Rachel Handler

New York

Features Writer at Vulture

Features Writer at New York Magazine

features writer @vulture @nymag, preeminent mandy patinkin scholar.

Articles

‘I’m Not an Ingénue Anymore, and I Don’t Really Know That I Ever Was’

2 weeks ago | vulture.com | Rachel Handler

Dying for Sex lets Jenny Slate stretch her wings.
Val Kilmer on Val Kilmer’s Documentary About Val Kilmer, Val

3 weeks ago | vulture.com | Rachel Handler

The actor filmed himself for decades, and then his footage became a surprising and strange documentary, Val. This interview originally ran on July 7, 2021, to coincide with the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Val, a documentary created using footage Val Kilmer filmed of his own life and career. The actor died on April 1, 2025. He was 65. Val Kilmer appeared in other people’s films for 40 years, but, as is revealed in his documentary, Val, he filmed himself for even longer.
How ‘Dying for Sex’ Adapted the Real Molly’s Story for TV

1 month ago | vulture.com | Rachel Handler

Michelle Williams stars in a new FX show as a horny stage-four cancer patient on a quest to figure out what turns her on. Full look by BALENCIAGA. Earrings are stylist’s own. Full look by BALENCIAGA. Earrings are stylist’s own. Full look by BALENCIAGA. Earrings are stylist’s own. This article was originally published on March 24, 2025. FX’s Dying for Sex is out now. Michelle Williams was winding up to kick Rob Delaney in the dick.
A Death-Defying Sexcapade

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Rachel Handler

2 days agoJames Van Der Beek opened up about reconnecting with his Dawson's Creek castmates years after the show went off air. The 48-year-old actor brought Dawson Leery to life in the hit series, which ran between 1998 and 2003. Other core cast members included the likes of Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams and …
"Celebrity" just isn't hitting like it used to... (Live from On-Air Fest)

1 month ago | wrvo.org | Brittany Luse |Rachel Handler |Alex Abad-Santos

When twitch streamers can sway elections and viral videos can turn fifteen seconds of fame into hundreds of millions of dollars, it kind of makes you wonder: who's a real "celebrity" these days? And do they matter like they used to? With fans fed up over ticket prices and endless product pushing, capital-C "celebrity" seems to be in its flop era. But is it gone for good? And, do we even want it back?
Amy Irving Answers Every Question We Have About Crossing Delancey

2 months ago | vulture.com | Rachel Handler

The Jewish rom-com is finally joining the Criterion Collection, and according to Irving, “Peter and I have thought of sequels.” One year after Dirty Dancing and a decade before Sex and the City, there was another chic, self-sabotaging, corkscrew-haired Jewess looking for love in all the wrong places in New York: Crossing Delancey’s Isabelle Grossman.
The Owner of Laura Palmer’s House Is Grieving David Lynch

Jan 17, 2025 | vulture.com | Rachel Handler

The owner of Laura Palmer’s house has been comforting Twin Peaks fans for years. She has no plans of stopping. In the hours since David Lynch’s death, the tributes and memories have been pouring in from his actors, his collaborators, his fans, his family, his friends. My mind went quickly to Mary Reber.
‘I’d Better Watch Out or I’m Gonna Fall in Love With This Guy’

Dec 6, 2024 | vulture.com | Rachel Handler

Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes are sitting in a hotel room in New York, giggling like mischievous children. They’re here to talk about their new film, The Return, but they’ve wandered down memory lane, reminiscing about their 30-plus years of collaboration and friendship.
Some Unsolicited Ideas for Ariana Grande’s Next Movie

Nov 27, 2024 | vulture.com | Rachel Handler

The other day, my friend DJ Louie XIV, who hosts a podcast about obsessively ranking pop stars, asked me if this week — the week ofWicked’s release and the attendant glowing praise about Ariana Grande’s performance as Glinda — was the “best week to be an Arianator.” I took this question with all of its implicitly required seriousness and brought it to my younger sister, with whom I have attended every Ariana tour and who is so deeply, frighteningly invested that she follows Ariana’s cousins...
Elizabeth Olsen on Death, Her Sisters, and Life After Marvel

Nov 19, 2024 | vulture.com | Rachel Handler

His Three Daughters star Elizabeth Olsen on why she keeps doing movies about grief and dying. Elizabeth Olsen has played a vengeful witch, a cult escapee, an accused murderer, a grief-stricken young widow, and a dead-eyed Instagram influencer. In her latest movie, Azazel Jacobs’s His Three Daughters, she’s doing something truly radical — playing a quiet, relatively unassuming, normal human woman.