I Want You Back
AMAZONReliance on others in a similar, stressful situation to their own is only natural. I Want You Back preys on that idea with inevitable changes to be matched up with someone thrown into the throes of emotional turmoil. Partner gone, house now empty and prospects of loneliness at an all-time high. Jenny Slate and Charlie Day make for the likeable, depressed pair sliced away from coupled life. In isolation they, inevitably, find love. That much is unavoidable. But I Want You Back is more about the process of loss in a relationship than it is about pairing up with someone new, and that mature take is a surprising one from director Jason Orley.
Mature it may be, it does not make I Want You Back anything more than solid, forgettable filmmaking. The back and forth between Slate and Day is enjoyable. Two nicely cast talents who should be hitting higher than romcoms are matched up fairly well. What comes clear with I Want You Back is that it is more a film about healing old wounds than leaping fresh into new ones. Orley makes the active choice to not pair up these characters right away, or even at all. Pursuing that avenue of misery loving comedy is a wise choice not because I Want You Back needs it, but because when it utilises that state of mind, it actually excels. Slate and Day are grand on their own and when together they’re just as strong. Orley has such a talented pair, and walking that tightrope of talent for much of this feature is a genuine delight.
Beyond the necessary chemistry, there is also an inkling of genuine comedy. Thoughtful moments are broken up with the light-heartedness that comes with two great comedians. Peter (Day) bawling his eyes out at a birthday party and Emma (Slate) being generally uncoordinated. It works because I Want You Back has two great stars at the core of it. Surrounding them are the usual talents that crop up in this sort of feature from time to time. Scott Eastwood and Gina Rodriguez play the dumpers, kicking the leading pair down just as they felt they were on the up and up. It’s the natural element for any rom-com, but I Want You Back is a little more than that typical setlist of ups and downs.
It is difficult to chastise I Want You Back as a “predictable rom-com” because, well, all of them are. What must be taken into account is the talented pairing in front of the camera, the supporting characters that surround them and the series of events that start bringing them together and tearing them apart. That much is coordinated evidently well. So long as the work follows that ancient route of every heart singing a song until another heart whispers back, then the story and characters within it will be just fine. I Want You Back feels a step ahead of the rest in that regard, truly trying to shake things up not in the direction it takes, but in the steps taken.