Isn’t It Romantic
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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.

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.

Plot

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 .

Cast

  • Rebel Wilson as Natalie, an Australian architect living in New York.Alex Kis as 12-year-old Natalie
  • Alex Kis as 12-year-old Natalie
  • Liam Hemsworth as Blake, a billionaire client of Natalie s company and potential love interest in the fantasy world.
  • Adam DeVine as Josh, Natalie s best friend and co-worker.
  • Priyanka Chopra as Isabella, a billboard model who appears as a yoga ambassador in the fantasy world.
  • Betty Gilpin as Whitney, Natalie s assistant and friend who becomes her nemesis in fantasy world.
  • Brandon Scott Jones as Donny, Natalie s neighbor, depicted as a flamboyant gay friend in the fantasy world.
  • Jennifer Saunders as Natalie s mother
  • Big Jay Oakerson as Gary
  • Tom Ellis as Dr. Todd, the doctor in the fantasy world.
  • Michelle Buteau as Martina
  • Bowen Yang as Donny s Guy
  • Eugenia Kuzmina as Eugenia

Production

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. 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. Priyanka Chopra was also cast in the film in May. On June 14, 2017, Betty Gilpin was added, playing Natalie s assistant Whitney, one of her best friends.

Principal photography on the film began on July 10, 2017, in New York City. The final dance scene to Madonna s Express Yourself took place at 101 Park Avenue.

Release

Isn t It Romantic was theatrically released in the United States on February 13, 2019, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was released internationally on February 28, 2019, by Netflix.

Home media

Isn t It Romantic was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 21, 2019.

Reception

Box office

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. 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. 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. The film dropped 47% in its second weekend, making $7.5 million and finishing fifth.

Critical response

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. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews . 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.

Australian publication QNews reviewed the film positively, with Peter Gray saying it was one of the better example of the genre, and it helps that its cast are all wholly capable of both playing to and against the stereotypes.

