Yea, yea⦠āeveryoneās a critic.ā But today, in this exact moment, the only critic is me. So listen up, people, because Iāve got some opinionated shit to say! Here's my honest review of the movie "When We First Met".
Now, Iām sure Iām not the only person who's been paying attention to the diminishing cable and film industries. It seems the modern era is more obsessed with Netflix originals than the silver screen. Which is somewhat ironic considering straight-to-DVD releases, and TV movies, used to be a sign of lesser products. Not anymore, my friendsā¦well, letās not get ahead of ourselves.
Netflix has released tremendous, Emmy-nominated shows such as Stranger Things and Black Mirror. And Netflix's rise to fame doesnāt look like itās going anywhere anytime soon. However, it also has some whoppers that would be straight-to-DVDs had they been released ten years prior. Iām referring to the buttload of rom-coms that seem to infect the browser. Maybe youāve heard of them?
Iām not complaining. Please, donāt take my honesty and criticism as a ācomplaint;ā Iām merely pointing out some things that youāre probably (or maybe not⦠I donāt know your life) already thinking.
Iāll start by commending Netflix on its trailers and advertisements. As soon as I log into my Netflix (well, my Firestick remembers me; Netflix is pretty popular in my single-millennial-woman household), there is always an original at the top: PLAY ME! PLAY ME! Watch my trailer! Ahh, you got me Netflix! Because I am an ADHD member of this wonderful (ignore the sarcasm) generation, I run out of things to watch and click the first thing that looks somewhat entertaining.
Tonight, like most nights, I opened Netflix and didnāt want to re-watch 'Friends' reruns for theā¦ummā¦one-hundredth time. So instead, I sat idly by as the top ad played its trailer. And what Netflix original might my eyes have been dazzled with? Pitch Perfectās Adam DeVineās film: 'When We First Met.'
Although Iām often a cynic, I too enjoy a good old-fashioned romance. Especially one that mimics some of my favorite movies: Groundhog Day and Back to the Future (though I wouldn't necessarily say these films are "chick-flicks". But hey, I guess DeVine is trying to make his own chick-flick rendition of them!) So, here's my review of the movie "When We First Met".
If you havenāt seen 'When We First Met,' let me give you a quick synopsis: boy (DeVine) meets girl (Alexandra Daddario). Then, said girl āfriend-zonesā guy. Three years later, girl gets engaged to a dreamy stud and the friend-zoned guy daydreams of when he first met (so that's why they call it that...) the girl he missed his chance with. Keeping things fresh, the film adapts a time-traveling plot, shouting out to 'Back to the Future' with Huey Lewis tunes. But the film is more of a modern 'Groundhog Day' with a twist: the protagonist goes back to time through a photo booth, reliving the day he met his ādream girl,ā over and over again, and each time wakes up three years from then, forced to live with the consequences of whatever he changed by going into the past.
There ya have it (donāt worry; I wonāt spoil anything). Now, it is a pretty iconic plot. Who doesnāt love a time travel film, am I right? But the film seems to fall flat on a couple levels. For starters, the film takes place in New Orleans 2017, but it looks more like a Northern college town. With a city as diverse and eccentric as the Crescent City, one would think that such a flavor would be brought out. Wrong. Instead, the film acts as though the cityās gentrification is at an ultimate high: all white millennials wearing outfits sorority girls of the Midwest would be caught wearing. Itās as if the producers decided āletās make a movie that takes place in New Orleans,ā then neglected that choice, and put in random cuts to trollies and the Mississippi River. Oh, and the main characters love jazz (Iāll give them that one; yes, New Orleans loves its jazz), but the setting is nothing but a setting. And to me, a place as charming as New Orleans cannot be merely the setting of a film; New Orleans is its own character.
I was, however, entertained from start to finish. But I would have liked to see more fleshed out characters. Perhaps I saw a glimmer of who the protagonist was. But his love interest, his friends, her friendsā¦they were flat. I never understand why he loved this girl so much. And with all the focus on DeVine, it made it harder to root for a character who seems narcissistically involved in his own happily-ever-after.
Albeit, itās a simple rom-com; how much can we really ask for? And even a cynical snob like me will admit that the ending brought out a hopeless-romantic awwwww. Then again, what rom-com wouldnāt?
In the end, Iād recommend this film if youāre bored on Netflix, looking for a modern spin on time-travel with a goofy, somewhat dick-ish male protagonist to center a formulaic plot (*cough* Bill Murray *cough* āI think Iām a God, Ritaā). Iām not here to say this movie is awful because itās not. Like I said: entertaining! It has its moments (though not many laughs) and paces itself well enough to stay focused for an hour and a half. But if youāre looking for a movie that isnāt stealing all its tricks from the ā80s, or want something whose setting matches reality, maybe stick with 'Friends' reruns.
Feedback Junction
Where Thoughts and Opinions Converge