I Want You Back – Film Review

Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate) are total strangers, but when they meet, one thing instantly bonds them: they were both unexpectedly dumped by their respective partners, Anne (Gina Rodriguez) and Noah (Scott Eastwood), on the same weekend. As the saying goes, “misery loves company,” but their commiseration turns into a mission when they see on social media that their exes have happily moved on to new romances, Anne with Logan (Manny Jacinto) and Noah with Ginny (Clark Backo).

Terrified that, in their thirties, they have lost their shot at happily ever after and horrified at the prospect of having to start over, Peter and Emma hatch a desperate plot to win the loves of their lives back. Each will do whatever it takes to put an end to their exes’ new relationships and send them running back to their arms.

Chalk it up to screenwriters Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger to craft one of the funniest, most heartwarming movies in years. The writing duo have previously penned the script for the emotionally charged Love, Simon, and now, they’ve set their sights on yet another romantic story, albeit this time, things are a bit goofier. I Want You Back is one of the most gut-bustingly hilarious and endearing comedies I’ve seen in years, even if it doesn’t do anything game-changing.

Sometimes all you need is a comedy that makes you smile and feel warm and fuzzy inside – this is exactly that kind of comedy. Jason Orley‘s film is one that never shies away from its laugh-out-loud sense of humor and excellent character development. I never would’ve thought that I would be so invested by these two lead characters by the time the film came to a close, but Aptaker and Berger managed to craft a script that’s rich and full of life.

But it’s also not one of those romantic comedies that’s syrupy sweet, either. Trust me, I don’t really enjoy those kinds of movies, mainly because it usually seems as if the screenwriters hope that by presenting the audience with some lovey-dovey couple, the film is automatically going to be so romantic you’ll feel weak in the knees. Thankfully, Aptaker and Berger understand that you need more than that to make a good rom-com. Their script actually dares to make their characters incredibly flawed.

It’s clear throughout the entire running time that both Peter and Emma are flawed people. They are the furthest thing from perfect out there, and the film shows this a lot. Rather than presenting us with two leads that are absolutely perfect and made for each other, the screenwriters made the wise decision to have each character go through a meaningful arc.

Charlie Day and Jenny Slate have the best chemistry I’ve seen in a film in months. They work so marvelously off one another to the point where I feel it’s genuinely impossible not to smile whenever they are on-screen together. They land all of the comedic aspects flawlessly, and they manage to get you teary-eyed in the film’s more emotional moments as well.

As mentioned earlier, the film doesn’t really do anything game-changing and certain story beats can be incredibly familiar and predictable. It’s hard to not be able to tell exactly where the story is going, and you’ll probably have the whole thing figured out in the first ten minutes alone but that doesn’t prevent I Want You Back from being an excellent ride. It’s a hilarious and heartwarming rom-com boasting two amazing lead performances by Charlie Day and Jenny Slate.