NB: Netflix has been getting into the romantic comedy game recently and we’re all very curious about their offerings. Big thank you to Heather T. for separating the wheat from the chaff for us!
Heather T. is a lawyer in the Midwest with two wicked cats. In addition to watching a lot of tv and (of course) reading, she loves to cook.
If you want to see Heather T.’s Worst of Netflix’s 2018 Romantic Comedies, you can find the list here!
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It’s been a long holiday with bad weather where I am, so I’ve been bingeing on movies made by Netflix in 2018. I saw at least one great rom com, some okay ones and some really terrible ones.
I previously reviewed the terrible line up, so here are the okay ones and one great one.
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Set It Up – Grade: B-
There were a lot of elements in this story that were enjoyable, but there was a major problem that dropped this into mediocre territory for me. This movie follows Harper and Charlie, who are assistants to bosses played by Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs respectively. I don’t remember the bosses’ names, so I’ll just call them Lucy and Taye. The bosses are both nightmares – demanding workaholics – and Harper and Charlie have no personal lives since all their time is spent coddling their self-centered bosses. After a meet-cute, Harper and Charlie decide to set up Lucy and Taye on the theory that if the bosses have a personal life, the assistants will get one too. Lucy and Taye gobble up these roles, while Harper and Charlie fade into the background of what is supposed to be their story.
The best thing about this movie is the roommates. Charlie’s roommate is amusingly played by Pete Davidson. Harper’s roommate, who gets engaged in an early scene, sets up the theme of the movie, which is that we like someone because of the things that attract us, but we love them despite the things about them that make us crazy. Harper’s roommate also delivers a great speech about how important it is to create, even knowing it will be bad, because the first step in the creative process is putting something out there. I would totally watch a movie about the roommate – she has all the best lines.
Harper and Charlie succeed in getting Lucy and Taye together for at least a while, and in the course of doing so they form a friendship and maybe feelings. There is no romance between them until the very end, when they tell each other the things they don’t like about each other (I love you despite . . .). The problem is that one thing that Harper doesn’t like about Charlie is that he had a serious ethical lapse when it mattered. Um, that would be a deal killer for me, not a cute “oh he eats popcorn out of his hoodie” thing. That, coupled with the fact that I didn’t like either Harper or Charlie very much, earns this a B minus, despite the great supporting characters.
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Like Father – Grade: B+
This isn’t a romance, but it has the bubbly feel of a rom com – plus, it’s an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon when the weather is bad. Kristen Bell plays a workaholic who is jilted at the altar (I’m in agreement with her former betrothed here – she totally deserved it). She ends up going on her honeymoon cruise with her estranged father, played by Kelsey Grammer.
My favorite thing about this movie is that it kept setting up tropes and then subverting them. Just when I would think I knew what tired “wacky misunderstanding” plot line was about to get recycled, people would use their words and the trope would be avoided.
That said, there was a lot that was formulaic – it’s no surprise that the father and daughter reconcile their differences, then enter the karaoke contest at the end of the cruise and crush it. Despite having a predictable arc, this was a sweet movie and gently amusing with some genuinely touching moments.
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To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – Grade: A
Everything about this movie was wonderful. Lara Jean is an ordinary teenager (thank God, no “smart ugly duckling” trope). She IS shy, and throughout her life she’s dealt with her crushes by writing the boy in question a letter, which she never sends. Due to Things That Happen, the letters get sent, including to her actual crush, her neighbor/good friend and (problematically) sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. Dying of embarrassment, she agrees with another letter recipient, Peter, to pretend to be in a relationship with him (Peter), for reasons that make sense in the teenaged worldview.
Lara Jean and Peter agree on contract terms for their pretend relationship, and their negotiation sets them up for good communications and clarity. There is time in the movie for the relationship to grow, instead of taking place over a few days as is usual in rom coms. Their pretend relationship spans months and we see Peter and Lara Jean get to know and appreciate each other and interact with their families and friends. All of the supporting characters are well-developed – even the mean girl (Peter’s ex) has motivations that make sense in her warped little world. While it could have been set up as a love triangle, Josh is never in play as an actual love interest – and the conversation that Lara Jean and a confused/concerned/protective Josh have about this late in the movie is pleasing.
