Isn’t it Romantic (2019)

(On Cable TV, September 2019) Considering my surprising fondness for romantic comedies and my interest in meta-fictional conceit, I really thought I’d enjoy Isn’t It Romantic more, especially as it explicitly takes on the rom-com as a target for satire. The Big Idea here is to have our deeply skeptical protagonist put in a coma and thrust in the middle of an alternate romcom-focused reality of her own life. As she wonders at how things are now colourful and nice and convenient, she also complains at all the clichés around her. It should work … except that as a star vehicle for Rebel Wilson, Isn’t It Romantic starts sharing some of the same annoyances that her comic persona can create. Nothing is subtle here: the film makes sure to underline each joke three times, setting it up with blatant exposition and then having characters comment once or twice about the same thing that viewers caught moments earlier. It starts feeling like a desperate comedian convinced he’s bombing after a while, as the film thrusts each joke in our face and makes sure we acknowledge its existence. The film, like Wilson herself, could use a bit of self-respect and restraint…. Although that’s a near-impossible request considering what Wilson does in one movie after another. (She’s one of those comedians who work far better as an ensemble cast member than a lead.)  No matter the reason, I usually found myself more annoyed than charmed by the result, and I’m not even holding the film’s embrace of the clichés it portrays against it. The musical numbers feel forced (and I usually love musical numbers), the careful worldbuilding is brought to the forefront time and time again, and the dialogue takes pleasure in being as obvious as possible, even in a metafictional context. Despite liking most of the actors here (and Chris Hemsworth does once again affirm his talent for comedy), Isn’t it Romantic is more annoying than anything else—a waste of a good concept that makes even the flawed They Came Together look far better in comparison. I may not have been in the best of moods in watching the film, but there’s something more than just not feeling it—it’s a film with significant issues of its own.