The Rom-Com is perhaps the most well-tread genre in Hollywood. Released in 2023, the rom-com ‘Somebody I Used to Know’ tells an original story from real-life partners Dave Franco and Alison Brie. It follows a once-until-recently-successful talk show host, Ally, whose reality show has just been canceled. As she flees to her hometown of Leavenworth to recover, she bumps into an old ex (Sean) who’s now engaged to someone else (Cassidy). Despite being engaged, Sean liked her Instagram photo and “bumped” into her at the old bar on purpose. Let the rom-com hijinks commence.
Honestly, the hijinks aren’t what people might initially think upon hearing the synopsis of the movie’s premise. The story takes a very grounded route in its approach to the twists and turns of the three main characters’ complicated relationships. In doing so, it ends up subverting both tonal and sometimes plot expectations. The movie’s writing definitely has some strengths and weaknesses, and could have probably been better in its script. But while the end result has its ups and downs, it ultimately transcends the conditioning of the Rom-Coms before it, proving that Rom-Coms don’t have to play into certain toxic choices in order to be engaging.
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Its Message is Seasoned with Equality
Probably the best and most refreshing thing about this movie is how it treats the two main female characters. Most Rom-Coms that share a similar concept end up expressing a pretty sexist worldview. The sexism normally manifests as the two female leads getting into ‘catfights’ and jealousy matches, often trying to thwart each other’s advances towards the one male lead. It perpetuates the myth that women aren’t able to simply sort out an uncomfortable situation between each other like mature adults. For some reason, in most Rom-Coms, women can only argue and be angry towards each other when a man is involved. Countless Rom-Coms are guilty of this bizarre prejudice, some notorious examples being ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’, ‘She’s the Man’, and ‘27 Dresses’. Movies like these act as historical proof that this genre of movies’ views of women are, unfortunately, often marred by dangerously regressive thinking.
Most of the time, ‘Somebody I Used to Know’ avoids this very well. In all honesty, the film still makes some smaller mistakes in this regard. The beginning sees the two women share a few jealous moments. However, once they start to get to know each other, the movie pretty much throws this toxicity entirely out the window in favor of a more emotionally intelligent analysis of what these characters actually want and how they actually feel about each other. Ally doesn’t really hate Cassidy: she reminds her of herself at a younger age, and is proud of her boldness in living the creatively liberating life she wants to live. Cassidy doesn’t hate Ally: she’s impressed by Ally’s varied life experiences, and is fascinated by the direction she’s taken in her older and wiser life. Both could use each other’s unique insights, and luckily for their sake and for the quality of the movie’s sake, they come to realize this. This one key component bumps the quality of the story up tenfold. Choosing to make Ally and Cassidy enjoy each other’s company while handling the messy situation they were dealt with single-handedly makes the overall situation feel more realistic, understandable, and tolerable to watch.
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The Actors and Actresses Give the Script Quality
Another trait this movie possesses that adds to the quality of the movie is the performances. Whatever occasional cheesiness lies in the script is saved by the solid cast. Kiersey Clemons, Alison Brie, and Jay Ellis all give some much-needed realism to the feelings they experience. Their emotions are ever-evolving in the current situation, and they usually feel a bunch of them at the same time. Sometimes, this fact isn’t necessarily incredibly evident. Characters will make a silent facial expression or look off somewhere in private. In those moments, it’s up to us to discern all the things that the character is feeling. Sometimes, it’s very unsubtle. In one of the most important scenes in the movie that resolves a majority of the conflict, Cassidy tells Ally point-blank: “I hate you right now, but thanks.”
This, in and of itself, is incredibly realistic. Love can be a difficult thing to process, and is rife with plenty of different thoughts and feelings happening simultaneously. It would be disingenuous to portray it as anything else in the movie. ‘Somebody I Used to Know’ delivers on this front, trying hard to carve out situations wherever it can. Daring to make them more complicated was an incredibly smart idea, especially against a backdrop of a more traditional Rom-Com premise.
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The Visual Style Helps Tell the Story of Two Places
Another terrific thing about this movie is the directing. Dave Franco debuts his directing style with this film, and as someone who’s relatively new to directing, he has a solid grasp on the art form. One way this versatile directing style comes in handy is in dealing with another popular Rom-Com trope. Like many other Rom-Coms before it, ‘Somebody I Used to Know’ utilizes the “torn between two worlds” idea pretty heavily. Ally has been in Los Angeles for at least three years. The contrast between this and the life people choose to live in her hometown, Leavenworth, is pretty obvious, glaring at the viewer right in the face.
Through Dave Franco’s directing and his and Alison Brie’s script, the movie does a good job of highlighting the differences between what life probably looks like in each city. In terms of dialogue, it’s made very apparent by the characters around Ally that her life in Los Angeles has had plenty of stark contrasts to theirs. Her ex, Sean, jokes to her about how he thinks her life is busy, and maybe a little disingenuous at times. This helps play up the busyness and fast-paced nature that Los Angeles is normally associated with. Leavenworth is explained less through writing and more through direction and situations. People who build lives there usually enjoy rural, quieter areas where many people have known each other for a while.
Two years since its Amazon Prime debut, Dave Franco’s directorial outing ‘Somebody I Used to Know’ still sparks conversation for its refreshing take on rom-com dynamics.
Director: Dave Franco
Writers: Dave Franco, Alison Brie
Actors: Alison Brie, Jay Ellis, Kiersey Clemons
By Zachary DePiore
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Zachary DePiore graduated from Ohio University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Communications. He’s loved writing his entire life, from creating picture books when he was seven to learning how to write copy, scripts, audio stories for radio and more in college. The Hollywood Insider’s dedication to combining deft storytelling and positivity made him realize that this had to be his next step forward. Some of his hobbies include traveling, tv shows, and movies. His favorite show is Avatar: The Last Airbender. As of right now, he’s a charity fundraiser in Cincinnati.
Zachary DePiore graduated from Ohio University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Communications. He’s loved writing his entire life, from creating picture books when he was seven to learning how to write copy, scripts, audio stories for radio and more in college. The Hollywood Insider’s dedication to combining deft storytelling and positivity made him realize that this had to be his next step forward. Some of his hobbies include traveling, tv shows, and movies. His favorite show is Avatar: The Last Airbender. As of right now, he’s a charity fundraiser in Cincinnati.