One of the best things in this movie is Lara Jean’s family. Lara Jean and her family are Asian, but the movie avoids stereotypes. In a particularly touching moment, Lara Jean’s dad tells Lara Jean about her mom (who died when Lara Jean was young). Lara Jean’s mom was a free spirit who loved to dance in diners, and Dr Covey (the dad) hopes for the same for Lara Jean. Lara Jean’s older sister is her anchor and her younger sister is smart and mouthy and annoying. Peter’s reaction to the little sister made me fall in love – “she’s feisty!” he says. The plot kicks off when the older sister leaves for college, leaving Lara Jean adrift, and the little sister decides to take action.
Back to the romance. As the fake relationship progresses, the friendship, feelings, and attraction become real. While it seems that Peter realizes fairly early that he has actual feelings for Lara Jean, it takes her longer to reach the same conclusion. It takes her even longer with some additional misunderstandings to understand that his feelings for her are also real. The inevitable conflict (required 17 minutes before the end of every romantic comedy) is eventually resolved by friends and family encouraging Lara Jean to use her words, which she does to good effect.
All in all, this movie was deeply satisfying. It’s funny and smart and charming. The characters are well-developed, the relationship makes sense, and the acting is top-notch. It’s a movie that stands up to multiple rewatchings since it has depth and intelligence. There is a sequel in the works and you can find me currently in front of my tv, remote control in hand, waiting.
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What do you think of this “Best Of” list? Any Netflix rom-coms you’d love to add?
And these were all directed by women! Yeah! did the 52 films by women challenge in 2018 and Netflix original programming was incredibly helpful for reaching that goal.
I actually liked “Set It Up” more than “Like Father.” But I get that the dishonesty thing in “Set It Up” can be a deal breaker, that’s totally fair.
As for “Like Father” . . . I mean, I love Kristen Bell and I loved that she was kind of messed up in a way we don’t often allow female characters to be, but for me there were one too many jokes about people assuming she and her dad were a couple (weird note to hit more than once, writers) and a lot of times, I felt like I was just watching an ad for cruise ships. I mean, I’m sure that was part of the deal for filming on the cruise ship, but eh. It had lovely moments, but it didn’t all hang together for me.
“To All the Boys I Loved Before” was adorable (!) and Susan Johnson also directed “Carrie Pilby” on Netflix which is more of a coming of age story with a romance, but still lovely.
For people looking for more teen rom com on Netflix “Candy Jar” was also pretty cute. Two s nerdy kids who are hyper competitive on the debate team have to team up in their senior year. And what do they do? They fall in love. Yeah, they do! 😉
Totally agree with these and I would add Candy Jar and Dumplin’ to the list. Also if you can’t let the holidays go just yet, I enjoyed The Princess Switch and Holiday Calendar much more than A Christmas Prince (or the silly sequel).
I thought that TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE was super cute. I keep meaning to rewatch it. I also really liked SET IT UP. I’d like to see a sequel focusing on Lucy Liu’s character.
I did not enjoy LIKE FATHER. Maybe that’s because I was expecting a light, romantic comedy, and it was mostly about the father/daughter relationship. Plus, I never really understood why the father left. Because of reasons? Maybe I missed the explanation.
THE PRINCESS SWITCH was also fun, if completely unbelievable. But I usually have to suspend my sense of disbelief with many of the holiday rom-coms no matter what channel/service they are on.
I also really liked A SHOE ADDICT’S CHRISTMAS and CHRISTMAS AT THE PALACE (Hallmark Christmas movies).
Jill and Emily — Thanks for the recommendations for CANDY JAR and DUMPLIN’. I’ll add those to my watch list.
I really loved to all the boys I’ve known. It was such a great movie! I rewatched parts of it many times since.
Set it up was good. Some of the dialogue was really great and that stuck with me
I loved everything about TATBILB, also Dumplin’ (which was a special kind of wonderful). I second Candy Jar too.
