Isn't It Romantic Review
PG-13: Language, some sexual material, and a brief drug reference
Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Bron Creative, Camp Sugar, Broken Road Productions
1 Hr and 28 Minutes
Dir: Todd Strauss-Schulson | Writers: Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox, Katie Silberman
Cast: Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam DeVine, Priyanka Chopra, Betty Gilpin, Brandon Scott Jones, Jennifer Saunders
Release Date: February 13th 2019
Traditionally, around February there’s usually a film release that’s surprisingly good, if not great. 2018 had Game Night, 2017 gave us The LEGO Batman Movie, 2016 had Deadpool, and 2015 had Kingsman: The Golden Service. Now, in 2019, we have Isn’t It Romantic which rises in the ranks of those titles
For a long time, Natalie, an Australian architect living in New York City, had always believed that what she had seen in rom-coms is all fantasy. But after thwarting a mugger at a subway station only to be knocked out while fleeing, Natalie wakes up and discovers that she is self-aware of her existence in a "PG-13 Universe" and must escape every cliché in order to finally fall in love and achieve the happily ever after that will bring her back to reality.
Self-deprecation and sarcasm have become the core qualities of Wilson’s comedy, but as of late no comedy has been able to properly utilize her talents until now. The more unnecessary Pitch Perfect movies that were made, the more tired her comedy has become. But in Isn’t It Romantic, her first leading feature role, Wilson is dialed back and more grounded. You understand her character Natalie’s abhorrence towards rom coms from the opening where her mom crushes her teenage dreams as she watches Pretty Woman. Proclaiming savagely how no love story will happen to Natalie, you understand where her detest of rom coms root from, linking to her self-esteem as well. So, when it cuts to her 25 years later, that inferiority complex is massive and relatable as she becomes a major pushover for the world. Because of the well-written characterization, all of that sarcasm is used in context with her personality and Wilson nails each line she delivers. This is the role of Wilson’s career and it showcases her talent and uses her properly. From her comedic timing and various actions in the film, she astounds throughout and I hope this streak continues because she deserves it in her career.
The script of this movie.
I kept asking myself: “Why is this movie so damn clever?” From the featured music choices to the traditional character conventions you see in comedies of this genre, it’s because the script came from three hilarious writers Erin Cardillo (Life Sentence), Dana Fox (How to be Single), and Katie Silberman (Set It Up). These three screenwriters are no strangers to romantic comedies, for they’ve all written at least one in their careers. From each sequence you can tell that, not only are they major fans of rom coms, but they’ve also studied every intricate detail in their formula to the bone, from the film structure to the censorship of the PG-13 rating. The clever script is as satirical for rom coms as Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick’s Deadpool was for superhero movies. There is a timeless touch to the story as well because the cliches it points out are forever in the genre, so the satire and relevancy never gets old. It bears a similar atmosphere to Ella Enchanted where it pokes fun at conventional drama tropes while still abiding by them, and they both end on a huge bombastic musical number.
If you thought the Thank U, Next music video was a major love letter to early ‘00s chick flicks, Isn’t it Romantic is an 88-minute love letter to rom coms ranging from When Harry Met Sally to 13 Going on 30. It’s not just the script that is way too smart for its own good, but also the direction by Todd Strauss-Schulson and the framework of the scenes. This is a stylish director and he incorporates his own flair to the story, making for some well-executed sequences, especially the musical numbers. There is a musical moment halfway through that is damn near perfect for the level of effort Strauss-Schulson puts into the filmmaking and choreography.
Another major surprise is the supporting cast who delivers unexpected performances. Adam DeVine (another Pitch Perfect alum) portrays Wilson’s love interest once again, but he’s dialed back from being the party-going dude bro he’s typically typecast as and now he’s the kind and charming best friend who crushes on the lead. The chemistry they share is incredible, as if this is the first time the pair has worked together. There are moments throughout shared by Wilson and DeVine that are heartwarming, charming, and might make you shed a few wholesome tears (Myan will elaborate more on that later). If Hollywood wants to push Rebel Wilson and Adam DeVine as the new Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, then I’LL TAKE IT! Liam Hemsworth is surprisingly funny as well, but you know he gets that from his brother. Chris is known for having great comedic timing with his roles as of recent and some of that meathead charm has obviously rubbed off on Liam.
The only issue I truly have with the movie lies within the inciting incident. For a film that actively takes jabs at NYC there are some inconsistencies with its representation. The scene which leads up to Natalie getting knocked out, transporting Natalie into this rom com world, is the major example. It starts off with her in an overcrowded subway (which is very accurate) but when Nat walks out of the train and gets very visibly mugged at a station, the entire setting is vacant. Somehow, the movie went from real world NYC to movie world NYC in the same scene and I know it's going to bother me with repeat viewings in the future. Other than that, I WANT TO LIVE IN THIS ROM COM WORLD SO BAD! Did I say I want it? I meant:
New York is so bright and colorful. Natalie even says at one point, “NYC suddenly doesn’t smell like shit anymore.” The art direction and cinematography seems heavily inspired by the look of 90s rom coms where the saturation is cranked up to 100% and resembles a Tumblr aesthetic that is so mesmerizing to look at. This does have the same cinematographer as Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby (Simon Duggan) so that’s the main reason why the film is visually appealing.
2019 is the year of comedic actresses shining in their powerful comedies and putting the 2018 film I Feel Pretty to shame. The film bears a message of self-love and empowerment, which is both earned and well-executed, in the same vein as Scott Pilgrim did by its climax. If you haven’t been to Sundance this year, then you might not have heard of Brittany Runs a Marathon, which is a character-driven comedy centered on a plus-sized character learning to love herself, portrayed by Jillian Bell (I’ll link it here for my review). Isn’t it Romantic plays as an amazing companion piece to Brittany Runs a Marathon and delivers an empowering message set on characters with a well-written inferiority complex. Both movies are looking over at I Feel Pretty and are attacking it Office Space-style. Schumer did it and failed last year, but Bell and Wilson are present to perfect it.
I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed Isn’t It Romantic. Yes, a few of the jokes fall flat and the movie ultimately follows the same tropes it’s satirizing, but isn’t that the point? Overall, Wilson delivers sarcasm like the best of them and it’s incredibly amusing. The movie also has a wholesome lesson about loving yourself that made me shed one very small tear at the end (just one, I promise) courtesy of an unexpectedly touching moment. I haven’t shed a single tear in a movie since sobbing at last year’s A Star Is Born so that was a pretty big deal.
Shout out to the music supervisor for getting my favorite Whitney Houston song of all time into this. Oh, and having a Madonna dance number was also a nice touch. Someone got a hold of my Spotify playlist and made the most of it, I guess. I’m not at all fond of tacky, lip-synced sing-and-dance numbers in movies (I never watched Pitch Perfect for that reason alone) but I let it slide here because this movie made me feel good. That counts for something.
Funny, charming, and provides an amazing showcase of Wilson and DeVine’s talent, Isn’t It Romantic spins the conventional romantic comedy formula by satirizing and embracing it while making a timeless classic as a result.
Rating: 4.5/5 | 91%
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