I WANT YOU BACK – Review

As you dash about making restaurant reservations and scheduling floral deliveries for the big holiday this weekend, do you ever think about those “non-participators”? I’m guessing that you may not during the whirlwind of “preps”. Sure. most of the “romantically challenged” hadn’t counted on joining in this Monday, but what about those who really thought they’d be toasting their “special someone”? As sort of “counter-programing” two of these “unfortunates” are the focus of a very twisted “rom-com”. This duo is completely “blindsided” by their respective “bust-ups”. So do they break out the ice cream as they plant themselves on the couch for a marathon streaming TV binge? Oh no, they hatch a scheme that loudly declares (though not out loud to the “targets”), I WANT YOU BACK.

The “shenanigans” start during a really awful weekend for our two main subjects. Funny, funky Emma (Jenny Slate) is finishing up a delicious brunch with her hunky beau Noah (Scott Eastwood), when he drops the “bomb”. He’s “moving on” and has a new “lady”, Ginny (Clark Backo), who owns her own trendy pie shop, while Emma hasn’t advanced (she’s still living in her old college apartment with new much-younger student roommates). Across town, affable, friendly Peter (Charlie Day) is frolicking with the “birthday boy’ at his girlfriend’s family’s party. He’s having a blast, but his gal Anne (Gina Rodriguez) seems distant and distracted. Peter finally pries the reason why from her: she’s done with his un-adventurous nature and has taken up with somebody that’s more “free-spirited”. He, like Emma, is completely stunned. But it’s back to work on Monday, so he attends a big morning meeting with the rest of the “team” at a major “senior retirement living center” management company…until he sees a social media pic of Anne and her new fella’. Peter dashes out of the conference room and heads to the building’s stairwell to compose himself. His sobbing is interrupted by a wail of anguish. It’s Emma, who works three floors below as a dental receptionist. The two bond over their shared heartache, and after an evening of karaoke they formulate a strategy. Grabbing info from their exes’ internet posts, they’ll help each other break up the new couples. Emma will seduce Anne’s guy, drama teacher Logan (Manny Jacinto), while Peter (he can’t compete with his beefcake perfection) will become pals with Noah and turn him against Ginny (the ole’ Iago ploy). But can this master plan really succeed? Can these conspirators really repair their old romances?

This “twisty-turny” farce provides a terrific showcase for its two engaging stars (who are deserving of a much larger audience). Slate has already “headlined’ in several interesting “indie” comedies (OBVIOUS CHILD and LANDLINE are the standouts), so her comedic ‘chops’ are proven. This time she reveals an endearing vulnerable side as the floundering Emma who tries to hide her pain behind a mask of snark. There’s an emotional wound, but Slate, through her moist eyes, shows that she thinks that maybe Emma is really “stuck”. Lucky for the filmmakers that she has caustic comic chemistry with Day who tempers his manic “motor-mouthed” delivery with a true sweetness as he questions his “mission”. And he too knows that he’s got to get out of his “comfort zone”, personally and professionally, as Pete was too scared of taking “risks”. And while their former flames would be the “baddies” in other flicks, the “dumpers” somehow don’t deserve our disdain. That’s due in large part to the work of Rodriguez and Eastwood. She’s wanting to “breakout’ before getting “settled”, but Anne still hesitates on making a big (sexual) “leap”. We know the camera adores Eastwood, but his warm take on Noah, closer to an “every-bro”, is moving, especially as he makes Peter his new “lil’ bro”. Oh ditto for their “new loves”. Backo’s a sweet career-minded woman who’s not taking the “plunge” till all is “right”. Jacinto’s a flighty spacey but sweet goofball (a slightly smarter take on his “The Good Place” TV role), who’s more adventurous than anyone thinks (aside from letting his middle school students put on a fairly adult musical). One of his students, Trevor. is played with natural ease by young Luke David Blumm, who has a touching rapport with Salte’s Emma.

Yes, as you may have surmised this is a “rom-com” riff on a Hitchcock classic, though it’s not the first funny “re-imagining” (that would be THROW MAMA FROM THE TRAIN from, really, 35 years ago). Rather than STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, this is “Strangers in a Stairwell” for the main premise. And it really is a “clever spin” on that chestnut thanks to the unpredictable script by TV vets Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. Of course, we know that things won’t go completely according to Emma and Peter’s scheme, but the surprises and “turn arounds’ keep us invested and alert. The characters grow and emotionally change, thanks in part to the brief “detours”, particularly Emma’s warm friendship with Trevor in which she takes a big leap into “adulthood”. The story’s pace is solid thanks to the confident, directing from Jason Orley (pretty great for his sophomore feature film). It’s very strong for a comic romp with no true villains, but folks with different dreams and agendas. The Georgia locales are lovely, especially a big finale set aboard a riverboat. The film’s biggest plus is that I wanted to keep “hanging” with the characters just as the credits started to roll (a real rarity). Its biggest minus is the fact that it won’t be in theatres, since this film gives a nice “sheen” to the tarnished “rep” of “rom-coms”. Let’s hope we’ll see future pairings of Slate and Day because I WANT YOU BACK. Someday…

3 out of 4

I WANT YOU BACK streams exclusively on Amazon Prime Video beginning Friday, February 11, 2022