Isn't It Romantic is a 2019 American romantic comedy meta film directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and written by Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox, and Katie Silberman. The film stars Rebel Wilson as a woman who finds herself in a world where everything around her plays out like a clichéd PG-13 romantic comedy. Liam Hemsworth, Adam DeVine, and Priyanka Chopra appear in supporting roles.
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Isn't It Romantic | |
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Directed by | Todd Strauss-Schulson |
Screenplay by | |
Story by | Erin Cardillo |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Simon Duggan |
Edited by | Andrew Marcus |
Music by | John Debney |
Production companies |
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Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $31 million[2] |
Box office | $48.8 million[3] |
The film was theatrically released in the United States on February 13, 2019, by Warner Bros. Pictures, and in international territories by Netflix on February 28, 2019. It grossed over $48 million on a $31 million budget and received generally positive reviews from critics.[4]
Architect Natalie develops a strong hatred for romantic comedies at an early age, which is exacerbated by her low self-esteem and difficulty in finding love. Her assistant Whitney, a fan of romantic comedies, believes their co-worker Josh is in love with Natalie, but Natalie dismisses the notion because Josh appears to spend all his time staring at a billboard model across the street. One day, Natalie is knocked unconscious during an attempted mugging and finds herself trapped in the stereotypical romantic comedies that she despises. Whitney becomes her enemy and her neighbor Donny becomes a flamboyant homosexual friend offering advice, while Blake, a billionaire client of her company, develops a romantic interest in her. Additionally, Josh enters into a relationship with the billboard model, who identifies herself as a "yoga ambassador" named Isabella.
Desperate to return to her reality, Natalie deduces that in the tradition of romantic comedies, she can only leave by finding true love. When her relationship with Blake turns sour, Natalie recognizes that she has feelings for Josh, who has become engaged to Isabella. Natalie attempts to stop their wedding, but soon realizes that instead of loving another person, she needs to learn to love herself. Following this revelation, Natalie gets into a car accident and loses consciousness.
Natalie wakes up in the real world, but with new self-confidence, which she uses to successfully propose an idea to Blake. After reuniting with Josh, she learns that he has not been staring at the model, but at Natalie's reflection, the two begin a relationship. As Natalie prepares to head home, Whitney tells her that despite her dislike for romantic comedies, everything she just experienced has been comparable to one. Realizing that she has been in a romantic comedy the entire time, Natalie and the rest of the characters proceed to engage in a rendition of "Express Yourself".
On May 23, 2016, it was reported that Rebel Wilson would star as Natalie in an untitled romantic comedy film by New Line Cinema, from an original script by Erin Cardillo and rewrite by Dana Fox and Katie Silberman, while producers would be Todd Garner, Grant Scharbo, and Gina Matthews.[5] On March 22, 2017, Todd Strauss-Schulson was hired to direct the film, titled Isn't It Romantic. On May 10, Adam DeVine, who had previously co-starred with Wilson in the first two Pitch Perfect movies, and Liam Hemsworth were cast in the film to play love interests in Natalie's life.[6] Priyanka Chopra was also cast in the film in May.[7] On June 14, 2017, Betty Gilpin was added, playing Natalie's assistant Whitney, one of her best friends.[8]
Principal photography on the film began on July 10, 2017, in New York City.[citation needed] The final dance scene to Madonna's "Express Yourself" took place at 101 Park Avenue.[9][10][11]
Isn't It Romantic was theatrically released in the United States on February 13, 2019, by Warner Bros. Pictures.[12] The film was released internationally on February 28, 2019, by Netflix.[1]
Isn't It Romantic was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 21, 2019.
In the United States and Canada, Isn't It Romantic was released alongside Happy Death Day 2U, and was projected to gross around $22 million from 3,300 theaters in its six-day opening weekend.[13] After not holding Tuesday night previews, the film made $1.8 million on its first day, Wednesday, and $4.4 million on Valentine's Day, for a two-day total of $6.2 million.[2] It went on to debut to $14.2 million over the weekend (a five-day gross of $20.4 million), finishing third at the box office.[14] The film dropped 47% in its second weekend, making $7.5 million and finishing fifth.[15]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 70% based on 180 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "It follows as many genre conventions as it mocks, but Isn't It Romantic is a feel-good rom-com with some satirical bite – and a star well-suited for both."[16] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 3.5 out of 5 stars and a 50% "definite recommend."[14][18]
Australian publication QNews reviewed the film positively, with Peter Gray saying it was "one of the better example[s] of the genre, and it helps that its cast are all wholly capable of both playing to and against the stereotypes."[19]
Films directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson | |
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