Quelqu'un Que J'ai Bien Connu

Greetings again from the darkness. As consistently as January brings horror films, we can count on February to deliver Romantic Comedies released around Valentine's Day. Although, these days, even rom-coms tend to arrive carrying the weight of social messaging wrapped in inclusion, with a concerted effort to avoid ruffling feathers and hurting feelings. The husband and wife writing team of Dave Franco and Alison Brie, with Franco directing and Brie in a lead role, have managed to play by the new rules and still deliver a watchable film - albeit one that I found more sad than comedic.

Ally (Alison Brie, THE POST, "Mad Men") is a showrunner/producer of a dessert-centric reality TV show. Season three has just wrapped, and Ally has been informed her show will not be renewed. As with any career-minded person, Ally is devastated and heads home to visit her mother and clear her head. The hometown she left a decade ago to chase her dream of being a documentary filmmaker in Los Angeles is the 'always Christmas' town of Leavenworth in Washington state. An awkward intrusion on her mother (Julie Hagerty) sends Ally to the local bar where she bumps into the former flame she dumped to purse those doc dreams.

Ally and Sean (Jay Ellis, TOP GUN: MAVERICK, 2022) quickly fall into the comfort zone of a long ago relationship, and spend the night frolicking about the town. Sean does refuse the intimate offer from Ally, which leads her to blindly stumble into his engagement weekend the next day. Yep, it's a detail Sean conveniently forgot to mention during their wild night, and now Ally is face to face with Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons, ANTEBELLUM, 2020) and Sean's entire family. His mother's (Olga Merediz) request for Ally to be the wedding videographer is just the opening Ally needs to begin her battle plan of stopping the wedding.

It's at this point where we can't help but think of MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING (1997), and the writers take this head-on with a mention. We can't tell if Ally thinks she can win back Sean or if she is merely taking out her frustrations in recognizing what she turned down years ago when she chose career of Sean. The tone begins to shift when Ally sees Cassidy performing with her punk rock band, and as the two women talk to each other, it becomes clear that Ally views Cassidy as a younger version of herself. Cassidy even discloses that her bisexuality caused the estrangement with her closed-minded parents. So how does one undermine the wedding of another who isn't so bad after all?

Also involved are Ally's old best friend Benny (Brie's "Community" co-star Danny Pudi), who injects some humor and tries to prevent her meddling, and Sean's stepbrother played by Haley Joel Osment, who tosses out a Brendan Fraser reference ... actually kind of funny, especially in comparison to the Jeremy Renner joke that will likely cause mass cringing. Most of the characters are grounded enough that it's a difference from many rom-coms, but we do get the feeling a few times that much effort was put forth in creating something outside the normal tropes, rather than the typical "aww, how sweet" moments we are usually subjected to in this genre.

Dave Franco is the younger brother of James Franco, and is a frequent actor who previously directed THE RENTAL (2020), one that varies substantially from this one. Alison Brie is best known for her acting roles, but also previously wrote HORSE GIRL (2020) and SPIN ME ROUND (2022). Here, she doesn't shy away from a character that we initially pull for, yet end up kind of annoyed with. It's not a typical break-up movie, or sappy romance, or he/she is 'the one' story. Instead, it draws on mean girl tendencies, jealousies, and regrets ... yet also delivers the message of staying true to one's self. As a compliment, it can be said that the film cannot be lumped in with our usual Valentine's Day saccharine.

Opens in theaters on February 10, 2023.

I like Allison Brie a lot. She is charming in some ways in this Romantic Comedy about a Los Angeles television star who returns home after her show is cancelled and reconnects with her ex-boyfriend. Ted by he problem is that her ex-boyfriend is now engaged and on the verge of getting married, and it gets complicated. Jeremy is played by The Sixth Sense's Haley Joel Osmond, and is very awkward. There are some cute moments. The premise is a little mean, but Brie's lovable personality makes it less so-or does it. The meanest part is how her boyfriend's current girlfriend is inadvertently collateral damage. Many of the lines and relationship are weak. It is low budget. It is predictable . It is awkward-not romantic in my opinion.

