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ISN'T IT ROMANTIC (2019)
Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson Cast: Rebel Wilson, Adam Devine, Liam Hemsworth, Priyanka Chopra, Betty Gilpin, Brandon Scott Jones, Jennifer Saunders, Alexandra Kis MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:28 Release Date: 2/13/19 |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | February 13, 2019 It's obvious that screenwriters Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox, and Katie Silberman know the clichés of romantic comedies. There's a montage in the first act of Isn't It Romantic in which the love-cynical and sentimentality-averse protagonist just reads off a list of them. Most of them are accurate. A couple of them are a bit suspicious, as in they seem almost too specific to one or two examples of the genre, not an actual narrative or thematic trend. Wouldn't you know it, every single one of them appears when the story switches gears to an extended dream sequence, in which that protagonist finds herself trapped inside a romantic comedy. Obviously, the movie is an attempt to satirize the genre for its sentimental trappings, its simplistically over-optimistic expectations, and its unrealistic depictions of people, the world, and love in general. By now, that's two uses of "obvious" or a form of it in this review, so maybe you can tell where this is going. Indeed, the movie's targets are obvious, as is its approach to knocking them down in comedic fashion. The filmmakers seem to believe that good satire is simply the act of pointing out the obvious and having a laugh at its expense. That's part of it for sure, but such a tactic is also the bare minimum. It remains a mystery as to why romantic comedies have gotten off so easily in the realm of cinematic satires and spoofs, but director Todd Stauss-Schulson's movie certainly should provide some fuel to mainstream filmmakers who might decide to follow in this one's footsteps. Here's how to do the easy jokes in the most straightforward way possible. Next time, someone can do the hard work of dissecting the assorted clichés, putting them together in a unique way, and actually saying something beyond the obvious about the genre. Meanwhile, though, there is some humor to be found in this broadly satirical take. The story revolves around Natalie (Rebel Wilson), who's an architect at a mid-level firm in New York City. We see her twenty-five years earlier as a 12-year-old (played by Alexandra Kis), watching Pretty Woman with transfixed wonder. That is until her mother (Jennifer Saunders) decides it's the appropriate time to tell her daughter that real life isn't as happy for women like them. That lesson appears to have stuck, and the single Natalie lives a lonely and unfulfilled life as an unappreciated doormat at work. Her co-worker Josh (Adam Devine) has a not-so-secret crush on her, but Natalie doesn't notice. Her assistant Whitney (Betty Gilpin), a romantic comedy addict, suggests that her boss try to open herself up to new experiences. That leads to Natalie getting mugged on the subway and, in the process, knocked unconscious. When she awakens, New York is a lavender-scented, boutique-shop-filled wonderland with a peppy pop soundtrack and all sorts of men who seem ready to meet cute (one cliché that the movie never mentions but, nonetheless, effectively tackles). In order to escape the horror, Natalie, with the aid of her helpful voice-over, determines that she needs someone to fall in love with her. Blake (Liam Hemsworth), a hunky client who doesn't think anything of Natalie in the real world but is beguiled by her in this one, seems like the obvious choice. The central joke is that Natalie is fully aware of the artificiality of her surroundings, meaning that she serves as a running commentary on the clichés in action. Her apartment is suddenly three apartments larger, and the cramped conditions of her office have been transformed into an open-space paradise. She even has a "stereotypically gay" friend named Donny (Brandon Scott Jones), whose existence revolves around being there for her—literally right next to her without warning in one instance—whenever she needs him. It's not all convenient fakery, though. She's frustrated, for example, to discover her dream world is rated PG-13, and her every attempt to swear is beeped out by something—a truck backing up or an alarm clock. Sex in this world is apparently impossible, too, and there's an amusing gag of her trying to get Blake into bed with her, only for the world to cut ahead to the next morning. She misses a week of work in the failed attempts (Nobody seems to care, of course). Some of these gags are specific to the genre, and some of them are just acknowledging the filmmaking process at work in the world (Natalie is dumbfounded that it only takes 18 seconds to get to work, thanks to the helpful editing). Actually, all of the jokes a matter of mere acknowledgment, really. Something unrealistic or too-convenient or patently absurd happens, and Natalie points it out with sarcasm, disbelief, frustration, or some combination of those things. Wilson helps to make some of these jokes work despite their blatancy, but ultimately, Isn't It Romantic is a surface-level takedown of romantic comedies. Despite its satirical tone and its message about needing to love oneself, the movie—to little surprise or effect—even tries to indulge in some of the genre's clichés by the end, which means it doesn't even have the courage to back up its comedic convictions. Copyright © 2019 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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(for language, some sexual material, and a brief drug reference)
