Isn't it Romantic (2019)
Directed by Todd Strauss Schulson
Written by Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox, Katie Silberman
Starring Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemworth, Adam Devine, Priyanka Chopra
Release Date February 13th, 2019
Published February 14th, 2019
Isn’t it Romantic is a complete delight. This gimmicky, in a good way, romantic comedy stars Rebel Wilson who demonstrates the kind of star power and charisma we’d been expecting of Wilson after her numerous, scene stealing supporting turns in the Pitch Perfect movies and in trifles such as How to Be Single or her breakout cameo in Bridesmaids. Rebel Wilson has been expected to be a thing for some time now and now appears to be that time.
Isn’t it Romantic stars Rebel Wilson as Natalie, a New York architect with strong self esteem issues. As a child, Natalie loved the bubbly romantic comedy of Julia Roberts but as an adult, in the real world, she has soured on the saccharine, synthetic cliches of the genre, many of which she rants about in a lengthy but funny gag that deconstructs nearly every trope in the genre. This is one of many inspired and hilarious gags in Isn’t it Romantic.
The plot kicks in when Natalie is mugged in the subway and suffers a head injury. When she wakes up, suddenly, everything is perfect. Her doctor is a hunky, Gray’s Anatomy type who immediately flirts with her. The streets outside the hospital are lined with flowers and friendly, helpful and welcoming faces. And, notably, New York City doesn’t smell like an open sewer where people urinate in the streets.
Then Natalie, quite literally, is run into by Blake, the handsome and jerky client at her architecture firm. When they first met, he insulted her and made her get his coffee. Now, out of the blue, he has a sexy Australian accent and appears to be completely enamored of Natalie. He gives her a ride home in his limo but because this is a romantic comedy universe, the 30 minute takes mere seconds.
From here, Isn’t it Romantic sets in motion a plot with a ton of very obvious jokes about the tropes of romantic comedy. These are tropes that we, in the audience, have been poking fun at for years and you wouldn’t be wrong if you mocked the obviousness of these jokes. And yet, thanks to some crisp editing and direction, and especially Rebel Wilson’s exceptional timing and charisma, these jokes land, each with a big laugh.
Rebel Wilson was made to play the role as the one sane, angry, snarky, voice of reason in this outer romantic comedy universe. Sure, she is poking some familiar, well worn, holes in the romantic comedy plot, but she does so with gusto and timing. Wilson is a movie star with the kind of genuine likability and relatability that you really cannot teach to actors. Wilson has a natural and genuine sense of humor that speaks to the audience and doesn’t stand above them.
Wilson is not afraid to be the subject of the joke but she’s also not here to be humiliated and laughed at either. One of the criticisms leveled at Wilson has been that she uses weight as a punchline so often that it becomes her own kind of cliche. I’ve never felt that way about Wilson myself. I felt that her performance as Fat Amy had an empowering quality, stealing back the notion that she is to be ridiculed for her weight, not merely by making fun of herself but aggressively, confrontationally, putting your bias against her awkwardly to the fore.
Her aggressiveness is part of her charm in the Pitch Perfect movies and I really enjoyed how that energy is used here. Natalie is initially mousy and shy and then, in the romantic comedy universe she comes into her own out of frustration more than anything. She sees the falsehoods all around her and like being trapped in The Matrix, her mind rebels against all of the fatuousness and untruth. Almost by accident this experiment works on her and she begins a great arc about being more confident and assertive.
On top of Rebel Wilson’s outstanding performance, we get stellar work from her supporting cast. Adam Devine plays Natalie’s best friend Josh who is part Ducky from Pretty in Pink and part nerdy, male best friend in every romantic comedy ever. Devine brings a great deal of charm to this character and his chemistry with Rebel Wilson is top notch, as it was when they co-starred in the Pitch Perfect movies.
Brandon Scott Jones is a veteran of the improv comedy scene and he brings some of that anarchic, improv energy to his character in Isn’t it Romantic. Jones plays Donny, Natalie’s stock, gay best friend who appears to only live to give her advice and support. Jones throws himself into this broad caricature with comic verve and never fails to get a big laugh. He doesn’t steal scenes per se, but he’s the perfect addition to the scenes he’s in.
Betty Gilpin and Priyanka Chopra round out this superior supporting cast as Natalie’s assistant turned romantic comedy rival, Whitney and Josh’s romantic comedy universe, perfect, supermodel girlfriend, Isabella. I will leave you to discover the fun of these characters when you see Isn’t it Romantic. Chopra has the bigger, broader laughs but keep an eye on Betty Gilpin, she provides just the right foil for Rebel Wilson as both friend and foe.
I haven’t even mentioned director Todd Strauss-Schulson and his exceptional work yet. Strauss-Schulson was the acclaimed director of the indie darling, The Final Girl, a film that toyed with the tropes of horror movies. Here he takes a similarly satiric aim at the romantic comedy genre and once again nails it. Isn’t it Romantic has a great pace, strong visual style delineating between the real world and the romantic comedy world, and the movie has barely an ounce of any scene it doesn’t need or lingers on for too long.
It’s not a flawless piece of direction, it relies incredibly heavily on the appearance, chops and charm of Rebel Wilson, but Strauss-Schulson makes smart choices. He, along with screenwriters Erin Cardillo and Dana Fox, keep the movie clipping along, getting big laughs and moving on. There is barely an ounce of fat on this screenplay, scenes begin, get to the big laugh and get out and on to the next joke. It’s efficient and funny which goes a long way toward overcoming the obviousness of many of these jokes.
In case it isn’t clear, I completely adore Isn’t it Romantic. I am a major Rebel Wilson fan after this movie and I can’t wait to see this one again. It’s not the greatest comedy of all time, I feel like I might be overhyping it just a tad, but the film is outstanding in and of itself. The execution of this gimmicky premise is damn near flawless and in the hands of star Rebel Wilson, even the most obvious jokes still get a big laugh.
