"Comfort" Movie and TV - A Streaming Guide: Isn't It Romantic

So, yeah.  The last two months. Wow. We're all still trying to wrap our heads around how drastically and quickly the entire world can change.  The last time I thought about writing in my movie blog it was Saturday, March 7th.  I remember the date specifically because I had just seen Onward in theaters and wanted to tell people how much I enjoyed it.  Little did I know that it would not only be the last major film release for four months, but that it would be available to purchase digitally a mere two weeks after its theatrical release.  Chances are very good that many of my friends have seen it now because another two weeks after that it was available on Disney+.  I decided not to write in my blog because I just didn't have time.  I had far too much to get done for school.  I had a choir concert to prepare, accompaniments to get done, a musical to write and get ready for auditions and a June performance...but life had other plans. Yes, that escalated quickly.

So, since there will be no major new release movies in theaters until July, if then, I'm going to use my blog to recommend some "comfort" movies and t.v. shows.  By using the word "comfort" I mean I won't be recommending that World War II epic you've been meaning to see because it's important or that t.v. series with all the serious actors that's winning all the rewards.  These recommendations won't be perfectly baked vegetables.  They'll be calzones.  Grilled cheese.  Kettle corn.  They'll be fun. I'll spotlight one as often as I can until this whole mishegas is over.

Isn't it Romantic/PG-13/Available on Hulu and for rent on Amazon Prime or Vudu

Considering the fact that I'm a pretty big sap, it may come as a surprise to some to learn that, for the most part, I really don't like romcoms.  I use the shortened version rather than "romantic comedies" because the movies I dislike are so shallow and formulaic that to give them a longer title is to give them far too much credit.  I like comedic romances that are genuine, clever, witty, and character based. I like Sleepless in Seattle.  I like Return to Me. I like My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  I adamantly dislike the movie where the stunningly gorgeous woman is somehow seen as horribly plain because she's wearing glasses and she has two grossly stereotyped best friends who, regardless of the stereotype, are there to be sassy and make sure she doesn't do her makeover montage alone and there's the guy she's infatuated with, but is totally wrong for her and if she'd just turn around and look at her lifelong best friend she'd realize that love was looking her in the face the whole time. I hate that movie.  Fortunately, so does Isn't it Romantic.

The movie follows Natalie (Rebel Wilson, in her most likeable role) as an architect who used to love romcoms until her mom (the perfectly cast Jennifer Sanders) shuts her down as a young girl while watching Pretty Woman.  "They'll never make a movie about girls like us," she asserts, "and you know why? Because it would be so sad that they'd have to sprinkle Prozac on the popcorn." So Natalie becomes an adult who hates them with a passion and, in a long diatribe, tears apart all of the cliches I mentioned above.  However, after an altercation in a subway leaves her unconscious, she awakes in a different dimension.  A dimension where the streets of New York smell of lavender and "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton is always at the ready to inexplicably waft through the air. A dimension where all the doctors look like fashion models and her wardrobe and apartment are chic beyond any reason.  A dimension where she can't swear, where spontaneous intricately choreographed musical numbers are the norm, and handsome men call her beguiling. She's trapped in a PG-13 romcom.

Once the movie gets to the romcom dimension, it's a straight-up spoof, not only of romcoms, but of the very artifice of film itself and that humor is a lot of fun.  However, the film comes to a conclusion that turns the idea of "falling in love" on its head and the ultimate message is a welcome surprise.

This is one of the first movies in which I've ever seen Rebel Wilson play a real character as opposed to the "fat girl" caricature she normally gets strapped with and it's a real pleasure to see.  She has a natural relatability and charm.  Plus, she's finally given a role that can not only magnify her comic strengths, but also show that she is a viable lead who can carry a story.

This isn't a classic romantic comedy, but it's quite a bit of fun.  For my friends with kids, the movie is rated PG-13 for language and sexual innuendo, so please take that into consideration when deciding to watch it and deciding for whom in your family it would be appropriate.