"I Want You Back" -- Movie Review

 

This week, I streamed an advance screening of the new romantic comedy, “I Want You Back”, starring Charlie Day and Jenny Slate.  

Synopsis

When two people recently dumped form an alliance, they scheme to win their exes back – but when their plan goes awry, what will they do when they find themselves alone?

Story

Peter and Emma (Day & Slate) don’t know each other yet, but they have something in common:  not only do they work in the same building, but also, both of them have just been dumped by their long-time partner.  Anne (Gina Rodriguez) left Peter for Logan (Manny Jacinto), a fellow teacher in her school; Noah (Scott Eastwood) dumped Emma for Ginny (Clark Backo), a successful baker-cum-social media influencer.  Neither Peter nor Emma saw this coming and they seek consolation with each other as they try to heal their deep emotional wounds.  Soon, they hatch a plot to get their ex-partners to return to them:  If they can convince their erstwhile lovers that they really aren’t interested in their new flame, then they’ll return to them. 

So, Peter and Emma set out on their plan.  Peter joins a gym and hires Noah as his personal trainer; soon, they go beyond their professional relationship and develop what seems to be a true friendship, getting deeply involved in each other’s personal life.  Meanwhile, Emma volunteers to work on Logan’s new school play and attempts to seduce him in the process – right in front of an extremely jealous Anne.  As things evolve, it appears that all is not going according to plan.  For one thing, it becomes clear that Noah is genuinely in love with Ginny.  Regarding Logan and Anne, even Emma’s considerable feminine charms seem to have no effect.

Eventually, Emma is finally able to claim victory when she gets Anne to walk out on a lecherous Logan.  Unfortunately for Emma, Peter is not quite as successful; it turns out that Noah has actually proposed to Ginny, despite all of Peter’s attempts to lure him away with other desirable young women.  Anne implores Peter to take her back – which he does.  Emma, on the other hand, is now alone; not only does she not get Noah to return to her, but in addition, she no longer has Peter has her friend.  With Emma having lost both Noah and Peter, can she now move on to the next chapter in her life?         

Review

When people refer to a movie as “predictable”, that’s usually a bad thing.  But “I Want You Back” is predictable in a good way – good in the sense that it’s reminiscent of many of the old sex comedies from the 1960’s, only tweaked for a more modern audience.  To some extent, it may remind you of the more hokey B-movies of that era; they were titillating and somewhat daring at the time, but certainly quite tame (if not boring) by today’s standards.  Others might characterize this film as formulaic – but again, formulaic isn’t necessarily a bad thing if it executes the formula well … which happens to be the case here. 

If you are a fan of either Charlie Day or Jenny Slate, then there’s an excellent chance you’ll like “I Want You Back” – both actors expertly pull off the comedy here.  Especially amusing are some awkward scenes that include an attempt at an ill-conceived ménage à trois and a wedding in the third act.  Does this movie feature a plethora of laugh-out-loud jokes?  No.  But you may find yourself grinning frequently and ultimately thoroughly entertained, with an especially satisfying ending – it may not necessarily be surprising, but the way it is played out does what in comedy is referred to as a call-back to earlier scenes. 

As a rom-com, it is certainly serviceable fare if you are looking for something to watch with your significant other on Valentine’s Day, or any other type of date movie.  Go in not expecting anything special and you’ll be fine.  With many films such as this, there are quite a few suspend-your-disbelief moments – e.g., where Day and Slate’s characters have full-time jobs, how is it that they both manage to sneak away mid-day to play out their little scenarios?  Don’t bother over-thinking this – just go with the flow and you’ll be just OK.  After all, do you question the reality of The Avengers or The X-Men?  Same thing here.  It’s just fantasy.  And there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of escapism in these troubling times.