We’re at a moment when a cohort of actors who cut their teeth in hipster-friendly projects like Party Down and the Frat Pack movies are coming of age. Whether it’s Lizzy Caplan’s emergence as a viable romantic comedy star thanks to her wonderful turn on New Girl; or Adam Scott’s Parks and Recreation-minted heartthrob status; the wave of goodwill Jason Segel is riding right now after his successful reboot of the Muppts franchise; or Aaron Paul’s search for the role that will take him beyond his turn as morally conflicted meth cooker Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad, these actors are all starring in romantic comedies this year. It’s fascinating to see what, if anything, is different about this well-worn trope as taken on by actors less invested in traditional Hollywood glamor than in self-lacerating humor. Mostly it seems that they’re just as invested in marriage and commitment as prior generations, but the obstacles to their happiness are different.

For the younger set, there’s Damsels in Distress, a decidedly odd-looking comedy about a group of college girls (played by actresses way too old for the setting) out to save their classmates from the scourges of depression and cads with donuts and tap-dancing. The movie’s quirky enough that I can’t tell if there’s an abstinence metaphor or there will be an abstinence subplot here. But there’s still something interesting about a college sex comedy framed around a very different framework and with characters who have very different priorities:

Then, there’s Save the Date, which doesn’t have a formal trailer yet, but is one of the movies from Sundance that’s stuck with me most closely. Alison Brie and Lizzy Caplan play sisters Beth and Sarah, the former about to get engaged to Andrew (Martin Starr) a drummer in a rock band, the latter shaken by an unexpected proposal from Kevin (Geoffrey Arend), the frontman for that same band. When Sarah breaks up with Kevin, she embarks on casual relationship that turns into something more serious. To a certain extent, it’s a movie with very conventional themes: love can show up at surprising times! Marriages are more important than weddings! But it’s interesting to see those themes play out in a setting and with semi-bohemian characters who might have rejected marriage in another generation of movies:

Bridesmaids let it be known that sometimes women go a little crazy in the process of planning a wedding, even when they’re happy for the bride. Bachelorette, which also stars Caplan along with Kirsten Dunst and Isla Fisher apparently goes much darker, exposing a group of women who get decidedly vicious when the least conventionally attractive of their number gets engaged before they do. I’ll be curious to see if the movie is honest in its darkness or an occasion to paint all women as catty, status-obsessed, jealous, and willing to tear each other up:

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This post contains spoilers through the February 16 episode of Parks and Recreation.

Okay, I’m not going to lie: if I were offered a real-life choice between Adam Scott and Louis C.K., both of whom I have seen in the flesh, it would not be an easy decision for me. So I sympathize with Leslie when Officer Dave Sanderson returns from San Diego intent on winning her back from boyfriend and campaign manager Ben Wyatt. Particularly because watching those two gentlemen square off for her affections in competing comedic cycles was easily the best part of an episode that was otherwise largely recapitulated Mouserat and Duke Silver jokes, and what Vulture has articulately dissected as the show’s Ann Perkins problem. Because the prospect of Ann allowing herself to be brow-beaten into dating Tom depresses me more than I want to contemplate, herewith let me present the official Alyssa Rosenberg Guide to Picking Between Ben and Dave:

Politics:

Pro Ben: He’ll manage your campaign, has good instincts for the attack, a handy grasp of fiscal policy, and the ability to assimilate into a community by eventually coming to love tiny horses.

Con Ben: He’s got that awful political legacy trailing behind him. And there’s the scandal thing, if Pawnee voters end up caring about that. Occasionally condescending.

Pro Dave: He will likely be able to hand out reelection endorsement after reelection endorsement to you after he becomes sheriff and you become member of the city council. Also, he can probably get you Bobby’s file for negative ads.

Con Dave: Unlikely to be able to keep you calm during a contentious focus group.

Manliness:

Pro Ben: He will punch people who call you a bitch. Will do sexual roleplay where he pretends to be various presidents.

Con Ben: Crying Batman.

Pro Dave: “I was thinking that I would cuff him and that I would have time to speak with you and you would decide to speak with me and then we’d come back and uncuff him together.” Uses feminism to try to win you back, if kind of clumsily. Ron Swanson would probably approve.

Con Dave: That tendency to abuse police power might not be so awesome in the long run. Plus, suggests that your ex is secretly super-effeminate, which are not the actions of a confident man.

Intellectual Style:

Ben: Twitchy indignation, be it over budgets, mini-horses, or science fiction and fantasy.

Dave: Folksy understatement: “We had a romantical involvement until I relocated to San Diego…which is southwest of here by a number of miles.”

Hair:

Ben: Hipster.

Dave: Ginger.