“SAVVY SHELDON FEELS GOOD AS HELL” MIGHT BE THIS YEAR'S SLEEPER HOLIDAY COMFORT MOVIE

There’s a particular kind of rom-com heroine who seems engineered in a lab: messy but lovable, clumsy but photogenic, stressed but never actually sweating. Savvy Sheldon is not that woman. Before she became the star of a honey-lit movie night must, she lived in the pages of Taj McCoy’s debut novel fully dimensional, deeply tired, and long overdue for the kind of care she poured into everyone else.

That, more than anything, is why the book struck such a chord. The Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell novel isn’t trying to sell readers a fantasy so much as reflect the quiet, familiar ache of realizing you’ve accepted scraps for so long you’ve stopped asking for a meal. It's tender. It's generous. And it understands women who hold it together for everyone except themselves. The film adaptation carries that energy forward—sometimes faithfully, sometimes loosely—but always with an understanding that the heart of this story is a woman finally choosing her own joy.

Honor Yourself, Thank Yourself, Accept Yourself.

Part of the book’s allure is that Savvy isn’t introduced as a damsel or a disaster. She’s introduced as someone doing fine. Truly fine. Acceptably fine. She has a house (though it’s old and a bit cramped), a career (where she constantly picks up the slack for her burned-out coworkers), and a longtime boyfriend who mostly just holds down a permanent indentation in her sofa. But when that boyfriend breaks up with her (explaining, with the stunning confidence of a mediocre man, that she’s “let herself go” and he needs an “upgrade”) something in Savvy snaps. Or maybe clicks.

She briefly does what many women would do after such an ego-denting exit: she considers the “Revenge Body.” She drafts a plan. She contemplates a full systems overhaul. But McCoy doesn’t let her stay in the shallow waters of revenge-driven self-improvement for long. What begins as a quest to fix herself for someone else quickly transforms into a healthier relationship with her body, her boundaries, her home, and her sense of worth.

With the help of her two best friends since childhood, her flirtatiously motivational tennis trainer, a local chef who gently reintroduces her to the pleasures of food, and the charming contractor working across the street, Savvy starts to build—and inhabit—a life that feels good to her. Not perfect. Not polished. But hers.

In many ways, the novel is a paean to self-care and support systems. Everyone in Savvy’s life (with the singular exception of the ex-boyfriend) wants the best for her and shows up authentically to cheer on her glow-up. This abundance of love is warm and refreshing, though it does come with a tradeoff: occasional narrative friction. Her love interest is almost too good, disagreements with friends are resolved quickly, and workplace conflicts evaporate before gaining real momentum. For some readers, this created a sense of lightness that felt comforting; for others, it left the story craving a bit more grit.

But where the book absolutely shines — and what readers constantly cite — is its depiction of food. Savvy is a gifted cook, and McCoy writes her culinary moments with sensual joy. The dishes aren’t just delicious, they reveal who Savvy is when she’s not trimming herself down for someone else’s comfort. Food becomes a language of self-love, reclamation, and creativity. These scenes are lush, grounding, and among the novel’s most memorable.

Ultimately, the book resonates because it let Savvy evolve without erasing who she was. Her glow-up isn’t about becoming unrecognizable. It was about becoming fully recognizable to herself. That emotional clarity is harder to translate onscreen—but the movie definitely does its best.

Let Go of What Didn’t Work.

The CW’s adaptation of Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell understood the assignment. The film leans into familiar contemporary rom-com beats and feels tailor-made for cozy, Sunday-night streaming.

Set against the low-glow comfort of winter routines, this isn't a Christmas-miracle movie, exactly, but it is about renewal, softness, and deciding what you want to carry into the next version of your life. Which, frankly, isn't that the whole point of holiday rom-com season?

At the center of it all is Amber Riley, who brings a grounded warmth to Savvy Sheldon that keeps the film from drifting. Riley plays Savvy as a woman who is capable, funny, and exhausted in that very specific adult way (the kind of tired that comes from always being the one who compensates). Her performance makes Savvy’s initial contentment feel real, which is why the breakup hits as sharply as it does. When her longtime boyfriend ends things by critiquing her body and her comfort, Riley doesn’t oversell the devastation. She lets the insult land quietly, which somehow makes it worse—and more recognizable.

From there, the film settles into its rom-com rhythm, but with an unusually patient pace. Savvy toys with the idea of a “Revenge Body,” but the movie never treats this as the end goal. Instead, it becomes a narrative feint — a way in before the story gently reroutes toward something healthier. Her tentative gym sessions, guided by a tennis trainer who favors encouragement over intimidation, are so sincere. And the trainer’s calm presence (and easy chemistry with Riley) turns physical movement into a form of trust-building, not self-correction.

The supporting cast elevates the film into true comfort-watch territory. Savvy’s support is the true heart of the film. Namely, Nadine Whiteman as Tiny, Savvy’s mother and true scene-stealer. Whitman beautifully captures the fun dynamic of a mother/daughter duo and the type of solid, authentic friendship that emerges with a parent as an adult.

There's also Savvy's besties, who provide the kind wine-soaked, late-night conversations that every good holiday rom-com basically requires.

Then there’s the romance with Isaiah (played by Dorian Grey), which unfolds at exactly the right temperature. The cute contractor across the street (yes, really) is charming without being cloying, and the film resists rushing them together. It’s a surprisingly slow-burn romance that plays beautifully during the holidays, when time feels elastic and everything moves just a little more deliberately.

Does the movie have the book’s nuance? Not quite. But does it preserve the book’s sincerity? Absolutely.

Step Forward in Your Practice.

What makes Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell such a strong addition to your holiday rom-com watch list is its refusal to equate happiness with spectacle. There’s no dramatic transformation reveal, no public confrontation staged for applause. The satisfaction comes from watching Savvy choose herself in small ways, repeatedly.

Savvy Sheldon understands that the best holiday rom-coms don’t demand belief in magic—just in the possibility of feeling a little better than you did before.

4/5 ★: A feel-good flick that swaps magic for self-worth.