I remember when Set It Up came out on Netflix. In my circles, that movie was a revelation: a signal that all those medium budget films: romcoms, heist thrillers, Oscar dramas, have found a new home in the streaming services. Netflix capitalized on this phenomenon early, launching multiple romcom trilogies; meanwhile, the other streaming services have struggled to capture the world, especially Amazon Prime. I hope that all changes with I Want You Back, a 90s romcom time traveling 30 years into the future, and simply a delight of a watch, beginning to end.
It’s been a rough couple days for Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate). Peter’s girlfriend Anne (Gina Rodriguez) just dumped him so she can explore her artistic side…with her fellow middle school (drama) teacher Logan (Manny Jacinto). And Emma’s boyfriend Noah (Scott Eastwood) left her because she doesn’t have her sh*t together, opting instead to rebound with Ginny (Clark Backo), a cute pie store owner. Meeting on the stairs in their corporate high rise, Peter and Emma bond over their shared pain. But that’s not all: they both “realize” their exes really just need to be reminded how awesome they are. So Peter agrees to talk up Emma to Scott, and Emma will seduce Logan away from Gina so they can end up with the person they were meant to be with.
This movie works first and foremost because of the electric cast, one of the best in recent romcom memory. Jenny Slate and Charlie Day are amazing together, with Slate’s bouncy awkwardness meshing wonderfully with Day’s laid back reactionary persona (nothing like his Always Sunny character). The words I would use watching them is they are a “great hang,” exactly what you want for a chill night in. The comedic parings apart are also really solid. The Slate/Manny Jacinto/Gina Rodriguez triangle is funny every moment: 3 seasoned comedic vets surrounded by a bunch of middle schoolers doing a Little Shop of Horrors remake is basically shooting fish into a comedic barrel. Day’s task is harder, carrying the unseasoned comedic performer Eastwood by making Day’s workout regimen the butt of the joke most of the time. Thankfully, the crazy romcom setpiece is here to save this pairing, easily one of the funniest scenes of the movie: filled with cameos, crazy plot twists, and drugs; what more could you want?
Like Set It Up, I Want You Back also knows the trappings of those 90s romcoms and overcomes them with 30 years of movie knowledge. In the 90s, one or two of these exes would be a giant jerkwad of somekind. Not so here: Anne and (especially) Noah get real arcs and shades to their characters, making the audience also kinda root for them. I Want You Back also mostly leaves the wacky premise when the time is right, seeing it through to a natural conclusion, and starting a new tale. While love is important, Peter and Emma finding personal contentment is the real arc of the movie; instead of just force feeding us the romantic coupling, it mostly happens more naturally as Peter/Emma find out what they really want out of life. The ending feels too manufactured, but at that point, you’ve been so wonderfully wooed by I Want You Back that you forgive them 10 minutes of closure for the amazing 100 or so minutes before.
You can tell everyone kind of new they had something special with I Want You Back through the soundtrack. Using timeless classic romantic songs modernized, they felt this movie has some of that appeal, which is 100% accurate. I can picture all sorts of couples, on a cozy, comfortable couch, enjoying a lovely Sunday night Amazon Prime & Dine with I Want You Back as the delicious dessert.