Love.

One can imagine Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) telling each other, “Guess you didn’t cheat, but you’re still a traitor,” as they too find solace in each other following the discovery of their partners’ affair. 

‘driver’s license’ – Gilmore Girls

What first started off as Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single has now fostered multiple wins, breakthroughs, and a puzzling “cinematic universe” of implied non-fictional characters. 

“driver’s license” takes an empathic look at the dismay of being the “second lead” in a love story and yet still longing for the one who got away. 

Car rides, stop signs, and a blonde girl can be all be easily connected to the classic comfort TV show Gilmore Girls. It, too, has unlikable but relatable teenagers figuring out the thrills of the future while grappling with present heartbreak. 

Add Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rory’s (Alexis Bledel) overflowing chemistry and witty banter about books and films, and it’s hard to not picture this couple as the characters in Miss Olivia’s “driver’s license.”

They were match-made in heaven once, but what are the odds of Rory’s past, present, and future boyfriends driving alone past her street? 

Gilmore Girls is available on Netflix. 

‘1 step forward. 3 steps back’ – Death Note (anime)

Not as sour as the songs in the titular album, Rodrigo’s “1 step forward and 3 steps back” pulls things back to a slower, crestfallen pace. Here, she holds a requiem for her uneven relationship in the past. 

“Like am I pretty? Am I fun, boy? I hate that I gave you power over that kind of stuff,” exudes similar dynamics to that Misa Amane and Light Yagami from the anime Death Note. 

Not only does Misa go to the extent of sacrificing her powers for the mass murderer that is Light, but she also constantly showers him with unwavering, unconditional affection.

This anime Joker-Harley duo mirrors Olivia Rodrigo’s lamentations on baneful ties that aren’t that entirely pain-free to get rid of.

Watch Death Note on Netflix. 

‘deja vu’ – Our Times

Olivia always understands the damn assignment, and we’d give her a perfect mark for creating “deja vu.”

Bittersweet memories of high school heartbreak are revisited by Tai-Yu (Darren Wang) and Lin (Vivian Sung) in Our Times. “That was our place, I found it first,” perfectly fits the whole thesis of the film. 

Without spoiling anything too much, in one gut-wrenching scene under the rain, Lin is left to stare in jealousy and pain as she watches her ex-rival turned friend finally be with the girl of his dreams. 

‘good 4 u’ – John Tucker Must Die

“Remember when you swore to God I was the only person who ever got you? Well, screw that and screw you. You will never have to hurt the way you know that I do.” 

“good 4 u” portrays the stage in a breakup that comes after the initial onslaught of tears: the state of white-hot, how-dare-you-leave-me rage. It’s when you start blaming the other person, sometimes irrationally, for the inevitable pain that the breakup stirred. 

The chart-topper “good 4 u” unabashedly waved all our dirty, petty post-breakup laundry and made it a bop. Anyone who had been through a messy breakup could’ve ghost-written this song. 

Angry women wanting to scream “screw you!” and more in the faces of their exes? John Tucker Must Die. The title says it all.

‘enough for you’ – The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“enough for you” is a lamentation of a lover who feels like she can never be enough for her partner. This track speaks of how the prospect of a new romance can lure people into illusory love and keep them in a cycle of constantly trying to prove themselves worthy of affection.

Towards the end of “enough of you,” however, the protagonist breaks free. We can hear this in lines like “but don’t tell me you’re sorry, boy,” “feel sorry for yourself,” and“’cause someday I’ll be everything to somebody else.” The never-ending chase finally got too old for the song’s protagonist.

Don’t these descriptions just ring true to iconic lines such as “we accept the love we think we deserve” and scenes standing arms stretched out in the back of the truck?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is available on Netflix.

‘happier’ – Tayo sa Huling Buwan ng Taon 

Like Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo didn’t disappoint us in depicting a different definition of “happy.” (Listen to Happiness by Taylor Swift, you’ll know what I’m talking about.)

“happier” is about being “matured and moved on” enough to hope their ex to be happy, but not enough to wish them to be happier with someone else; another very relatable story. (The pettier, the better.)

Five years after the events of the first film, ex-couple Sam (Nicco Manalo) and Isa (Emmanuelle Vera) reunite one fateful night. Their paths crossing once again reopens the plethora of the things left unresolved between them. 

They grew older and found people who made them happier. The echoes of the past, however, suffocate them both. Suddenly, what constitutes “happy” and “happier” becomes too complicated to unravel.

Tayo sa Huling Buwan is available on Netflix.

‘jealousy, jealousy’ – To the Bone

“jealousy, jealousy,” SOUR’s ninth track, deviates from the heartbreak and goes for the jugular of social media and how it exponentially grew the impossible standards for young women. Olivia Rodrigo stays absolutely sour in her criticism, though. 

Similarly, To the Bone speaks of how unrealistic standards have made lives harsher for teens, leading to eating disorders for some. Just like the song, the film talks about recognizing this constant need to compare and judge oneself based on strangers’ thoughts as the first steps to healing. Because, true enough, if you don’t address it, it “can kill you slowly.”

To the Bone is available on Netflix.

‘favorite crime’ – Gossip Girl

Expensive mistakes, designer couture, and toxic relationships are the hallmarks of Gossip Girl. 

Of all the couples in the TV show, Blaire (Leighton Meester) and Chuck (Ed Westwick) perfectly portray what being each other’s “favorite crime” looks like. Both are “willing accomplices,” as Olivia writes. 

‘hope ur ok’ – Someone Great

Olivia Rodrigo ends SOUR with a sweet note. “I miss you and I hope you’re okay,” she sings. 

In the final track of SOUR, she finally reached the last phase of grief: acceptance. It was a tough and long way between denial and acceptance, but she got there.

So did Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) from Someone Great. She went drinking for days, partied hard, and cried even harder. But in the end, she pulled out her journal and wrote a lovely composition as a tribute to her ex-lover. She wrote her version of “hope ur ok.”

Someone Great is available on Netflix.

With acceptance comes hope for something more beautiful.

The best way of ending SOUR is picking yourself up, smiling, and then starting a new journey. (Or, in Olivia Rodrigo’s case, a new album). – Rappler.com

Kim Czaccei Dacanay is a former Digital Communications volunteer at Rappler. She is a History major from the University of Santo Tomas, and works as a freelance writer.

Mikaela de Castro is a former Digital Communications volunteer at Rappler. She’s an Asian Studies major and a student-journalist from the University of Santo Tomas. She’s a pink connoisseur that likes to make sense of the noise.