Isn't It Romantic

Rating: 2.25/5

Isn't It Romantic certainly knows the genre in which it mimics, but tries too hard to be funny to really be enjoyed.

Natalie (Rebel Wilson) has been raised to think the worst of romantic-comedies and assume they are nothing more than fairytales that are spreading lies to the unsuspecting viewer. Her everyday life is as uneventful and drab as can be. Her dog is dirty, her apartment is small, and she's generally unappreciated at her job except by her two friends Josh (Adam Devine) and Whitney (Betty Gilpin).

One day, while going home from work on the subway, she is mugged, and in her attempt to run away, hits her head off a pole. When she awakens, Natalie realizes that her dingy New York existence is gone, and it has been replaced by a colorful and "perfect" romantic-comedy plot line.

I really, really wanted to like this movie more than I did, but unfortunately it just wasn’t in the cards. I am someone who normally defends the cheesiness and predictability of a good romantic comedy, but I’m having a hard time coming up with a case to defend this one. Isn’t It Romantic feels almost like a non-movie. The first three quarters of the film has a hovering awkwardness that refuses to cease, almost like you’re watching rehearsals for the film, rather than the version of the movie made for theaters. It lacks momentum until its final act, which I will say in favor for the movie, the last twenty minutes I did enjoy.

Director Todd Strauss-Schulson's other movie, The Final Girls, has a very similar premise, in that is poking fun and creating satire around a specific movie genre. The Final Girls does a great job at creating comedy around all the cliches of horror movies, and Isn’t It Romantic tries to do the same for the romantic comedy genre, but doesn’t hit its mark nearly as well. The thing is, rom-coms are so famously picked apart and poorly reviewed, that we didn’t really need a movie to point out all the flaws that exist in the stereotypical movie of this kind. Yes, Isn’t It Romantic expertly paints a picture of all the expected moments you can find in a romantic comedy, and it does have some humor here and there, but it almost feels like it’s copying other source material too much or working overtime to make fun of something that is mocked on a fairly frequent basis.

As far as the cast goes, Rebel Wilson tries her hardest to sell her role, and she does succeed at times, but at others, either the material fails her efforts, or she fails to deliver the material. You can see she gave it her all, and that definitely helped make the movie better, but even her best attempts couldn’t make me love this movie. Other than her lead role, none of the other characters had enough depth to really matter, but I’m sure that was the film's intention, given its goal of mimicking the problems romantic comedy stories tend to have when it comes to their character development.

I think I will have to give Isn’t It Romantic another try someday, because my viewing experience may have slightly clouded my judgement. Lack of audience laughter and overly high expectations may have set me up for a let down. So , perhaps another rewatch at another time may change my perspective, but for now Isn’t It Romantic will not be going on the list of my favorite rom-coms.