I’m going to look up Like Father and A Shoe Addict’s Christmas. I wonder if Christmas At The Palace is on Netflix yet.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is my new go-to comfort movie. I just adore it. Set It Up is one I need to revisit. I liked it, but initially I had seen so many articles mentioning Taye Diggs and Lucy Liu that I thought they were the main couple. I think that colored my whole view of the movie because I just wanted it to be their own rom-com with a happy ending.
I also third the Candy Jar recommendations. So sweet and as a former high school debate team member, I had a lot of fun with that aspect. Plus the supporting cast is just amazing.
I also do the 52 movies directed by women challenge and I love how Netflix seems to be buying/producing a lot of women-directed movies. I still need to check out some of their women-directed non-rom-coms offerings that have been sitting in my list for a while like Private Lives.
Have any of you read the original novel of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and if so how does it compare to the movie?
@EC Spurlock, I read the book (the whole series) first and I thought the movie was very true to the spirit of the book, although of course, there’s more details in the book. There’s more about Lara Jean’s life and more about why Peter Kovinsky is the way he is. A little thing that made me sad is they switched the setting from Virginia to the West Coast. In the book, they’re in Charlottesville, VA and it was fun to read about somewhere not far from me, but also a little different than a big city. But that’s a pretty understandable change.
I read the first book in one night and as an only child/non girly girl, I loved all the details about the sister relationships, doing each other’s hair, borrowing clothes etc. I also so identified with Lara Jean as a baker who doesn’t like to drive. 😉 The second two in the series were very sweet and satisfying as well and none of them ends on a big cliffhanger.
Ditto on TATBILB. At first I thought I’d be skeeved watching a high school romance, but it was so well done that my reservations went up in a poof of smoke. I also recommend Nappily Ever After. It’s kind of rom-com, but the HEA is on her own terms. I believe it was also based on a book?
I actually loved Set It Up. It doesn’t give you quite the happy high of my favorite romantic comedies, but there are ways in which it feels real that I kind of love. Millennials with great friend circles but shitty jobs and no romantic prospects describes half my friend group right now.
I think maybe it doesn’t give me quite the romance squee high because at it’s core it’s a movie that celebrates friendship – they both have awesome friend circles, Harper has a complicated but positive relationship with her boss, and Harper and the hero fall for each other only after they’ve built a genuine friendship. It’s a romcom that celebrates friendship first, romance second. And as such I don’t get the swoony tension I love, but I do get a warm, enjoyable, believable community to spend time in and root for. It gave me something I don’t see in most movies, and I really, really liked that.
I have to second the rec of DUMPLIN’ – it was so cute and positive. The Dolly Parton soundtrack was great. We don’t get to know the love interest – Bo – super well, but I was more invested in the journey that mother and daughter took to better understand each other, anyway. Also, there is another girl in the pageant, Millicent, who is the greatest ever, the end.
Agreed with the problems of “Set It Up” — I remember feeling like his ethical lapse wasn’t really something he grew from.
Also, the use of the word “douchetard” in a climactic scene (as a climactic insult) totally killed it for me. It’s 2019. Can we stop using “-tard” as a suffix already? It’s hurtful and unfunny.
Set It Up: You know you’re getting old when … you just adore the fact that (a) two young pretty white people have two non-white bosses, and (b) nobody thinks this even rates a mention.
I’d love to hear what you thought of Nappily Ever After!
@ Sarious: I second “Nappily Ever After”! I love that the main character, Violet, learned to fall in love with herself, not how others told her she should be. And did you know that Sanaa Latham actually filmed herself shaving her head in the movie (yep, that scene was real!)?
“Nappily Ever After” is based on a book of the same name. It’s the first in a series of 8 books by Tricia R. Thomas: https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B00PPAMEHW/ref=dp_st_0312361319
Agreed on Dumplin’ and The Christmas Calendar. I was pleasantly surprised that the latter was very racially diverse, and the main couple are POCs. Also, they are super adorable, and have a really nice friendship.
I watched Nappily Ever After with my daughter, and we both cried in the scene where she shaves her head and then had to pause the movie to look up if she really did that!