Hey, Streamers! It's mid-February, and it seems you either watch romantic comedies or you're anticipating the Big Game. For those who aren't into the latter, here's some more counterprogramming courtesy of Prime Video and the minds of Dave Franco and Alison Brie, Somebody I Used to Know. It's a "romantic" comedy involving wedding shenanigans, which we all love. Am I right??? Here's whether you should know this somebody.

Dave Franco directs the screenplay he wrote with his wife and the movie's star, Alison Brie. Somebody I Used to Know takes place over a few days in Leavenworth, Washington when Ally (Brie) returns to her mother's home after her reality television show was canceled. While in town on day one, Ally predictably runs into her old flame, Sean (Jay Ellis), after ten years; and they seem to pick up right where they left off. Sean, of course, is hiding the big news of his impending wedding, which leads Ally to go full-on Julianne Potter (My Best Friend's Wedding reference). Wedding sabotage hijinks ensue.

This storyline is so tiresome. How many times do we have to see a woman, usually, attempt to sabotage her ex's wedding? Why would anyone think that's going to turn out good for you in the end? Why would you even want someone who was easily manipulated by you? Is that satisfying? I have so many questions for this played-out genre.

Now, Somebody I Used to Know steps right into all of the problems with this genre of romantic comedy. It is predictable and unoriginal. In fact, it borrows so heavily from My Best Friend's Wedding that I am now wondering if that was Franco and Brie's objective. It is a shame that this movie feels so derivative because Alison Brie is generally a likeable screen presence. You can easily root for the characters she plays, even someone who is being so manipulative. The one good thing that Franco and Brie have added to this movie is a theme about self-empowerment. The screenplay revisits ideas about making oneself happy, and it is impactful at times. I wish those ideas had been more in the forefront than the wedding sabotage.

There really isn't much else here. There's a nice sing-along to look forward to. Haley Joel Osment and Danny Pudi get some good moments, but Osment, in particular, is so unnecessary. That's all really. Eh. *Shrug*

Ultimately, Somebody I Used to Know is fine but too derivative, unoriginal and predictable to really be interesting. While the movie hints at other meaningful themes, it settles with the cliches of wedding sabotage movies to be its driving force. That's pretty disappointing. Alison Brie is a pleasant on-screen presence and Haley Joel Osment gets some daffy moments. I'd only suggest a handful of popcorn for this if you need something to fill the time while waiting for Rihanna's halftime show.

Ally (Alison Brie) runs a superficial reality-TV show. When it gets canceled, she feels empty and decides to go home to visit her mother. She runs into her ex Sean (Jay Ellis) whom she dumped to go to Hollywood. She starts questioning her choosen path.

This starts like a Hallmark rom-com. I didn't get Alison Brie doing something like that. My hopes got raised with the two "That B". I thought it was Game On. Instead, the story chooses a sincere and sweeter path. It's more than Hallmark, but still very much a version of rom-com. Brie is the co-writer with husband Dave Franco and he's directing.

"Somebody I Used to Know" is slightly better than other Amazon rom-com efforts but still falls flat. What charm this movie has is mostly driven by grounded characters + the cast and lead's solid chemistry. Other than that it basically follows the bad romcom formula to a T:

• The 'likeable'/'relatable' lead character is actually unlikable due to their abhorrent actions
• It is mostly directionless and relies heavily on ridiculous drama driven by characters refusing to communicate. Outside of Ally there is basically no organic character/relationship development
• It heavily relies on childish gross-out/nudity/sex driven humor that isn't funny if you're over the age of 15

All of the above combined with a 15 minute too long runtime and the writers thinking people in their mid-30s acting like teenagers is somehow charming results in something 'watchable' but not very engaging.

If you liked Community you might enjoy the novelty of seeing Alison Brie and Danny Pudi on screen again. Otherwise, there's not much point in watching this.