Netflix’s ISN’T IT ROMANTIC (2019) is a feel-good romantic comedy satirising romantic comedies

Netflix has come out with another romantic comedy that is sure to be as basic as it is enjoyable. Isn’t it Romantic follows Natalie (Rebel Wilson), an unlucky in love architect who suddenly finds herself stuck inside a romantic comedy and all its clichés.

This isn’t the type of film you sit down to watch for its incredible story and Oscar-winning performances. You know what you’re going to get with Netflix romantic comedies and the best thing this film does is that it embraces exactly what it is and runs with it. It’s cheesy and filled with meta-humour about the rom-com genre but that’s what gives the film its charm. The first 20 minutes or so isn’t great. While the plot and characters are being introduced it doesn’t have much going on to really grab my attention. The humour is pretty unfunny in these early moments and it feels like it’s trying to find its footing. But once it does it’s a feel-good ride through to the end.

The humour is what you’d expect. It’s pretty cheesy and dumb, but it’s delivered well and if you just relax into it there are some good chuckles to be had. It’s a short and upbeat ride with a lively tone that never forgets to have fun. The story itself is very straightforward, it takes minor interesting turns on occasion but as a whole it goes more or less how you’d expect. It doesn’t add to the fun but it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment at all either. Whether it’s through the silly witty humour or the spontaneous song and dance numbers this film knows how to make fun of rom-coms whilst having a blast being a rom-com. It has some top music accompanying the story which is my favourite element of it.

Rebel Wilson embraces the quirkiness of the film and is the perfect choice to be the one delivering this humour. She stars in the lead role and without her the humour may have fallen flat. Adam Devine is a good supporting player and seems to be the life of the party in most of what he’s in. He has great chemistry with Rebel especially coming off of their roles in Pitch Perfect (2012) and Pitch Perfect 2 (2015). Liam Hemsworth surprised me in this film and somehow this may end up being my most memorable role of his as nothing prior has really stood out. He plays the dumb and quirky side of his character very well, about as well as his brother brings that out in the Thor films. He’s very entertaining in here and is part of a number of humorous moments throughout.

I was a strong sceptic of this film from prior to watching right through to the 20 minute mark. Once the story kicked into gear though I had more fun than I had originally thought I’d have. The humour is dumb, it’s cheesy, it’s satirical, but if you embrace it and just have fun along with it it’s a pretty enjoyable ride. It’s a very short movie and readily available on Netflix so check it out when you have some time on your hands.

6.6/10