It’s too soon for Amy Schumer’s rom-com I Feel Pretty to have a sequel, right? Because Rebel Wilson’s latest stab at making fun of the genre, Isn’t it Romantic?, sure looks like it’s trying to say the same thing.
Wilson plays a cynical woman in New York City (of course) who sustains a knock on the head, only to wake up and discover her life has turned into a romantic comedy. Wait, didn’t Amy Schumer’s character also have her perceptions jumbled by a bump to the head? Both films are looking to make a statement about the genre, but also our idea of what is considered beautiful. Wilson isn’t the typical rom-com lead, nor was Schumer, and I get the feeling the film will try to have it both ways, embracing the genre while trying to crap on it.
The problem with satirizing rom-coms is that the genre’s tropes are exactly why we love them. We aren’t dumb and we aren’t blind, either. There’s very little a film like this can joke about that we haven’t already thought of. That said, Wilson is supremely funny and she could kill it in a movie like this. She’s joined in the cast by Adam Devine, Liam Hemsworth, and Priyanka Chopra, with Todd Strauss-Schulson (A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas) directing.
Isn’t it Romantic? opens next Valentine’s Day.
