Set It Up

Two ridiculously overworked personal assistants hit on the idea of setting up their respective bosses together in the hopes that the assistants will then get pushed around a bit less. At first they're surprisingly successful but a plot this ambitious could never run totally smoothly could it?

So the premise of the film is very simple and the plot also develops along predicable lines. About ten minutes in, I was getting concerned about issues of workplace bullying, but then I got caught up in the energy of the story and the characters of the two assistants, Harper and Charlie, played by Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell. Yes, they are bullied and yes you could definitely say that the male boss - Rick, played by Taye Diggs - is a bit of a two dimensional caricature. But this is a romcom, not a documentary, so who cares.

There are enough laughs and the characters learn a little about themselves and about life along way, and most of all everyone - all the actors - get stuck in and really enjoy themselves. Right from Lucy Liu as the female sports journalist boss, right through to the cameos by the elevator engineer and the assistant in the jewellers.

It's a very wordy script delivered at a terrific pace, perhaps particularly thanks to Zoey Deutch, and most people should really enjoy it.

Initial Thoughts: Though a couple of years old, it was refreshing to watch a rom-com that was clean, and yet not so clean, that it was mushy and inane. All the actors brought about their own personalities that worked in unison with each others. Nothing about this film was weird or awkward, and although the ending was predictable, this was a fun story to watch.

Pros: The biggest positive that I have on the movie is the actual filming. You can tell all the way through that they didn't close streets and sidewalks off. Although distracting at times it was fun to have normal fluidity within the frame. Though some say otherwise the story was well written in my opinion. Through all the ways of trying to make the bosses fall in love to finding personal inner strength to overcome obstacles in their own lives this film definitely has an enjoyable story.

Cons: Chemistry amongst actors wasn't consistently strong throughout, and when the smaller parts of the story started to slide or wonder, so did my attention span. When my attention span started to go. I started to notice the background even more. Yes, I said I enjoyed the fluidity of the scenes because it wasn't scripted people walking by, but if you're like me and you try to catch something sneaky, or notice inconsistencies throughout the film, you'll definitely be distracted in this one, as the film crews never shutdown any parts of New York. Because they never closed down sections for filming you constantly have people standing around and watching what's happening.

Overall: Alas, a non-sappy rom-com that is good for any date night. Again, it was nice to see a clean romantic comedy that wasn't full of constant one night stands, or just about partying. There is some of language throughout, but in my opinion, not enough to ruin the entire movie.

Enjoy the show!

Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell reunite after the excellent Everybody Wants Some (2016) in this low frills, high-chemistry rom-com. There isn't much to dwell on here, as 'Set It Up' proves the ideal low-stakes Friday night Netflix watch.

Deutch and Powell play Harper and Charlie, two young and ambitious characters working for a very special brand of pushy, domineering bosses. When they realize their common predicament, they set out to...set up their bosses, in the hope that it will lead to quality of life improvements for themselves. In an ironic twist, the ones being pushed around leverage their insights into personal scheduling and personal preferences to ensure the mis-match ends up matching. As is usual for mischievous do-gooders, there will be fraternizing and moral conundruming. And it will be fun.

Any successful rom-com hinges on the compatibility of its leads. Luckily, that's not an issue here, with both potential couples gelling or not gelling just as intended. It's the energy of all four key characters that keeps the movie alive, thanks to the odd piece of witty writing or amusing situation. I think I only rolled my eyes once at some ultra-corny moment that could have been avoided, but beyond that, director Claire Scanlon works gently and fairly with her characters. Everybody learns an important life lesson by the end and, surprisingly, it's a lesson I relate to, although I've never had the issue of overworking myself in order to avoid pursuing my passions. There are other, more pleasureful ways of doing it.

This movie has a little bit of everything. It makes you feel good watching and the main characters are awesome.

.... there were definitely some places where it could've been funnier, but overall I enjoyed it. It was super distracting at the end when all the passerby's were staring, obviously meaning they couldn't afford to block side walks and hire extras. The Positive: I found myself smiling long after scenes had ended. Definitely a feel good movie.