Alguém Que Eu Costumava Conhecer

Ally (Alison Brie) runs a superficial reality-TV show. When it gets canceled, she feels empty and decides to go home to visit her mother. She runs into her ex Sean (Jay Ellis) whom she dumped to go to Hollywood. She starts questioning her choosen path.

This starts like a Hallmark rom-com. I didn't get Alison Brie doing something like that. My hopes got raised with the two "That B". I thought it was Game On. Instead, the story chooses a sincere and sweeter path. It's more than Hallmark, but still very much a version of rom-com. Brie is the co-writer with husband Dave Franco and he's directing.

I like Allison Brie a lot. She is charming in some ways in this Romantic Comedy about a Los Angeles television star who returns home after her show is cancelled and reconnects with her ex-boyfriend. Ted by he problem is that her ex-boyfriend is now engaged and on the verge of getting married, and it gets complicated. Jeremy is played by The Sixth Sense's Haley Joel Osmond, and is very awkward. There are some cute moments. The premise is a little mean, but Brie's lovable personality makes it less so-or does it. The meanest part is how her boyfriend's current girlfriend is inadvertently collateral damage. Many of the lines and relationship are weak. It is low budget. It is predictable . It is awkward-not romantic in my opinion.

As a principal character pointed out with an on-the-nose observation in an early scene, this 2023 romcom felt like a familiar rehash of the Julia Roberts 1997 vehicle, "My Best Friend's Wedding". This time, Ally, a reality show producer faces a career crisis and comes home to rural Washington to connect with her old flame Sean from a decade ago only to discover he's getting married to a younger woman Cassidy who is facing her own challenges in abandoning her burgeoning rock music career for marriage. Showing her signature spunk with comic aplomb as Ally, Alison Brie co-wrote the screenplay with her husband Dave Franco who directed. Despite some sharp jabs at reality TV at the outset, their plot follows a predictable path with the characters acting just as you'd expect in their respective predicaments. Jay Ellis is given little to do but act moony or confused as Sean. Kiersey Clemons fares better as Cassidy who recognizes her affinity with Ally. Julie Hagerty displays her trademark ditziness as Ally's sexually active mom, while a still recognizable Haley Joel Osment energetically plays a family friend who is an irritating pop culture geek.

I tried to get through Somebody That I Use Know, but it was a struggle. Actually, I gave up after an hour and fifteen minutes. I am certain I saw enough to know I did not care for it. No spoilers here. I won't rehash what other reviewers have correctly pointed out about this film's abundant weak points. For me, the worst part was not being able to appreciate any of the relationships portrayed in this saga. On a more positive note, the locations were really beautiful Also, I can honestly say that the only two characters with legitimate chemistry were Alison Brie and Danny Pudi (real life friends from their years on Community).

"Somebody I Used to Know" is slightly better than other Amazon rom-com efforts but still falls flat. What charm this movie has is mostly driven by grounded characters + the cast and lead's solid chemistry. Other than that it basically follows the bad romcom formula to a T:

• The 'likeable'/'relatable' lead character is actually unlikable due to their abhorrent actions
• It is mostly directionless and relies heavily on ridiculous drama driven by characters refusing to communicate. Outside of Ally there is basically no organic character/relationship development
• It heavily relies on childish gross-out/nudity/sex driven humor that isn't funny if you're over the age of 15

All of the above combined with a 15 minute too long runtime and the writers thinking people in their mid-30s acting like teenagers is somehow charming results in something 'watchable' but not very engaging.

If you liked Community you might enjoy the novelty of seeing Alison Brie and Danny Pudi on screen again. Otherwise, there's not much point in watching this.