 |
| Rebel Wilson and Adam Devine in Isn't It Romantic. Image courtesy Warner Bros. |
At
its best,
Isn't It Romantic is
a funny, charming little deconstruction of, and a homage to, the
romantic comedy. Like some of the best rom-coms, it features a
charismatic lead character and a winning sense of humor to keep the
audience invested in its lead's romantic foibles. Even as it points
out the genre's flaws, the film can't quite escape some of the more
troubling romantic comedy trappings, eventually succumbing to one of
the most harmful clichés without completely realizing that it did
so.
Isn't It Romantic stars
Rebel Wilson as Natalie, a low-level, put-upon architect trying to
navigate the complexities of life in the big city. A vociferous hater
of romantic comedies, Natalie takes a knock to the noggin trying to
escape a purse snatcher and wakes up in her own romantic comedy. In
this world, Natalie is the star architect in her office who
unwittingly charms her firm's big client Blake (professionally
handsome Liam Hemsworth). Her neighbor Donny (Brandon Scott Jones) is
her sassy, obsessive, gay friend. Her real-life assistant and friend
Whitney (Betty Gilpin) is now her main rival in her firm. And her
best friend Josh (Adam Devine) stumbles his way into a whirlwind
romance with model/yoga ambassador Isabella (Priyanka Chopra).
Natalie is eager to escape the perfect vision of New York she's
conjured and must complete her story arc, learning a valuable lesson
about herself as she critiques numerous rom-com tropes along the way.
There
is a fundamental issue with Wilson serving as an anti-romantic lead.
The film explains why a woman like Wilson's Natalie can't be the star
of her own romantic comedy while featuring her in a romantic comedy;
the meta nature of the comment doesn't absolve the film from
commenting on it so frequently in the first place. Despite the
frequent jokes at her expense, Wilson is a pretty solid, and
sometimes excellent, rom-com lead. Her inherent sarcasm and
self-effacement doesn't overwhelm the character; Wilson finds a skosh
of sweetness and charm to veer Natalie away from misery. It's a shame
Wilson has to take this route to showcase her rom-com chops, but at
the least it gives her a chance to reinforce she can be more than a
supporting actress.
Wilson
is good enough that, like the best rom-com actresses, she could carry
some otherwise lackluster material. Fortunately, she doesn't have to
do that for Isn't
It Romantic.
Despite the premise's snarky overtones, the criticism it has for the
genre is more loving than cruel. The film is generally careful on
what it targets for criticism, hitting the weaker aspects while using
the important notes – the tender speech, a solid musical number –
to build out its message. What is left is a film that mocks and
embraces the idealistic nature of its genre, using the familiar beats
to tell a story of self-fulfillment
Then
again, Isn't
It Romantic
can't escape some of the pratfalls it mocks so heartily. This is a
flaw for meta comedies, as the line between calling out a flaw and
featuring it is very, very thin. Take, for example, the gay best
friend stereotype. The film calls it out as a regressive depiction,
yet the jokes about Donny's character are rooted in the stereotype
itself – the humor is directed at Donny, not from him. Then there's
the battle between Natalie and Isabella for Josh's affection. The
love triangle is another well-worn rom-com trope, a plot that exists
solely to pit women against one another – the man at the center is
rarely, if ever, held responsible for his role in the conflict. Isn't
It Romantic
ultimately steps away from basing its finale on some resolution to
its love triangle, but it still uses it as a crutch in Natalie's
journey of self discovery.
The
message the film ultimately has is a pretty nifty one, at least until
the ending when Natalie puts her lesson into practice and takes a
rather awkward step backward into the very dangerous nice guy trap.
The ending to Isn't
It Romantic
validates some rather toxic behavior from Josh, while at the same
time having Natalie take a step back in her personal growth. Given
the amount of time the film spent getting Natalie to a point of
independence, the decision to strip that away in favor of convenience
and one of the more hazardous clichés is a major downfall for this
film. That last choice dampens the film's cheerful message, ending a
very sweet film on a remarkably sour note.
Review:
Three and a half out of Five Stars
Click here to see the trailer.
Rating: PG-13
Run time: 92 minutes
Genre: Romantic Comedy
tl;dr
What
Worked: Rebel
Wilson, Script
What
Fell Short: Ending,
Stereotypes
What
To Watch As Well:
Annie
Hall,
When
Harry Met Sally, Enchanted
No comments:
Post a Comment