Isn't It Romantic review round-up: Rebel Wilson leans on 'her comic persona to compensate for script’s lack of wit'

The first set of reviews on Isn’t It Romantic, a parody on romantic comedies, have started to come in. The film follows a young architect, Natalie (Rebel Wilson), who after getting hit on the head, wakes up in an alternate universe, where she becomes the protagonist of a real-life romantic comedy. Steered by Todd Strauss-Schulson, Isn’t It Romantic also stars Liam Hemsworth, Adam DeVine, and Priyanka Chopra. [caption id=“attachment_6077271” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A still from Isn’t It Romantic. YouTube screengrab[/caption] Here’s what critics have been saying about the film. Variety: “Isn’t It Romantic recognizes one essential rule of the genre: However predictable the overall outcome, audiences want to be surprised by the details along the way. Here, that’s not so much whom Natalie will end up with as what it will take to snap her out of her delusion — where the delusion isn’t how cutesy her life has become all of a sudden, but the notion that she was ever undeserving of love.” IndieWire: “Every trope, twist, and trick of the genre is up for skewering in the comedy, but the film keeps things light and smart, never dipping into darkness or crass jokes. It’s funny because it’s clever, but it’s also never cruel.” The Hollywood Reporter:  “A meta engine drives the movie, more or less: It’s a romantic comedy examining, if not quite dismantling, the mechanics of the romantic comedy. For all its winking jabs, this blend of giddy bits and teachable moments eventually follows the same old playbook.” The Guardian: “What’s surprisingly impressive about the film is just how much effort is put into the intricate new world. Earlier scenes, in real New York, are drab, muted and easily recognisable for anyone actually living in New York while her rom com universe is carefully, extravagantly designed with bright, vibrant colours.” The Wrap: “Neither the romantic nor the comedy portions of this movie are firing on all cylinders.” The Los Angeles Times: “Isn’t It Romantic does tackle the representation of gay men, and the problematic idea that women in the workplace are often enemies in these movies. But it doesn’t get at some of the more problematic and frankly creepy behavior by leading men that’s been normalized in rom-coms. The two male leads are harmless here, but there are some missed opportunities to really deconstruct the genre.” The Chicago Tribune: “Had Isn’t It Romantic turned into a full-on musical, the contrivances and tired, vaguely patronizing messaging would’ve been easier to ignore.” The New York Times: “(Rebel) Wilson, leaning on her comic persona to compensate for the script’s lack of wit or inventiveness, is a reliable deadpanner…The film’s reliance on conventions even as it snickers at them gives it the faint air of a con.” The AV Club: “By the end of the movie, the line between satirizing and indulging in rom-com cliché has become nonexistent, and a second dance sequence at the end of the film tips the balance toward unintentional cheese.”