Yahoo Movies Is It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star's new rom-com worth watching?
I Want You Back, out now on Amazon Prime, tells the story of two slightly dysfunctional thirtysomethings, both recently dumped. Yes, it's perfect for Valentine's Day!
Emma (Jenny Slate) and Peter (Charlie Day, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) run into each other in a stairwell and realise they've both been dumped by the loves of their lives. The pair hatch a plan to help get each other's partners back.
Peter is going to friend-seduce Emma's ex Noah (Scott Eastwood) and help him realise that he doesn't want to be with his new girlfriend Ginny. Emma is tasked with splitting up Peter's ex Anne (Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin) from her new beau Logan (Manny Jacinto) by real-seducing him.
Emma and Peter straddle the line between endearing and unlikeable in a realistic and, more importantly, entertaining way. While you might not find yourself rooting for anyone, because it's a pretty devious plan, you still become engaged in the story and the development of its characters.
In learning more about Emma and Peter's pasts, your understanding of them grows in what feels like an organic way, rather than a 'switch flip' that changes your mind about their motivations and actions. Their comedic chemistry is not to be overlooked either, and each quip is delivered with that kind of easy jest that feels naturally funny.
The film eschews the extraordinary plot twists and hurdles of romcom archetype. Instead, it makes use of very real problems that plenty of thirtysomethings can relate to – things like career stagnation and social media-induced self-esteem issues.
Most of its supporting characters get fleshed out, too. Rodriguez does a chortle-inducing turn as an uptight but desperate-to-be-a-free-spirit English teacher, while Eastwood adds nuance and empathy to the standard gym bro.
Of the two new partners, Jacinto gets the most to do. Logan is just pretentious enough, his facade cracking ever so slightly to reveal as realistic a person as the rest of the cast: someone afraid that they aren't doing enough. Unfortunately, Ginny (Clark Backo) gets the least screen time and therefore is least fleshed-out.
Refreshingly, I Want You Back doesn't peddle the same stars-in-their-eyes, idyllic romance that is the backbone of most romcoms. And even when it does, it's quick to ground that moment of fantasy: Emma describes her soulmate as her aeroplane person, someone she'd secure an oxygen mask for before doing it for herself, which Peter quickly points out is a strict no-no of aeroplane safety.
I Want You Back is careful not to draw out the plan too far, and drags only ever so slightly during the end of the first act, in which the set-up and bonding between Emma and Peter is kept afloat by Slate and Day's sheer comedic willpower rather than action.
I Want You Back is genuinely funny in a way that doesn't rely on sitcom scenarios, and even when you think the film is going to lean into the absurd it pulls back at just the right moment, keeping itself grounded.
There are some great cameos, which play into both nostalgia and contemporary zeitgeist, a line that's hard to straddle but makes sense when you look at the age and sensibility of its characters. As the group dynamics grow, we become invested in everyone's stories. There is no villain, and in a way you want everyone to find happiness and love.
This is what makes I Want You Back stand out from the pack. Yes, there is scheming and lying, but there is also growth and both sides of the coin are given equal and realistic weight, leaving the final moments of hopefulness (because what good rom-com doesn't leave you with that 'aaah' sensation) feel genuinely earned, rather than genre-prescribed.
I Want You Back is now available on Amazon Prime Video
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