I Want You Back Review – a good but not great comedy

I was a MASSIVE fan of Jason Orley’s Big Time Adolescence and teaming with Charlie Day who I adore, I was excited the moment I found out about this project. So, today I share my review of Amazon Prime Videos, I Want You Back.

Director Jason Orley
Writer Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger
Stars Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, Scott Eastwood
Plot: Newly dumped 30-somethings Peter and Emma team up to sabotage their exes’ new relationships and win them back for good.

We know the story from the trailer. Two people who are in love appear to have found out that their significant other doesn’t want to be with them anymore. They both are devastated because they didn’t see it coming.

Emma (Jenny Slate) and Peter (Charlie Day) run into each other while both are crying on the steps at work. So they decide to mourn the breakups by getting hammered and doing karaoke together in a HILARIOUS scene. And the fact they went to see Con Air and Peter mocked the guy who he spoiled the movie to, it may have been the funniest moment as a film person ever.

The second act was incredibly rough around the edges and I felt like they had an idea of where they were going, but the execution was poor. But Pete Davidson shows up making this better THEN Ryan Atwood shows up as a Dad? Most remarkable recovery for a film ever. I wasn’t expecting these two cameos, but they ate up every moment they were on the screen.

More on the cast, everyone here played their parts that made the film good. I think they were stuck against some rough moments, as I mentioned in that second act, but their likability and comedy made you want to stick around regardless. Day can make the phone book sound cool and make you laugh.

While I liked I Want You Back, I was slightly let down by the film after hearing so many people ranting and raving about the film. I enjoyed the premise and of course, if we followed the identical romcom troupes we all know, it felt like it lost its way in the second act and never really recovered. So, again, I liked it, but I wish I loved it.

The Verdict: B-