Non è romantico?

Greetings again from the darkness. I'm not usually the guy anyone turns to for recommendations on Romantic Comedies. Rather than dreamy and fantasy-like, I find most of them imbecilic and disrespectful to those of us living in the real world. It's because of this predisposition that I was cautiously optimistic when I heard that Rebel Wilson's new movie offered a satirical look at the genre. Well, it turns out the movie is more spoof than satire, yet I was pleasantly surprised to find it darn funny and quite clever.

The story begins with a young girl mesmerized while watching Julia Roberts in PRETTY WOMAN. A minute later, the girl's fantasy is shattered when her mother (Jennifer Saunders) explains 'there are no happy endings for girls like us.' We then flash forward 25 years to find that little girl has grown up to become Natalie (Rebel Wilson, PITCH PERFECT), an architect whose lack of confidence and self-esteem has caused her career to stall and her daily life to be a grind (even her dog ghosts her). Additionally, Natalie is a skeptic when it comes to love, and offers up a brilliant rant on the misgivings and pain caused by Romantic Comedies. The rant is directed towards her loyal assistant Whitney (Betty Gilpin, "GLOW"), who spends a significant portion of each workday streaming rom-coms at her desk.

Of course, Natalie's rant foreshadows everything we are about to see, and it all occurs after a freak subway accident leaves her concussed. It's at this point where Natalie finds herself trapped within her own Romantic Comedy ... the kind of world she so disdains. All of the familiar rom-com tropes and clichés are mixed in, and Natalie is kind enough to literally point out most of them. The obvious comparison here is to Amy Schumer's I FEEL PRETTY, but this film benefits not just from the very talented Ms. Wilson (a master of dry snark), but also a cast that is fully on board.

Liam Hemsworth (aka Mr. Miley Cyrus) appears as Blake, the picturesque, charming and of course, very rich romantic lead. Priyanka Chopra (BAYWATCH) stars as the stunning competition-in-love for Natalie, and Adam Devine (PITCH PERFECT) is Josh, Natalie's nice guy co-worker and not-so-secret admirer who can't seem to escape the friend zone. Given the times, it is a bit surprising to see Brandon Scott Jones take his stereotypical gay friend Donny so over the top. The love quadrangle plays out as expected, yet thanks to the site gags and Rebel's zingers, it's quite entertaining.

Director Todd Strauss-Schulson and writers Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox, and Katie Silberman clearly have a solid grasp on the repeatable offenses that occur during most romantic comedies, and I would have preferred they cut a bit deeper in their commentary, but understand the decision not to. They offer us a rare Prozac joke, the new phrase "extra invisible", and the best use in years of Percy Faith's "Theme from A Summer Place". Toying with the PG-13 rating is also part of the gag, and the musical interludes are funny enough, especially the finale presented in Bollywood style. Expect this one to be a favorite on ladies night out, and don't be shocked if some men on dates catch themselves laughing a few times.

Like its obvious cousin I Feel Pretty, Isn't It Romantic has a message to give its audience. From the opening scene, you know what that message is and where this story is going. And that's the point. While some of the jokes don't quite land and the movie seems to run just a bit longer in spots than necessary, Rebel Wilson does her usual comedic best to carry the film. A final twist plainly smacks the viewer with the moral of the film and finally concludes predictably. While muddled in spots, love the message of the film and had some fun.

This film tells the story of a woman whose life becomes a romantic comedy.

It is really a clever romantic comedy because it looks like a parody of a romantic comedy, but still remains a romantic comedy. The chemistry of the cast is great, the jokes are fun, the sets look really fantastic, and the music is great too. I love the dance at the end, it got me dancing in my seat I love it!

I personally hate romcoms, just like her. I found this movie hilarious, and even a little inspirational...

So much fun! I'm an Gen Xer who saw this with a teen girl and a boomer male (a film critic no less, not an easy sell). I would think that you'd need to be from the generation that actually saw Julia Robert's romcoms such as My Best Friend's Wedding and Pretty Woman (and it certainly helps to have seen them first IMO) to really appreciate this spoof of outdated messages and stereotypes conveyed in these films, but we all enjoyed it..a few jokes fell flat but with so many laugh-out-loud moments it was barely noticeable. The film even got applause from the audience afterwards.

Rebel Wilson can carry a film, which is nice to see. Betty Gilpin of GLOW is great as her transformed work bff and Liam Helmsworth, much like Chris Pines, does well cutting his comedic chops mocking the hunky leading man. But it's Brandon Scott Jones who's the scene-stealer as the side-kick bff who apparently has no job or life, allowing him to magically appear to lend advice or serve as silly montage material. I recommend this film to anyone who likes, but also likes to laugh at, the silliness of the hollywood ending.