Movie Review: I Want You Back

 

Title: I Want You Back
Director: Jason Orley
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Staring: Charlie Day; Jenny Slate, Scott Eastwood; Gina Rodriguez; Manny Jacinto; Clark Backo

Release Date: February 11th, 2022

Tagline: Their Exes Have Moved On. They Haven't

 

Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate) are total strangers, but when they meet, one thing instantly bonds them: they were both unexpectedly dumped by their respective partners, Anne (Gina Rodriguez) and Noah (Scott Eastwood), on the same weekend. As the saying goes, "misery loves company," but their commiseration turns into a mission when they see on social media that their exes have happily moved on to new romances, Anne with Logan (Manny Jacinto) and Noah with Ginny (Clark Backo). Terrified that, in their 30s, they have lost their shot at happily ever after and horrified at the prospect of having to start over, Peter and Emma hatch a desperate plot to win the loves of their lives back. Each will do whatever it takes to put an end to their exes' new relationships and send them running back to their arms. 

 

Rating

Hello Fellow Movie Watchers,

Considering the cast, I thought I was going to love this, but I didn't. Does that mean I hated it? Absolutely not, it was still fun. Day's Peter was very lovable in the beginning having just broken up with Anne (Rodriguez). He's just an average guy trying to do his best, in a job that he really dislikes. He has dreams of opening up his own nursing home, but can't seem to get the motivation to do so.

Slate's Emma is the complete opposite, having Noah (played by Eastwood) break up with her due to her lack of passion and responsibility. We see that she has young collage kids as roommates, and has been undecided on picking a career. Eventually, Peter and Emma (who work in the same building) meet and realize they can help each other with getting their respective ExSOs back and hatch a plan to break up their new relationships. Hi-jinks ensue.

So, I was hoping for more in terms of romance between Emma and Peter, but it's a slow burn so you only are able to see snippets of attraction, which are buried below the surface. You don't see too much until the end when they realize how they feel about each other. The ending is cute and leaves it a bit open ended. The plot is cliche and you can definitely guess what's going to happen, but I don't watch movies like these for the plot. The characters are cast pretty perfectly, and I ended up falling in love with Emma (I was already in love with Slate).

Overall, a pretty good Rom Com.