Isn’t It Romantic Movie Review – Love Yourself First!

By: Lynn Barker

In Isn’t It Romantic, New York City architect Natalie (Rebel Wilson) is talented but treated like a lowly, coffee-fetching assistant at her firm. She hates romantic comedies because they give false hope and is clueless that Josh (Adam Devine), a nice guy at work, is really into her. When an encounter with a purse snatcher results in her knocking herself out, she wakes to a “perfect” rom-com world in which she is the heroine. Will this nightmare never end?

Natalie doesn't believe in romanceCourtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Isn’t It Romantic Trailer

Hopeless

When tween Natalie is enthralled by the romance in the Pretty Woman movie, her mom tells her she’ll never find that kind of love and that rom-coms are a lie. Shattered, she believes it. Twenty-five years later, Natalie is an architect at a New York firm whose co-workers treat her like the lowliest assistant. She is used to this. Even her pet dog ignores her. It’s obvious that cute, sweet project manager Josh is really into her but she puts him in the friend zone even though her assistant/friend Whitney (Betty Gilpin) tells her to open herself up to love and Josh. She tells Whitney that all the clichés in romantic comedies are lies.

Natalie leaves the hospital and is courted by BlakeCourtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

New Awakening

On the way home, Natalie is accosted by a purse snatcher and fights back, ending up knocking herself out and waking up in a posh hospital in full make-up with a gorgeous doctor leaning over her. Afraid, she ends up wearing a fabulous “Pretty Woman” outfit and going outside, finding that her neighborhood, in fact all of New York is clean, full of flowers, friendly people and….love. Natalie is freaked, especially when Blake (a hunky billionaire client at her firm), nearly runs over her in his limo, behaves like he is over-smitten with her and drives her home while flocks of birds fly by in heart-shaped formations and popular love songs play in the background.  

Natalie's next door neighbor is now her gay bestieCourtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Shockers

Natalie’s rundown apartment now looks like a posh penthouse stocked with a beautiful wardrobe and her playboy next door neighbor is evidently suddenly her best gayboy pal. At work, everyone treats her like a star but Whitney is now a mean rival, in true rom-com style. Josh seems the same and listens to her weird parallel universe story but when he saves gorgeous swimsuit model/Yoga Ambassador Isabella (Priyanka Chopra) from choking on her food, he falls for her leaving shocked Natalie alone. She can’t even curse her disappointment since she is now living in a PG-13 rom-com world. Natalie tries to recreate the mugging incident and knock herself out but this only results in her getting arrested and having to phone Blake to rescue her.

Josh leaves Natalie for IsabellaCourtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

How Do I Get Out?

In a typical rom-com voice-over, Natalie tells herself that she must let someone fall in love with her to resume her life. She decides to let over-eager Blake do just that. After a make-over montage, she looks like Pretty Woman in her gorgeous, floor-length red dress on a romantic date with Blake. She enjoys it and does sleep with him but, a kiss ends up with a cut to the next morning so…nothing happens!  At work she is now in charge of a whole hotel design. Josh, her buddy still, comes to her place with food but Blake arrives just as Natalie was deciding maybe Josh is the one. Thinking she is “taken”, Josh goes to Isabella.

Josh thinks Natalie wants BlakeCourtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Last Stand

A while later, Isabella invites Blake and Natalie to her place in the Hamptons for a party. While there, Natalie tries to tell Josh that she is sorry she has rebuffed him and maybe they should get together but he is now putting her in the friend zone, just as she realizes she truly cares for him.

Blake and Natalie are invited to the HamptonsCourtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

With the shocker announcement that Josh and Isabella will get married the next morning, Natalie really “gets” that she wants Josh and decides to make him fall for her at a karaoke bar but it doesn’t work. Now, in true rom-com style, she’ll try to stop the wedding. She bursts into the ceremony only to realize that she now loves….herself. Will self-realization make Natalie successful in both career and love?

At the party, Josh is in love with IsabellaCourtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Wrapping Up

Isn’t It Romantic starts much like the Amy Schumer rom-com I Feel Pretty, with the heroine getting knocked unconscious resulting in a self-improvement fantasy. There are some differences however. This movie disses all the common romantic comedy clichés then wraps up with a big one but Rebel Wilson and Adam Devine, her love interest in the Pitch Perfect movies, have developed a great comedy rhythm that is in full effect here resulting in a lot of charm and rooting interest for the offbeat couple.

Natalie in her Pretty Woman dressCourtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The film goes through all the rom-com b.s. we get tired of seeing while making some of it work. Yes, you have to learn to love yourself first before making any relationship work. We can buy that, cliché or not. Rebel uses physical pratfalls, dropping down here and there to excess and although humorous, her comments aren’t as sharp as they could be.

Blake plays sax in a fantasy dance sequenceCourtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Cute Liam Hemsworth matches cool Aussie accents and banter with Rebel as a hunky but self-centered billionaire in rom-com love with her character. A stand-out playing two totally opposite characters is Betty Gilpin as a fellow office mate assistant who turns haughty rival. Isn’t It Romantic is corny but sweet with Rebel doing a good job but she’s done better with better material. None-the-less, the film is a fun, fluffy date movie for Valentine’s Day. We can go three stars.

Isn’t It Romantic Movie Rating: 

Isn't It Romantic Movie PosterCourtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Isn’t It Romantic is in theaters now.

Let Your Love Flow

Do you love Rebel Wilson? Are you into romantic comedy movies? Will you and your besties or you and your boo try to take in a film for Valentine’s Day? Share your feelings with us below and on your Kidzworld profile page!