Tag: Romantic Comedy

My Old Ass (2024) | REVIEW

Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella in Megan Park’s MY OLD ASS — PHOTO: Amazon Prime Video (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Maisy Stella — Screenplay by Maisy Stella.

The strange title made me very curious about what this film was, and I am glad I found the time to watch it. Megan Park’s My Old Ass is such a sweet coming-of-age film that is oozing with charm. Here we find an 18-year-old young woman (played by Maisy Stella) who, through magic mushrooms and other unexplained occurrences, finds a way to communicate with her 39-year-old self (played by Aubrey Plaza) from the future. That is about all you need to know about the film, and, even if you have reservations about watching something with unexplained timey-wimey mechanics, I would suggest that you should get over that and enjoy this film for what it is, even though I, too, sometimes, raised an eyebrow at the mechanics of it all.

Continue reading “My Old Ass (2024) | REVIEW” →

REVIEW: The Lovebirds (2020)

Original Theatrical Release Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a review of The Lovebirds — Directed by Michael Showalter.

The Coronavirus Pandemic has had a serious impact on the film industry. The future of the movie theater industry is uncertain as some films that were meant for a theatrical release have been released on video-on-demand or streaming services, while many of the year’s biggest films have been removed from the 2020 theatrical release schedule entirely. This Michael Showalter romantic-comedy, The Lovebirds, was originally meant to be released in theaters by Paramount Pictures in April, but when theaters around the world closed their doors, the film studio sold its rights to Netflix, who finally released the film on the 22nd of May. The Lovebirds fits right in on Netflix, but, quality-wise, it is a significant step down from The Big Sick, Showalter’s previous film as a director. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Lovebirds (2020)” →

REVIEW: The Half of It (2020)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of The Half of It — Directed by Alice Wu.

Netflix has, in a way, become the home of the teenage coming-of-age romantic-comedy genre. Since they achieved great success with Susan Johnson’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Netflix has been eager to return to that same subgenre and treat their worldwide audience to stories about young Americans finding themselves, discovering their own identities, and expressing their true feelings. Netflix has successfully cornered that market as of late, and their latest teenage romantic-comedy success story comes from filmmaker Alice Wu, whose second feature has finally come out for all to see fifteen years after her directorial debut was originally released. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Half of It (2020)” →

REVIEW: Her (2013)

Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros.

The following is a short updated review (2019) of Spike Jonze’s Her (2013).

Written and directed by Adaptation.-director Spike Jonze, Her is a science-fiction love story set in a ‘futuristic’ American city. The film follows Theodore (played by Joaquin Phoenix) — a writer of other people’s personal letters — who is separated from his wife (played by Rooney Mara). Continue reading “REVIEW: Her (2013)” →

REVIEW: Always Be My Maybe (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a short review of Netflix’s Always Be My Maybe — Directed by Nahnatchka Khan.

Netflix has a pretty solid reputation when it comes to producing these hip romantic comedies. One of those films, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, received a lot of praise from both critics and audiences last year. Now, in 2019, Netflix has a new romantic comedy with a culturally diverse and thus modern cast. Always Be My Maybe is Fresh Off the Boat-creator Nahnatchka Khan’s feature film directorial debut.

Khan’s debut is a romantic comedy about two former best friends reuniting. Sasha (played by Ali Wong) and Marcus (played by Randall Park) were once childhood best friends, but their friendship eventually ended when a one-night fling went poorly. Now, they are living completely different lives. Sasha is a celebrity chef engaged to Brandon (played by Daniel Dae Kim), a successful restaurateur. Meanwhile, Marcus is stuck in a rut. This all changes when Sasha returns to their home city of San Francisco as Brandon has decided that they should ‘see other people.’ Sasha and Marcus eventually reconnect and soon sparks fly. Continue reading “REVIEW: Always Be My Maybe (2019)” →

REVIEW: Long Shot (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – Lionsgate

The following is a review of Long Shot — Directed by Jonathan Levine.

It would appear that I have a soft spot for Jonathan Levine films. His is a name that immediately gets me excited to watch a film if his name is attached to it. I am one of the few who thinks Levine’s 50/50 is a genuine masterpiece of the genre within which it belongs. Furthermore, I think his 2015 holiday film The Night Before has the makings of a modern Christmas classic — in fact, it has already become a tradition for me to watch that film every Christmas. Likewise, I really enjoyed my time with Long Shot, which is Levine’s attempt at Rogenesque romantic comedy with a political twist. While I doubt that Long Shot will become as memorable to me as the aforementioned efforts, I think it is another example of a hip Levine film that goes down well. Continue reading “REVIEW: Long Shot (2019)” →

REVIEW: Isn’t It Romantic (2019)

US Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a quick review of Isn’t It Romantic — Directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson.

Released in theaters on Valentine’s Day in North America and at the end of February on Netflix elsewhere, Isn’t It Romantic is a film about a woman tired of a stale film genre who, then, suddenly finds herself inside of such a film. The film follows Rebel Wilson’s Natalie, an Australian woman living in New York City whose mother turned her off romantic-comedies as they presented scenarios that ‘weren’t made for girls like them.’ Continue reading “REVIEW: Isn’t It Romantic (2019)” →

REVIEW: The One I Love (2014)

Release Poster – RADiUS-TWC

The following is a quick review of The One I Love – The feature film debut for director Charlie McDowell

The One I Love follows Ethan (played by Mark Duplass) and Sophie (played by Elisabeth Moss), a married couple going through a rough patch, who have been advised by their therapist (played by Ted Danson) to go on a weekend retreat to a secluded estate. But once they get there, they realize that their partner is only fun to be around in the guest house. Continue reading “REVIEW: The One I Love (2014)” →

REVIEW: Love – Season One (2016)

LOVE REVIEWED

The following is a season review of Love, a Netflix Original show.

Love is the newest Netflix Original show, and it came with a lot of baggage and expectations. Netflix Original shows have mostly been pretty excellent, and the last romantic comedy to come from Netflix (Master of None) was one of the better comedy shows of 2015. Also, Judd Apatow is the co-creator of Love, and therefore I had high expectations. Love is some sort of mixture of HBO’s Girls and Trainwreck, but it isn’t as good as either of them. I definitely don’t love the first season. Continue reading “REVIEW: Love – Season One (2016)” →