Posted in: Amazon, Movies | Tagged: Charlie Day, Gina Rodriguez, i want you back, I Want You Back review, jenny slate, scott eastwood

I Want You Back Is The Rom-Com To Spend Valentine's Day With {Review}

Published Sat, 12 Feb 2022 20:58:11 -0600

by Jeremy Konrad

Comments

I Want You Back is a new romantic comedy hitting Prime Video today, just in time for couples to snuggle up with each other on the couch this Valentine's Day weekend. Starring Jenny Slate, Charlie Day, Scott Eastwood, and Gina Rodriguez, it is directed by Jason Orley from a script by Isaac Apter and Elizabeth Berger. This one is flying a bit under the radar, but it shouldn't as strong performances and a sense of humor make this the one to watch with your sweetie.

I Want You Back: New Poster & Stills Released For Amazon Comedy — Credit Amazon

I Want You Back Is Seriously Funny

The film begins with Slate and Day's characters being dumped by Eastwood and Rodriguez. They find each other wallowing in their pain and a friendship forms. Together they decide that they are the perfect matches for their respective exes and concoct a scheme to help each other win them back, even though they have already moved on to other relationships. But could these two actually be perfect for each other? You can guess where this is going.

But that is the fun part of I Want You Back, or with any rom-com. Nine times out of ten, you walk into the theater, or in this case to your couch, knowing precisely what is going to happen in the end. The journey in these films is what they need to get right, and for most of the run time, they do. Slate and Day are fantastic in this, both providing their signature brands of humor but showing off another side that we haven't seen them provide before. Especially Slate, she steals this whole film and is very affecting and charming. Above all others in this film, you root for her to get it together and get her happy ending, and for a little while, you are not certain she will.

Where this one trips up a little is the third act. Since we pretty much know where I Want You Back is taking us, the decision they make about 70 minutes in doesn't really work and almost feels like they are just padding the runtime, which is already longer than it needed to be. And then the ending itself is too abrupt. Eastwood and Rodriguez are fine, but neither does much to impress; they mostly just get out of the way of Slate and Day. Also, there is a cameo of sorts from someone that is hilarious, and it is one of the better scenes of the film, but it also goes on a smidge too long.

That all being said, however, in the long run, there is a lot to love here, and I Want You Back should hold up over time as a rom-com worth revisiting if nothing else for the amazing back and forth between Slate and Day. They should make more films together, pronto.

I Want You Back