Set It Up

It has some fantastic one-liners and generally great dialogue and chemistry between the leads. I was especially happy seeing Zoey Deutch in a movie that deserves her. I've always found her charming, but her prior leads roles were in Vampire Academy and Dirty Grandpa, which didn't inspire confidence in her career.

The only things keeping me from truly loving this is that it's predictable in the end, and more importantly the score was an abomination ripped straight out of a Hallmark Channel original movie. It felt like someone flicking me in the face for 90 minutes.

.... there were definitely some places where it could've been funnier, but overall I enjoyed it. It was super distracting at the end when all the passerby's were staring, obviously meaning they couldn't afford to block side walks and hire extras. The Positive: I found myself smiling long after scenes had ended. Definitely a feel good movie.

I'm disappointed in all of the harsh criticism. This movie was fun and lovable. They set the tone for what to expect in the very beginning. "Over-acting?" It's a romantic comedy for crying out loud. I recommend this movie for the perfectly-delivered, witty dialogue. As an added bonus, the chemistry between Zoey and Glen was fantastic.

Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell reunite after the excellent Everybody Wants Some (2016) in this low frills, high-chemistry rom-com. There isn't much to dwell on here, as 'Set It Up' proves the ideal low-stakes Friday night Netflix watch.

Deutch and Powell play Harper and Charlie, two young and ambitious characters working for a very special brand of pushy, domineering bosses. When they realize their common predicament, they set out to...set up their bosses, in the hope that it will lead to quality of life improvements for themselves. In an ironic twist, the ones being pushed around leverage their insights into personal scheduling and personal preferences to ensure the mis-match ends up matching. As is usual for mischievous do-gooders, there will be fraternizing and moral conundruming. And it will be fun.

Any successful rom-com hinges on the compatibility of its leads. Luckily, that's not an issue here, with both potential couples gelling or not gelling just as intended. It's the energy of all four key characters that keeps the movie alive, thanks to the odd piece of witty writing or amusing situation. I think I only rolled my eyes once at some ultra-corny moment that could have been avoided, but beyond that, director Claire Scanlon works gently and fairly with her characters. Everybody learns an important life lesson by the end and, surprisingly, it's a lesson I relate to, although I've never had the issue of overworking myself in order to avoid pursuing my passions. There are other, more pleasureful ways of doing it.

7/10 - a sweet rom-com that features great performances by Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell