Somebody I Used To Know

When Big City workaholic Ally returns home to the small town she grew up in, a chance run-in with her long ago ex-boyfriend Sean leads Ally to begin to question everything about her life. Desperate for a new start, Ally plans to derail the wedding, and hilarity ensues as the characters all learn a little bit about themselves… and each other.

It’s hard to approach a pretty harmless, non-offensive, and really derivative Rom-Com critically, and Somebody I Used To Know is no exception.

For the most part, it’s just a basic cliched Hallmark movie set-up: The big city gal is just too busy with her big city career, she just doesn’t have any time to enjoy her life, let alone find love. When a professional/personal setback grudgingly sends her back to her quirky but endearing parents, and the quaint little picturesque small town she had previously vowed never to return to... a chance encounter with an initially aggravating, yet strangely attractive old flame/random stranger--who, if we’re being honest here, is also most likely a Trump Voter--causes her to stop listening to her head… and to start listening to her heart (Paula Cole song plays).

The main difference in this version is that her old flame is getting married in a few days, so the drama is practically guaranteed. Also, there’s a ton of bush and boobs in this film, way more than you’d expect in a typical Rom-Com. There’s even a brief flash of hard cock. There’s more vomit than you’d generally expect as well. So, y’know… a little something for everyone.

But still… it’s pretty derivative.

And cute, admittedly. Cute and kind of funny. The main couple/love triangle has a pretty good chemistry, and a stellar cast backing them up too, which is what you’re really here for, right? The film has Alison Brie, Jay Ellis, and Kiersey Clemons, with Olga Merediz, Julie Hagerty, Danny Pudi, and Haley Joel Osment backing them up, and even Amy Sedaris, Sam Richardson, and Zoe Chao making appearances too, all in a script by Brie and her husband Dave Franco, who directs… so, there’s a lot of talent there, and the end result… it’s cute.

Maybe a little try-hard at times, sure, but cute.

There’s a clear attempt to do a meta-riff on the entire genre of Rom-Coms in this film, and that doesn’t quite land. And yes, it's fair to say it doesn’t quite bring the cathartic high-drama ending you’d expect the set-up to lead to, especially as the characters get more entangled during all the wacky hijinks and jaunty montages that fill up the plot’s various wedding party misadventures, but if it had tried, I really have doubts the film could’ve supported that kind of an emotional climax, so… soft and easy is what you get, and it’s probably the best version you can reasonably expect.

In the end, Somebody I Used To Know is a pleasant little watch that won’t leave much of a mark, and sometimes, that’s not a bad thing. It’s not really a good thing either, but what are ya’ gonna do… it’s a basic-ass Rom-Com.