“Josh does not complete me. I complete myself.” I loved hearing this quote as I sat in the movie theatre alone watching Isn’t It Romantic. It’s a refreshing type of romantic comedy that I saw after visiting the movie’s pop-up shop on Queen St. West on Valentine’s Day.
Isn’t It Romantic is about a young professional in New York who becomes unconscious and enters an alternate universe. It’s an alternate universe where Natalie (Rebel Wilson) gets to critique the romantic comedies she grew up watching and experience that lifestyle at the same time.
All of a sudden she’s got it all, including a handsome, wealthy boyfriend. She’s recognized as a superstar at work and she has an amazing walk-in closet too. After Natalie walks into her magically renovated apartment for the first time, she says, “You win. I’m going to love it, not list it.” Through a mix of authentic and fake looking scenes, the movie makes New York look beautiful. Obviously I loved how they recreated Prince St. in SoHo!
The satirization a rom-com within a rom-com is very meta. Sometimes you’re laughing at how the whole story develops and sometimes it’s funny to see how the alternate universe is so phony. For example, when Natalie tosses things out the window, like an alarm clock, someone acknowledges and appreciates it, which would only happen in fantasyland.
I don’t think this movie will become a classic like the movies it mentions, such as Sweet Home Alabama, The Wedding Singer, Pretty Woman and 13 Going On 30. After all, how could it? A movie mocking rom-coms can’t be as iconic as the original rom-coms.
But it’s timely. It’s a modern romance without any texting. Natalie only looks at her phone once to check the time. She also jokingly references her tracking device while talking to Blake (Liam Hemsworth). “Sometimes my Fitbit says ‘Wanna stroll?’ but when you say it, I don’t want to smash you!”
This movie is fresh, vibrant and charming. Or shall I say beguiling? (You’ve got to see the movie to understand why!)
All of Rebel Wilson’s outfits looked like they were tailor-made for her body, proving that anyone as talented as her can look gorgeous in a leading role. And in the age of inclusivity, I think that’s important. It’s good that they mocked how cheesy gay sidekicks can appear in movies. It’s good that the main actress was a plus-sized woman who killed it and made Priyanka Chopra’s character look like an idiot. It’s good that this movie came out when it did. I hope that going forward, studios will release movies that offer a mix of criticism and escapism. That’s important, isn’t it?