Isn't It Romantic is a 2019 American meta romantic comedy film directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and written by Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox, and Katie Silberman. The film stars Rebel Wilson as a woman who finds herself in a world where everything around her plays out like a clichéd PG-13 romantic comedy. Liam Hemsworth, Adam DeVine, and Priyanka Chopra appear in supporting roles.
The film was theatrically released in the United States on February 13, 2019, by Warner Bros. Pictures, and in international territories by Netflix on February 28, 2019. It grossed over $48 million on a $31 million budget and received generally positive reviews from critics.
Plot
Thanks to her negative mother who insists girls like them don't get loved, architect Natalie develops a strong hatred for romantic comedies at an early age. This is exacerbated by her low self-esteem and difficulty in finding love.
Being a pushover, Natalie's lack of self-confidence causes her co-workers to not respect her position as architect, but rather pawn off menial tasks on her. These include sending her for coffee and throwing out their rubbish.
Natalie's assistant Whitney, a fan of romantic comedies, debates their veracity with her. Natalie sees them as full of lies, crap pop songs, unrealistic, full of montages... Whitney argues that flaws are what make people beautiful. Natalie points out the clichés, their lack of diversity, always a gay best friend who has no life, voiceover train of thought of the protagonist and a slow-motion segment.
Whitney says that Natalie is friendzoning Josh and believes he, their co-worker and her close friend, is in love with Natalie. She dismisses the notion because she is overweight and Josh appears to spend all his time staring at a model on a billboard across the street.
One day Natalie, naively believing a guy is hitting on her, is knocked unconscious during an attempted mugging in the subway and finds herself trapped in the stereotypical romantic comedies she has come to despise. Natalie arrives to a totally transformed apartment, huge and full of beautiful new things.
Natalie's relationships radically change. Blake, a sexy billionaire client of her company, suddenly speaks with an Australian accent and develops a romantic interest in her. Her normally gruff neighbor Donny, who has always come across as a misogynist, becomes a flamboyant homosexual friend offering advice. Whitney becomes her enemy coworker, although her other coworkers respect her.
Although Josh seems to be the same as always, he uses the Heimlich maneuver to save the billboard model Isabella, who identifies herself as a "yoga ambassador". They seem to fall into love at first sight and enter into a relationship.
Desperate to return to her reality, Natalie deduces that in the tradition of romantic comedies, she can only leave by finding true love. She encourages a relationship with Blake, but when it turns sour, Natalie recognizes that she has feelings for Josh, who has become engaged to Isabella. She attempts to stop their wedding, but soon realizes that instead of loving another person, she needs to learn to first love herself. Following this revelation, Natalie gets into a car accident and loses consciousness.
Natalie wakes up in the real world, but with new self-confidence, which she uses to successfully propose an architectural idea to Blake. After reuniting with Josh, she learns that he has not been staring at the model, but at Natalie's reflection. They kiss and begin a relationship.
As Natalie prepares to head home, Whitney tells her that despite her dislike for romantic comedies, everything she just experienced has been comparable to one. Realizing that she has been in a romantic comedy the entire time, Natalie and the rest of the characters proceed to engage in a rendition of "Express Yourself".
Cast
Rebel Wilson as Natalie, an Australian architect living in New York. Alex Kis as 12-year-old Natalie Liam Hemsworth as Blake, a billionaire client of Natalie's company and potential love interest in the fantasy world. Adam DeVine as Josh, Natalie's best friend and co-worker. Priyanka Chopra as Isabella, a billboard model who appears as a yoga ambassador in the fantasy world. Betty Gilpin as Whitney, Natalie's assistant and friend who becomes her nemesis in the fantasy world. Brandon Scott Jones as Donny, Natalie's neighbor, depicted as a flamboyant gay friend in the fantasy world. Jennifer Saunders as Natalie's mother Big Jay Oakerson as Gary Tom Ellis as Dr. Todd, the doctor in the fantasy world. Michelle Buteau as Martina Bowen Yang as Donny's Guy Eugenia Kuzmina as Eugenia