Why Can’t My Life Be a Rom-Com? movie review

IN A NUTSHELL:

After years of bad boyfriends, Eliza decides to follow the rules of dating from a 50-year-old self-help book about how to marry a rich man.

The film was written by Rob Lotterstein, and directed by Rich Newey.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

• A single woman talks about living with various boyfriends who don’t help pay rent.
• A women’s friend tells her to trap a rich man by taking off her bathing suit top and pretending she was drowning in the water.
• Another thing the woman’s friend tells her to do is buy an expensive dress, wear it, and then return it to the store the next day. Tip: talk to your kids about unethical friends.
• Unmarried couples sleep together (we see some action but no nudity)
• Some profanity

THEMES:

• One of the characters says the most important thing is how we treat other people.
• Friendship
• Ambition
• Love
• Romance
• Money and power
• Hard work
• Going after your true passion

THINGS I LIKED:

• John Hughes movies of the 1980s had all the charm and quirk a romantic comedy should have. This new rom-com pays homage to the Hughes formula and tropes. I love movies that reference other movies. Yeah, I’m that kind of a nerd.
• The young cast includes Em Haine as the leading lady, along with Sofia Munoz, Aren Buchholz, Markian Tarasiuk, and Byron Lawson. I hadn’t seen any of them in anything before.
• I love movies that also reference books. In this case, it’s a how-to book that doesn’t exist in real life, although there are plenty of actual books on the same topic.
• Young women today will be able to relate to some of the characters in this film.
• Things move quickly, so the 2-hour movie flies by.
• There is some cute humor.
• We get to see character growth in the two young women who are featured in the story.
• We get to spend time at a beautiful location and with the rich and beautiful people.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• The studio kept changing the title of this. One title was “Why Can’t I Be Molly Ringwald?”
• I hate that “modern” young women think that being a feminist means they can be a tramp and use men.
• It’s extremely predictable in every way.
• As a mom, I have a lot of issues with how both of the young women behaved.
• The film itself is pretty straightforward with no unique camerawork or direction.