by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Now that the streaming services have entered the game, romantic comedies are abundant, which leads us to Amazon’s newest romantic comedy, I Want You Back.
I Want You Back stars Jenny Slate and Charlie Day as Emma and Peter, two recently dumped people who hatch a plan to win back their ex-significant others. Gina Rodriguez plays Anne, Peter’s ex-girlfriend and Scott Eastwood plays Noah, Emma’s ex-boyfriend. Shenanigans ensue when Emma tries to break up Anne’s new relationship with Logan (Manny Jacinto), and Peter attempts to break up Noah’s new relationships with Ginny (Clark Backo).
I’m a fan of the main cast. They all had moments to shine and had hilarious moments. The big issue I see is that the cast doesn’t always work great together, and I don’t see a lot of chemistry with any of the couples. It’s probably due to time constraints that we have to get to know four couples in a very short amount of time, and then are expected to infer more about them by dialogue.
The jokes for the most part landed. Day and Slate make the most of the content they’re given. Eastwood is surprisingly funny in his role. He has some of the funnier moments, especially with his interactions with Day. They both act well with one another. Similarly, Slate with Jacinto. Although I didn’t like Jacinto’s character that much, the scenes with him and Slate were hilarious. The other interaction that I really liked is Slate befriending a student in Jacinto’s school production of Little Shop of Horrors. Slate gives some of the more down-to-earth interactions of the movie with the student and gives him some solid life advice. They have a few fun moments together.
Sure, the plan is insane and a little cruel. What happens is a little unexpected. I did appreciate that some aspects of the plan don’t work and they have to come to terms with that. There’s a message here about how breakups aren’t always one sided, and how maybe after a breakup we should look in the mirror and understand how our own actions maybe contribute to the downfall of a relationship. This was partially explored, but again, wasn’t given enough time to develop a clear message. I picked up hints of that, but then there wasn’t any payoff of that at the end.
In the end, this felt like a safe and generic rom-com. It had some opportunities to talk about personal growth and how breakups could be beneficial, but that message is sacrificed for comedic moments. The ending left a lot to be desired. It just abruptly ends and then we’re left to our own devices about what comes next. If you like the actors, you’ll enjoy this. Otherwise, this is one-and-done, filled with all the other romantic comedies that will probably fade away into obscurity.
Grade: C-
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