Amazon Studios’s I Want You Back is one of the rare romantic comedies that works for both couples that are still together and single people who’ve gone through a breakup before. It’s a surprisingly refreshing romcom that doesn’t feel cheap, lazy, or too melodramatic. It helps that it also stars Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Jenny Slate (Parks and Recreation), two actors who usually play side characters and comic reliefs rather than romantic leads, providing livelier energy than the typical straight-laced, generic coupling.

Day and Slate play Peter and Emma, two strangers who’ve recently been dumped by their respective partners. Peter’s girlfriend of six years, high school teacher Anne (Gina Rodriguez, Someone Great), breaks up with him because she feels their relationship has become too comfortable. Soon after, she starts dating her colleague, drama teacher Logan (Manny Jacinto, The Good Place). Emma’s boyfriend, personal trainer Noah (Scott Eastwood, The Fate of the Furious), breaks up with her because he feels like she’s irresponsible and stuck in arrested development. He, too, starts dating someone new, baker Ginny (Clark Backo, The Handmaid’s Tale).

Peter and Emma work in the same building, and when they meet by chance, they decide to hatch a plan to win back their exes by having the other sabotage their exes’ new relationships. It’s a plan that’s sure to backfire. And, of course, Peter and Emma are sure to fall for each other in the midst of this disastrous plan. But despite following some familiar genre beats, I Want You Back sets itself apart by going into some genuinely surprising directions, particularly with the depiction of the lead characters’ exes.

It would have been easy for the film to treat the exes as the bad guys undeserving of our leads’ affection. The film takes a different route by offering Anne and Noah, and their new partners Logan and Ginny, some surprising depth—to the point where you may not actually root for the demise of their new relationships. I thought I knew where the film was going after the predestined third act blow up, but the resolution was mature and rational, offering a different thematic perspective to the genre that would inspire many viewers.

Directed by Jason Orley (Big Time Adolescence) and written by Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger (Love, Simon), I Want You Back is a fun new addition to the romcom genre that packs equal parts romance and comedy (I laughed out loud several times, especially at a particular cameo appearance). Day and Slate are both charming and share great chemistry with one another, proving they’re able to carry films with some dramatic depth instead of being relegated to the manic side character.

Three out of four Kents.

‘I Want You Back’ is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Like what you’re reading? Consider supporting me on Ko-fi by donating just $3!