Rebel Wilson stars as Natalie, an architect who is so adamantly against romance, and romantic comedy films that she is blind to anyone truly caring about her. One day Natalie hits her head and wakes up in a world that has drastically changed, people notice here, there are flowers everywhere, and attractive men are checking her out. She’s in a romantic comedy!
The premise of the film is brilliant, having Natalie realise she’s in a rom-com and actively rebel against it, or use it to her advantage is a pretty unique way to tell a love story. It’s a beautiful looking film, the cinematography, while playing off tropes of basic romantic comedy films, has enough flair of it’s own that makes the film burst out from the screen.
Rebel Wilson is great as the stubborn Natalie, however this role feels like it would be great for many actresses. There wasn’t anything particularly special about her performance, as you could have easily swapped her out for practically any actress with some comedy range and the film would have been unaffected.
Adam Devine on the other hand definitely left his unique mark and charm on the film. His fantastic chemistry with Rebel Wilson definitely helped too, them playing off each other in the few funny scenes they had together were some of the better parts of the film. On the same note, Wilson had some witty chemistry with Liam Hemsworth, who seemed at home in the pretty-boy millionaire role, though the character turn seemed to come out of nowhere, definitely down to the writing, which outside of the general story was a little wonky.
Isn’t it Romantic is a very fun film, filled with some great scenes that turn the traditional rom-com archetypes on it’s head. However it commits the greatest sin of any romantic comedy film can ever commit; it simply isn’t funny. There are a few funny moments but the amount of jokes, both physical gags and lines that misfired and failed was outstanding. Especially considering the talent on screen, it was quite disappointing to say the least.
Isn’t it Romantic is a fun film filled with great ideas, and some stunning cinematography, but ultimately lacks any humour and for that it is a let down and a waste of such an interesting idea.
6/10
