Forgetting Sarah Marshall, other romantic comedies inspire Vancouver writers' new book of poems

When Vancouver poet Daniel Zomparelli found himself heartbroken and suffering from writer's block, he found inspiration in an unlikely source: romantic comedies.

Zomparelli teamed up with fellow writer and friend Dina Del Bucchia to write Rom Com, a book of poems that both celebrate the genre and turn it on its head.

One of the movies that the writers draw from is the 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

The scene where Jason Segal's character stands naked refusing to put his clothes back on because his girlfriend of five years has broken up with him, particularly resonated with Zomparelli.

"I also felt like I had all these moments, I felt like I had my 'naked, please don't, I can't put on my clothes or else that means we're broken up' moment," he said.

"It's one of the things that's wonderful about rom coms, is that everybody has a subjective attachment to a rom com."

Zomparelli and Del Bucchia had the book launch for Rom Com at Hot Art Wet City in Vancouver on Oct. 15.

Del Bucchia, who said one of her favourite romantic comedies is Moonstruck starring Cher and Nicolas Cage, joked that much like the characters in the movie, she is the "loud Italian" and Zomparelli is the "brooding Italian."

"I learned about a new way to love working, and to love working with the person that you're working with," Del Bucchia said.

"Is that weird and mushy?" she joked.

As for Zomparelli, the project helped him finally get over his heartbreak-induced writer's block.

"It reminded me of why I love writing again."

To hear the full interview listen to the audio labelled: Vancouver writers pen poetry book inspired by romantic comedies