Year of Release: 2019
Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson
Starring: Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine, Priyanka Chopra, Betty Gilpin, Brandon Scott Jones, Jennifer Saunders, Alex Kis, Jay Oakerson, Rao Rampilla, Zach Cherry
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis and Review:
Director Todd Strauss-Schulson who has made a name for himself, mostly with shorts and TV series, has made a foray into feature films with primarily comedies (he directed one of the "Harold and Kumar" features). "Isn't it Romantic" follows the story of Natalie, a young woman, who is an architect working in New York City (and living in a tiny apartment). Natalie learnt from a young age, and from her mother, that romantic comedies are only destined to be just that - dreams concocted with a series of formulas, but that have little to no bearing with reality. Natalie has issues affirming herself and her point of view, and constantly shoots down the attention that Josh, her coworker, sends her way. After a particularly dastardly mugging experience, Natalie finds herself in a hospital, and upon waking up starts realizing she's literally inside a Romantic Comedy reality. Her apartment is suddenly gigantic, she has tons of shoes, everyone bursts into choreographed dance styles, and she has the attention of a man, she lusted after. However the longer she stays in that reality, the more she suddenly realizes that her own life, and the people in it, weren't that bad to begin with.
"Isn't It Romantic" has an interesting concept at hand, and a cast game for it. It plays with the clichés of romantic comedies, addressing them right on the nose, even if at the end, it embraces all of them full on. It's a typical set up, of the young woman learning to assert and love herself, and who in the process finally sees all that surrounds her, including her long pinning co-worker. It's a film that has some fun with the clichés that it represents, particularly with Rebel Wilson taking center stage and really making the best of her character. It's also a film that could have gone so much further, that could have been much more acidic, but that ultimately renders itself innocuous. Rebel Wilson, Betty Gilpin and Jennifer Saunders deserve a better film, but there are still a few instances where this elicits a chuckle. Ultimately is passable.
"Isn't It Romantic" has an interesting concept at hand, and a cast game for it. It plays with the clichés of romantic comedies, addressing them right on the nose, even if at the end, it embraces all of them full on. It's a typical set up, of the young woman learning to assert and love herself, and who in the process finally sees all that surrounds her, including her long pinning co-worker. It's a film that has some fun with the clichés that it represents, particularly with Rebel Wilson taking center stage and really making the best of her character. It's also a film that could have gone so much further, that could have been much more acidic, but that ultimately renders itself innocuous. Rebel Wilson, Betty Gilpin and Jennifer Saunders deserve a better film, but there are still a few instances where this elicits a chuckle. Ultimately is passable.
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