The Other Zoey

I had a fun time with this one. As a fan of While You Were Sleeping (starring Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman), when I heard about The Other Zoey, I was like do we need another movie like this?

Apparently, yes we do.

I like the direction this one takes with the amnesia character assuming Zoey (the main character) is his girlfriend and then her being in a "love triangle" of sorts with his cousin. My main complaint is the pacing. I think it's very fast. It could be because I'm not used to a movie only being 90 minutes (when did everything get so long). I wish some of the bigger moments were slowed down a bit more.

But overall, the acting was fairly good and it held my attention. It's nice watching something new compared to something I've seen a ton.

This movie is likely the future of film if we move to scripts being generated by AI. It feels like they threw every rom-com and college movie trope into a generator and this came out the other end.

Full of implausibilities and plot holes, the story plods along and it's hard to get invested in it because every action is ridiculous. You almost start a game of guessing which stereotypical story they will dive into next.

The concerning thing is if the main roles were reversed, Zoey lost her memory and Zach lied about who he was, it would actually be a dark story about predatory behaviour. But because the girl lies, it's a bouncy rom-com.

That being said, for all the things that make it a paint-by-numbers film, it is extremely watchable. It has a Hallmark-movie-for-Taylor-Swift-fans vibe to it and it is visually enjoyable. The cast is truly great, the material they have to delivery isn't meaty, but they do so in a realistic way and each person brings their character to life well.

I'm very confused how Andie McDowell and Heather Graham got caught up in all of this.

So, stick the movie on on a Sunday afternoon - it's fun, it's well produced, but don't expect a storyline or script that will blow you away. You guess the entire arc of the film in the first 10 minutes. But it is watchable and even, for some, enjoyable.

I am a total romantic comedy sucker, whilst at the same time, completely hating the relentless steretypes and tropes, and being sickened by the internalised misogynistic/ paternalistic biases usually on display. I am always on the lookout for a truly NEW romantic comedy. This movie isn't quite that, but I think it's trying to take a step in that direction.

The romantic set-up uses a ridiculous range of tropes; my MOST hated here being; a smart person making a series of stupid decisions. And kudos to the 'amnesia' trope. The choice of amnesia in particular was a clue that the writer was deliberately using obvious tropes in an attempt to subvert them. It does a good job of showing rather than explaining this, so at least it assumes the audience is smart.

Whilst it's generally inoffensive, it is never quite moving, either as comedy or drama. Still. It is trying to say something...maybe the very simple "Don't close yourself off from love". And the cast is diverse, very natural in their characterisations, and of course, very beautiful.

Though it's nothing challenging, it is enjoyable, and I think, can claim to be uncommon in its lack of implicit misogyny. Feel reassured it is watchable. Purely for entertainment.

This is just another film that brings absolutely nothing new in terms of ideas. It features the usual cliché of a naive young girl who lies for far too long, embarasses herself, loses her friend for a short period of time and runs back to mommy. Eventually, she decides is time put on her big girl pants and face the world, which she does. And, lo and behold, like winning the lottery with a scratched-up ticket, she stumbles into the happy ending she most definitely doesn't deserve!

On a positive note, I do like seeing new/fresh/young actors with potential on screen, so at least it has that going for it.

It's predictable, something to watch when you don't want to think too much. I don't watch a lot of romantic comedies, but for some reason this one caught my attention and I even laughed at some scenes.

Just don't go in expecting too much. I actually think that some scenes are performed robotically on purpose, as some kind of "creative intent" or some other lie they're telling this days. But the images are generally beautiful and I liked how the movie looks.

It's so bad, but I couldn't stop watching it.

6/10 - it's not a movie anyone must watch. Go for it if there's nothing else and you want something light.