For a long time, Natalie, an Australian architect living in New York City, had always believed that what she had seen in rom-coms is all fantasy. But after thwarting a mugger at a subway station only to be knocked out while fleeing, Natalie wakes up and discovers that her life has suddenly become her worst nightmare—a romantic comedy—and she is the leading lady.
The subgenre of romantic comedies is left somewhere in the between of the two extreme juggernaut film genres, with Hollywood studios spending money in big-budgeted tentpole blockbusters or in smaller scale artistic pictures (ones that are deserving of Oscar / award nominations). Naturally, romantic comedies, which are a type of both romance and comedy films, have been around for a while.
They are films with upbeat, hilarious, and dramatic plots that are typically focused on romantic themes (such as “true love”) and are able to overcome difficult challenges (be it family, friends, or some unseen challenge). Additionally, romantic comedies can borrow from a wide range of film genres, just like many other genres of movies, in an effort to appeal to a “wider” audience. The Philadelphia Story from 1940, Roman Holiday from 1953, Breakfast at Tiffany’s from 1961, The Princess Bride from 1987, When Harry Met Sally from 1989, Waitress from 2007, Big Sick from 2017, and Crazy Rich Asians from 2018 are a few examples of great romantic comedies. With its upcoming movie Isn’t It Romantic, New Line Cinema (a division of Warner Bros. Pictures) is getting ready to satirize this specific subgenre. Is this romantic comedy spoof worth a look, or is it just a dull joke about rom-coms?
Film Summary
Natalie (Rebel Wilson), an Australian architect who resides in Manhattan, detests romantic comedies since her mother (Jennifer Saunders) made her view them with a more pessimistic and unrealistic perspective. In her adult life, Natalie is a reclusive individual who doesn’t speak up in the job and drudges along, trying to survive. Natalie is robbed on the subway and rendered unconscious, waking up in the fantastical and utopian world of a romantic comedy as a result of her lengthy diatribe about the false expectations of rom-coms to her assistant Whitney (Betty Gilpin) and her best friend Josh (Adam DeVine).
In this world, Natalie has all the accoutrements and clichés associated with rom-coms, such as a plush studio apartment, a gay BFF named Donny (Brandon Scott Jones), a vibrant start-up office, Whitney as her mortal work enemy, and an unexpected encounter with Blake (Liam Hemsworth), who finds her quite “beguiling.” Natalie doesn’t receive much assistance from Josh, who appears to be the same, in finding out how to leave this PG-13 rom-com universe since he quickly becomes engrossed in his own romance with the stunning swimsuit model Isabella (Priyanka Chopra). Now, Natalie must follow the typical plot of a romantic comedy to return to her reality, but (along the way) she will need to learn some lessons about love and about herself.