Year 2019
ReleaseDate 2019-02-13
RuntimeMins 89
RuntimeStr 1h 29min
Plot A young woman disenchanted with love mysteriously finds herself trapped inside a romantic comedy.
Awards Awards, 1 win & 10 nominations
Directors Todd Strauss-Schulson
Writers Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox, Katie Silberman
Stars Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine
Produced by Richard Brener,Jason Cloth,Marty P. Ewing,Todd Garner,Aaron L. Gilbert,Andrea Johnston,Gina Matthews,Dave Neustadter,Grant Scharbo,Rebel Wilson
Music by John Debney
Cinematography by Simon Duggan
Film Editing by Andrew Marcus
Casting By Rich Delia
Production Design by Sharon Seymour
Art Direction by Doug Huszti
Set Decoration by Alyssa Winter
Costume Design by Leah Katznelson
Makeup Department Michael Harvey,Melanie Hughes,Liliana Maggio,Cheryl Marks,Amanda Miller,Jenn Jorge Nelson,Toni Roman,April Schuller,Julie Teel,JT Franchuk,Joshua Gericke,Yasmina Smith-Tyson,Adenike Wright,Nakoya Yancey
Production Management Tyson Bidner,Jack Deutchman,Marty P. Ewing,Isabel Henderson,Andrew Saxe
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Michael Armand Crupi,Marco Londoner,Soren Miltich
Art Department Graves Bates,Sydney Brook,Lee Christie-Irvine,Tim Davies,Kelly Davis,Eric de Jesus,Rob De Mar,Ruth DiPasquale,Peter Dorsey,Elizabeth Duby,Jim Feng,Kristen Ficara,Julien Gundry,Kelsey Hillerud,Bryan Kelley,Jeannette Kim,Ron Kochie,Jonathan Kohrman,Laurel Kolsby,Richard Lieberman,Dave Major,David Mannherz,Jason Marzano,Barbra Matis,James H. McDonnell,James P. Meehan,Marina Parker,Fanny Pereire,Lucy Pope,Lauren Rockman,Eric Rosenberg,Darrin Smith,Marsha Smith,Carl Sprague,Michaela A. Sulka,Joshua Vogel,Marc Vranesich,Daniel Zack,Maegen Sacco
Sound Department Michael Barry,Shaun Brennan,Damian Canelos,Alfred DeGrand,Bill Donnelly,Linzy Elliot,Lewis Goldstein,Matt Gruber,John Gutierrez,Jonathan Jost,Andrew Mastronardi,Colin Rogers,Jason Stasium,Jerrell Suelto,Matt Perry Thomas,Wen Hsuan Tseng,Wouter van Herwerden,Alfredo Viteri,Andy Zuch,Vinny Alfano
Special Effects by Cory Candrilli,Benjy Harris,Zachary Maggio,Ben Riedman
Visual Effects by Philip Ballard,Anthony Barcelo,Patrick Bramley,Brandon Burzawa,Sarah Canale,Han Cao,Sarah Chalek,Yayu Chen,Alla Chernova,Myong Choi,Zhe Chong,Kevin Conlon,Danny Corona,Krisztián Csanki,David Dewaik,Elangie Feliz,Tomohiko Fukuda,Duolin Ge,Mario Grilli,Evelyn Hernandez,Gideon Soohwan Hwang,Yisong Jin,Matt Johnson,Dong Kyu Kim,Jeewon Kim,Gerry Kodo,Mee-Jeong Kwon,David Lebensfeld,Cheng Wei Liao,IlJoo Lim,Patrick Louie,Tasha Marlin,Philip McGuire,Kim Menaster,Grant Miller,Karen M. Nichols,Eion-Ray Patterson,Kevin Pinga,Matthew Poliquin,Yashar Pouyan,Wen Qian,Michael Rhima,Sasha Sazanovich,Chad Sigston,April Singleton,Mark Stetson,Ben Stommes,Viviana Torrellas,Christopher A. Vazquez,Jaehyun Yeon,Kenny Yong,Ethan Zhao,Noah Barnes,Andre Cheong,Alisah Kress,Sarabjeet Singh
Stunts Chris Barnes,Myra Dakota Bown,Bryce Burke,Jared Burke,Mike Burke,Chris Cenatiempo,William Cote,Mark Fichera,Aaron Joshua,Luke Lesko,Dean Neistat,Meredith Richardson,Anastasia Rutkowski,Heidi Germaine Schnappauf,Hannah Scott,Robbie P Smith,Aaron Vexler,Anthony Vincent,Stephanie Vovou,Robert Weintraub
Camera and Electrical Department Mark-Anthony Artis,Kevin Burns,John Campbell,Patrick Cecilian,Chris Chanda,Nicholas DiBlasio,Evan Gradillas,Bradley Grant,Jim Grout,Nick Haines-Stiles,Timothy Healy,Suren Karapetyan,James Klayer,Vinnie Laraway,Corey Licameli,Charlie Marroquin,Kelly Marroquin,Parris Mayhew,Michael Parmelee,Jesse Pelikan,Antonio Ponti,Christopher Raymond,Chris Rosen,Mabel Santos Haugen,Ricardo Sarmiento,George Selden,Pierson Silver,Darrin Smith,Andrew Sweeney,Craig Vaccaro,John Velez,Ethan Wilhelm
Casting Department S.J. Allocco,Nikita Dolese,Terri Douglas,Dann Fink,Coco Kleppinger,Lauren Kurnit,Tom Martorano,Grant Wilfley,Bruce Winant
Costume and Wardrobe Department Jessica Bergstrom,Lauren Colbert,Zoë Luella Corbett,Kate Edwards,Mia Flanagan,Aja Gilles,Jennifer Harrington,Kirsten MacLeod,Carmia Marshall,Zoe Nadel,Angel Peart,Ana Perdita,Kelsey Sasportas,Steffi West Harshberger
Editorial Department Alex Bickel,Christina Delerme,Rick Derby,Jasmine Everett-Lewis,Chris Gennarelli,Borna Jafari,Alanna Morton,Sarah Lillian Pachter,Sean Perry,Veronica Rutledge,Jaime Sukonnik,Brett Meyers
Location Management Paul Contos,Jason Kadlec,Josh LaJoie,Wellington Lee,Chancelle Mafoua,Elizabeth Martin,Daniel McCarthy,Joseph Mullaney,Jayar Myers,Brendan O Rourke,Dillon Rand,Brad Reichel,Rick Walters,David Brotsky
Music Department Kim Baum,Emad Borjian,Bethany Brinton,Daniel A. Brown,Jeff Carson,Celeste Chada,John W. Chapman,Ron Colvard,Blake Cooper,Zach Cowie,Alana Da Fonseca,Lola Debney,George Doering,Jessica Dolinger,Julian Drucker,Stef Fink,Luke Flynn,Chris Fogel,Richard Ford,Jessica Freedman,Emily Goglia,Mick Gormaley,Mark Graham,Tom Hardisty,Paul S. Henning,Scott Hosfeld,Charles Martin Inouye,Kevin Kaska,Brian Kilgore,Sara Mann,S. Peace Nistades,Maggie Phillips,Christine Greene Roe,Peter Rotter,Naomi Sato,Andrew Synowiec,Natalie Babbitt Taylor,Joe Zimmerman,Mike Watts
Script and Continuity Department Rachael Gillson,Rebecca Schwab
Transportation Department David Conelli
Additional Crew Oscar Antonio Andrade,Santo Arcuri,Fabio Assalone,Christine Boehm,Cameron Boone,Hilary Brown,Stephanie L. Brown,Ann Caprio,Kate Cavendish,Sparkman Clark,Annika Connor,Nicole Cotton,Chelsie Coulombe,Adam Davids,David Davoli,Ruby de la Rosa,Jennifer Din,Cheyenne Drinkwater,Adrienne Enderle,Kate-Marie Engberg,Debra Florez,Gavin Franks,Mario Garcia,Christopher Gattelli,Maritza Gomez,Jon Gordon,Charise Greene,Lon Haber,James E. Halleran,Sam Hellman,Elisha Jachetti,Chris Kenny,Julie Kuehndorf,Jackie Lebovits,Robert Maasin,Josh Mankoff,David Mannherz,Sebastian Meek,Megan O Donnell,Scott Parker,Alastair Ramsden,Eric Scott Rau,Jon Rua,Anastasia Rutkowski,Tori Smith,Anthony Terio,Steven Thibault,Maxwell Velazquez,Kyle Walsh,Levi Wilkinson,Macey Yarbrough,Sarah Roberts,Alma Silverman
Genres Comedy, Fantasy, Musical
Companies BRON Studios, Camp Sugar, Creative Wealth Media Finance
Countries USA
Languages English, Italian
ContentRating PG-13
ImDbRating 5.9
ImDbRatingVotes 70018
MetacriticRating 60
Keywords cliche,cynic,love,gay stereotype,in love with best friend