Isn't It Romantic - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Isn't It Romantic



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Romantic Comedies are probably one of the most over done, over cliched, but still well loved genres out there. Everyone wants that happy outcome, with the man of their dreams (or woman), the nice job, and the happily ever after. It’s generally why fantasy films have been around for as long as they have, and the genre has a long standing tradition in the written word as well. HOWEVER, they are an easily criticizable bunch, being that most anyone with a brain realizes that the romantic comedy genre is really just a big fluffy bit of cotton candy. It’s sweet, tasty, but gives you a sick stomach if you have too much and it rots you from the inside out. Which is kind of why it’s been a tradition for the last 7 or 8 years to have films make fun of rom-coms and their tropes, with Isn’t It Romantic taking the cake as it deconstructs the genre and TRIES to turn it on its ear.

Natalie (Rebel Wilson) is a New York City architect who has a bit of a dour outlook on love thanks to her upbringing. Being told her whole life that she’s not the perfect supermodel like Julia Roberts, Natalie just gets by with her crummy job, crummy apartment, and her crummy self esteem. Then the “magic” happens and in true Rom-com style (ala What Women Want) and after a rap on the head wakes up to living in an ACTUAL romantic comedy. New York smells sweet (anyone who’s ever lived in New York before knows that’s a fantasy in and of itself), people burst out in song around her, and every guy she meets is ridiculously hot, just wanting to swoon at her feet. Going home to her apartment isn’t much better. Gone is the trashy New York apartment in the slums, and say hello to a giant penthouse where she has more shoes than a shoe store.

Realizing that she’s IN a romantic comedy, Natalie figures out that the only way to get back to normal is to follow the rules of the genre. That means getting the hunky guy to fall in love with her so that they live happily ever after. Gravitating towards the venture capitalist billionaire client at her firm, Blake (Liam Hemsworth), Natalie jumps through all the hoops, and all the cheesy cliches, only to realize that it isn’t kicking her out. Desperate to get out, Nat jumps to the next conclusion. She goes for her best friend Josh (Adam Devine) who is getting married to a supermodel of his own (played by Priyanka Chopra), only to find out the true meaning of Christmas…..errrrr...the movie. That is you can only find true happiness by loving YOURSELF first.

Isn’t it Romantic is a solid enough rom-com parody, and has a lot of fun making fun of all the stereotypes and typical genre tropes that we are all intimately familiar with. Rebel Wilson has always been one of those comedians that makes me wince due to her over the top style, but she tones herself down quite a bit here, as does Adam Devine (who plays the best friend Josh) and carries the load with her comedic chops. I actually LIKED Natalie throughout the film, which is a good thing because Liam Hemsworth’s comedic timing was sorely lacking (his only real role in the movie was to look hot, and when he TRIED to be funny he failed miserably).

Now, the film itself is cheeky and funny, playing off all the tropes of the genre, but it falls into it’s own trap by the end of the film. I was thinking the whole time that they had to completely go dark and depressing at the end to continue on with the deconstruction of the genre, or else they were going to sell out and fall into the same genre tropes by the end, and that’s exactly what happened. The final act has Natalie actually loving herself for her own potential instead of “needing a man to complete her”, only to fall into the EXACT same tropes of love and romance at the end, just with the justification “well, now that I love MYSELF it’s ok”. A big cheesy, but it it’s a comedy and it is what it is.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for language, some sexual material, and a brief drug reference




Video:

The 2.39:1 AVC encoded Blu-ray is sparklingly clean and all digital in nature, making for a crisp, clean and well defined image that is truly great to look at. The color grading is very much natural in nature, with the occasional gold push in some indoor scenes. Detail levels are resplendent with intimate details such as clothing and facial details showing magnificent clarity, and the colors are deeply saturated with a sort of “bubblegum” pop look to them. Every primary color in the rainbow is represented with a glossy and well lit veneer, and even the darker shots are privy to a whole host of colors. It’s a strong video presentation throughout and maintains a healthy image without showing any major artifacting (I saw a few glimpses of crush, but that was it). Overall it’s a fantastic image for a modern film and Warner’s Blu-ray is top notch.







Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is quite commendable as well, and fits the genre quite nicely. This is mostly a very dialog heavy track throughout, but it is broken up with some song and dance numbers, as well as the hustle and bustle of New York City filling out the surround channels when necessary. LFE is clean, but restrained, mostly content to sit back and accentuate things like a helicopter ride, or the rumble of a subway train outside of the musical numbers. It’s good, clean, and precise, but definitely not an action extravaganza. The dialog is clean and nicely placed in the center of the track, as the heavy lifting goes, I have no qualms with it. The track isn’t going to be a wide angle Michael Bay film, but it does very well within its genre confines.






Extras:

• I Wanna Dance! - Featurette
• Deleted scenes

Final Score:
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Isn’t It Romantic is a cute film that tries hard to deconstruct the genre, but does it in such a fluffy and cute way that it’s hard to take the deconstruction seriously. The film has a habit of falling into it’s own trap of following a rom-com TOO closely (even with it’s message) and that’s what keeps it from being truly GOOD. The film is fun, cute, and certainly watchable if you like Rom-coms and still notice the flaws pertinent to the genre (there’s a joke about the PG-13 rating that actually had me laugh pretty hard), and the Warner Brothers Blu-ray release is top notch. Worth it as a decent watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine, Priyanka Chopra, Betty Gilpin, Brandon Scott Jones, Alex Kis, Jay Oakerson, Jennifer Saunders
Directed by: Todd Strauss-Schulson
Written By: Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox, Katie Silberman
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English, French, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 89 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: Own Isn’t It Romantic on Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD on May 21, or Own It Early on Digital on April 30!

Recommendation: Decent Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will skip this one. lol.

 

[Asere]

I saw this one and thought it was just ok. My wife of course loved it lol.