Written by: Kevin Berge
Awww, isn't that cute? Two good-looking white twenty year olds finding love in their shared failure to find their joy in their successful jobs. (Image Courtesy of: mashable.com)
Quick Take: Set It Up has all the expected trappings of a romantic comedy from its set-up to its execution, but it works by embracing those elements. With strong writing, direction, and acting, this is a film that celebrates the romcom with emotion and heart.
***This review will be focused on the overall themes and ideas of the film. It will not contain direct spoilers, but those who have not seen the movie yet may find hints of the overall story structure. This is not a film driven by its main plot, but those who have not seen the film read ahead at their own risk.***
The romantic comedy genre is not all that unique and complex of a genre. It has a fairly simple structure that almost all films in the genre from the best to the worst follow. It can be hard to distinguish the classics from the bland copycats by just looking over the story structure.
That's why the genre has had limited success in recent years. No one knows how to make a simplistic genre like this last. Surprisingly, it may be a Netflix movie that has the answer. That answer is simply trust the formula and write it well. What a concept!
Set It Up focuses on Harper Moore (Zoey Deutch), the assistant of big-time sports journalism editor Kirsten Stevens (Lucy Liu), and Charlie Young (Glen Powell), assistant to business mogul Rick Otis (Taye Diggs), as they try to set up their high-strung bosses in a romance to bring them both back down to earth.
This is enough of a concept to stand out, but the movie is not looking to be completely original. It is not going to surprise audience members with its twists and turns. It's clear from the opening scene that the real romance of the story is between Harper and Charlie, and they are going run into issues along the way.
It's not complexities or surprises that make this tale work though. It is simply strong elements coming together. The writing by relative newcomer Katie Silberman is emotional and genuinely funny often, forgiving one embarrassingly bad idea in an elevator.
The romantic comedy genre is not all that unique and complex of a genre. It has a fairly simple structure that almost all films in the genre from the best to the worst follow. It can be hard to distinguish the classics from the bland copycats by just looking over the story structure.
That's why the genre has had limited success in recent years. No one knows how to make a simplistic genre like this last. Surprisingly, it may be a Netflix movie that has the answer. That answer is simply trust the formula and write it well. What a concept!
Set It Up focuses on Harper Moore (Zoey Deutch), the assistant of big-time sports journalism editor Kirsten Stevens (Lucy Liu), and Charlie Young (Glen Powell), assistant to business mogul Rick Otis (Taye Diggs), as they try to set up their high-strung bosses in a romance to bring them both back down to earth.
This is enough of a concept to stand out, but the movie is not looking to be completely original. It is not going to surprise audience members with its twists and turns. It's clear from the opening scene that the real romance of the story is between Harper and Charlie, and they are going run into issues along the way.
It's not complexities or surprises that make this tale work though. It is simply strong elements coming together. The writing by relative newcomer Katie Silberman is emotional and genuinely funny often, forgiving one embarrassingly bad idea in an elevator.
Awww, isn't that cute? Two successful capitalists finding love in their shared respect for power and influence. (Image Courtesy of: netflix.com)
Director Claire Scanlon (The Last Man on Earth) brings out the emotion of each story thread and utilizes her charismatic leads well. In particular, she brings out the strong chemistry between the talented young pair of Zoey Deutch (Everybody Wants Some!!) and Glen Powell (Hidden Figures).
This is a tale of two twenty-somethings still struggling with their own maturity, using the framework of the assistant role to explore how trapped they are in their lives. Harper is a prospective writer working for an editor rather than writing her own work. Charlie is a prospective businessman trying to garner favors rather than doing any business.
The plot surrounding them is a throwback to the classic 90s romcom, but the heart of this tale is solidly modern, playing on the real-world concerns of the current millennial generation, my generation. These are not completely closed off high schoolers not are the fragile adults looking for meaning in new relationships.
Interestingly, that role is taken up by their bosses. These are strong independent people who these young millennial are pulling together. They have no comfort and control over their own lives, but they know everything about their bosses, know just how to make them tick.
This dynamic could almost be seen as a starting point for discussion on the genre, questioning why this formula is so simplistic. There's far more to the relationship between Harper and Charlie than that of Rick and Kirsten because the main character's relationship is developed honestly.
As a whole, Set It Up is not a complex take on the world or its genre. Much of its focus would fit right into the cinema scene 20 years back. However, that is all right because there's honest emotion, joy, and laughs in this film. It is a film that shows quite simply that a well-told story is all a movie truly needs.
This is a tale of two twenty-somethings still struggling with their own maturity, using the framework of the assistant role to explore how trapped they are in their lives. Harper is a prospective writer working for an editor rather than writing her own work. Charlie is a prospective businessman trying to garner favors rather than doing any business.
The plot surrounding them is a throwback to the classic 90s romcom, but the heart of this tale is solidly modern, playing on the real-world concerns of the current millennial generation, my generation. These are not completely closed off high schoolers not are the fragile adults looking for meaning in new relationships.
Interestingly, that role is taken up by their bosses. These are strong independent people who these young millennial are pulling together. They have no comfort and control over their own lives, but they know everything about their bosses, know just how to make them tick.
This dynamic could almost be seen as a starting point for discussion on the genre, questioning why this formula is so simplistic. There's far more to the relationship between Harper and Charlie than that of Rick and Kirsten because the main character's relationship is developed honestly.
As a whole, Set It Up is not a complex take on the world or its genre. Much of its focus would fit right into the cinema scene 20 years back. However, that is all right because there's honest emotion, joy, and laughs in this film. It is a film that shows quite simply that a well-told story is all a movie truly needs.