‘Somebody I Used to Know’ (2023) Review: A Standard Romantic Comedy
Dave Franco’s Somebody I Used to Know takes a less traditional route to writing a romantic comedy. It follows the familiar category of city girls returning to their hometowns to sabotage their former lover’s marriage. This movie borrows some elements from My Best Friend’s Wedding, where a woman is in love with her best friend and sabotages his wedding. Somebody I Used to Know centres on a former ex-girlfriend who sabotages the wedding of her former boyfriend. This romantic comedy lacks humour and follows a questionable character development to make this a great film.
In pursuit of the Hollywood dream, Ally’s (Allison Brie) popular baking reality show gets cancelled after three seasons. She’s dedicated her entire life to creating this show, even if it means selling her soul to the giant money-making machine. Her love life is non-existent. She has no friends except for her cat. Unable to find ideas for a new show, Ally’s mother, Libby (Julie Hagerty), invites her back to her hometown for a much-needed break. At Washington, she meets her ex-boyfriend, Sean (Jay Ellis), whom she ditched to pursue her dream in Los Angeles. They spent the entire night drinking, talking and dancing. Ally admits she made a few mistakes about moving to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams. When Ally thinks they are about to reignite their relationship, she finds out that Sean is getting married to Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons), a punk-rock singer, in a few days. Ally volunteers as the couple’s wedding videographer to break their marriage before it ever happens. But this leads to uncomfortable shenanigans to sabotage a healthy relationship for her selfish disillusionment.
Somebody I Used to Know certainly has some elements to become a classic romantic comedy. It introduces an unlikeable protagonist with questionable motivations that leads her to make decisions that hurt everyone around her. It’s an odd combination of a comedy-based setup. No one questions her monstrous motivations, and the movie never tries to portray it as destructive behaviour. This is because, ultimately, Ally’s mean actions would lead to a redemption arc that feels realistic. Surprisingly, the movie concludes with Ally’s actions being redeemed and forgiven for her destructive behaviour.
The humour in Somebody I Used to Know quickly gets old. Hagerty is underused in this role, plays the horny mother whom Ally cannot stop walking into the room mid-intercourse. In the beginning, the scene provides a shocking moment for the audience. But when this happens more than once, the momentum feels old and loses the humour behind it. The script is overstuffed with a lack of humour and inside jokes between Ally and her high school best friend, played by Danny Pudi, which feels unnecessary because the audience couldn’t possibly understand it.
Somebody I Used to Know takes a refreshing, less traditional take on the romantic comedy genre. There are genuine moments between Cassidy and Ally, who bond despite the minor conflict the writer builds between them. The movie does take a couple of unexpected turns, but the movie’s biggest strength lies only in Ally’s bond with Cassidy, who is dealing with something quite similar to what she went through years ago with Sean. This resolution will leave the audience wanting more; however, the movie ends just as it is about to begin. Somebody I Used to Know is not a movie anyone would want to root for the protagonist — except maybe when it’s about finding new creativity and getting a second chance.
