Rebel Wilson’s newest film is truly brought to life with her witty remarks and charming personality.
In the movie, “Isn’t It Romantic,” Wilson plays Natalie, a struggling young architect with a strong disbelief in love. The role was built for her, allowing her to present her skills of playing a wallflower as well as a cheeky showstopper.
After being mugged in a New York subway, Natalie is knocked out and wakes up in the hospital of a cheesy romantic comedy. The movie then goes on to mock every cliché that a rom-com has, from falling in love at first glance to the slow motion stopping of a wedding.
Nevertheless, the movie becomes the very trope it mocks all while being entertaining. While it lacks the dramatic clichés of cheesy pop music and billionaire boyfriends, the interactions between Wilson’s character and her ‘normal’ love interest (Adam Devine) are humorous, awkward, and relatable. Their exchanges work particularly well because they have taken on roles as love interests in other movies, such as the Pitch Perfect series, which was a genius casting move.
The use of Liam Hemsworth as the fantasy rom-com love interest worked well with the message of the film. He was in the romance movie “The Last Song” and, while it was not necessarily a romantic comedy, it had plenty of the clichés Natalie lists for many minutes at the start of the movie.
Parts of the movie were predictable; however, that only added to its charm. The “plot twist” message was foreseeable but heartwarming nonetheless.
What I was not expecting was the subtle nods to other romantic comedies, such as the reference to the iconic “I’ll have what she’s having” scene from “When Harry Met Sally.”
Overall, the movie was surprisingly well done. Personally, I have a strong dislike towards romantic comedies due to their cheesiness and was able to laugh along at the dramatic recreation this movie had to offer, all while being able to weave its own love story throughout. The casting was well-picked and created a humorous atmosphere to deliver a wholesome message.
However, some jokes fell flat and the humor coasts mainly on Rebel Wilson’s general likability. Some aspects of the movie could have been but out completely, such as the karoke scene which felt included simply to reach a time stamp. For those reasons, I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars.