I Want You Back (2022)

Top comments

1. 

   Siskoid

   Because the formula is so well-worn, romcoms are not really to be enjoyed for their outcome, but for the twists they can impose on the formula, and for its stars. I Want You Back indeed does star people I like, and while Charlie Day is up to his level, it's mostly on Jenny Slate's shoulders as the more emotional, competent, and touching character. She even scores a subplot where she forms just about the healthiest relationship in the movie, a friendship with a 12-year-old. The main twist: They meet after each being dumped and decide to pull a Strangers on a Train and break their exes' new couples to - all together now - GET! THEM! BACK! Because the stars are so affable, and the way each mission goes, it never feels mean-spirited, just very ill-advised. Obviously, we know Charlie and Jenny are going to end up together, but the movie pretty deftly withholds this turn of events for as long as possible, initiating an unusual third act. I Want You Back is quite cute, even funny at times, and happily sticks to its guns in terms of what it wants to say about romance. 1 year 12 months ago
2. 

   cam15

   This is like Cruel Intentions, only sexier 2 years 1 month ago
3. 

   yukononun

   Funny and rather unpredictable. Jenny was phenomenal.
   It was very enjoyable and genuinely good...until the last 20 minutes or so (whenever the boat scene begins). It then becomes unnecessarily painful and hard to watch, for all of the wrong reasons. It was obvious from the beginning of that scene that they were planning on having one of those clichéd

   reveal

   scenes where

   their lie is dramatically revealed and it ends with someone being punched

   . It began to pick back up after that, and when it reached the

   airplane

   scene it seemed like it had found it's groove again...and then it ended.
   
   The

   reveal scene never needed to happen. They both could have told their partners (and/or exes) the truth, in private, and then it could have focused on them realising their feelings for each other. Or maybe that before telling them the truth.
   
   Part of the problem is how suddenly out-of-character Peter is after Anne calls him back. He doesn't care what Emma did or how she did it. He basically just throws money at her, says "k thx bye" and then runs off. He leaps into Anne's arms and then the next day he says a quick thanks to Emma and a rather insincere "sorry I failed" before telling her that he's not going to hang out with her ever again. Dick move.
   He then proceeds to botch his breakup with Anne and then confess his love to Emma right in front of her (and everyone else). It's so strange that a guy that's supposed to be so nice and sensitive can be such a cruel jerk when he's in love. Which one is the real him?
   
   Peter should've broken it off with Anne on the boat like how she dumped him at the birthday party (but in a less douchey way), so she would've realised how shitty it felt. Emma could've realised that Logan wasn't right for her, and broken it off on the boat. Then Peter could've confessed to Emma IN PRIVATE, she would've said too late, and then she could've had a talk with Noah about why how she wanted him back before realising that they weren't compatible. After that, the airplane scene could've happened. It sounds similar, but for a film that somehow wasn't painful (despite the subject material and scenes that had plenty of potential to be very painful), that one scene was cringe-inducing enough to sour the ending somewhat.
   
   Yes, it was deceitful, but did the exes really need to know? Real life is complicated and isn't always black-and-white. They didn't have to know.
   Noah got married because of Peter (who also helped him more than hindering him) and Emma saved Anne from fully committing to a guy who didn't respect her or their relationship...and was making her feel like she had to be someone she wasn't. If Peter broke it off and both him and Emma fully moved on from their exes, then why did they both need to know the truth? Because drama, I guess.
   
   It should have kept focusing on growth and realising that they were better off without their exes. That is something that happened in the film, but it was in a really overly messy and abrupt way.

   
   
   I'll probably watch it again, but I just wish that that scene was handled better. 11 months ago

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