Dove Review

The Synopsis

A young woman disenchanted with love mysteriously finds herself trapped inside a romantic comedy.

The Review:

Isn’t It Romantic? The title is a good question about the film. And the answer may not be completely clear. The film spends much energy making fun of tropes that fill (or plague?) many romance films and how their narratives may be predetermined to predictable elements. Natalie’s continual commentary on the ridiculous rom-com realm may be amusing but keeps the film from succeeding more as an homage to what it’s referencing. It is too busy making fun to let the audience genuinely enjoy the cliches. However, though Natalie hates the cliches, the film’s end is one, complete with a dance sequence. Sure, there may be an extra, and positive, step as Natalie learns more about loving herself, but even that aspect could be thought of as another cliche. This keeps the film from being a more successful subversion of what it is mocking and blurs the line until it might nearly become it.

There’s still the question: Isn’t it romantic?

If Natalie’s choices to love herself and someone else are her own and not just the result of storytelling cliches or predestination, then yes, it is romantic.

But, especially recently, those choices Natalie makes may also be thought of as rom-com cliches. Is Natalie independent? Or are her choices just cliches she doesn’t know are cliches? Are they steps toward a predestined ending beyond any of her actual influence? Is she helpless to the powers of cliches so intense she may not even recognize them? Where it might fail at romance, it may unintentionally succeed in being thought of as bouquet-colorful meta with fictional characters predestined to their fictional story’s cliches.

Isn’t It Romantic? has some positive aspects, but it also has much negative content, including sexual remarks and language. Isn’t It Romantic? is not Dove-Approved.

Dove Rating Details

0

Faith

A church is seen as the location of a wedding.

4

Integrity

A woman and a thief fight, and she runs into something which knocks her into a coma; a woman goes to step in front of a subway and then is stopped; a woman is hit by a car; a car crash; a woman at a hospital removes an IV and blood sprays a doctor’s glasses.

4

Sex

Much sexual discussion and many sexual jokes; a man and woman make out passionately, and she rips open his shirt; a man wears just a towel, and then throws it off and leaps into bed with a woman (no explicit nudity). Later, he’s again wearing just a towel, and she tackles him (again, no explicit nudity); women kiss men; men kiss men; a crass joke has a man making suggestive sounds while eating; a stereotyped gay character who a woman says is “…setting gay rights back…”; a woman, when taken away by the police, says her hands are on the officer’s “junk”; some provocative movements and dancing; talk about catcalling;

4

Language

Jesus’s name is said in vain; G-11 or 12; GD-2; H-3; F-1; S-14, including variations; B, and variations,-4; “p*ss off”; “wh*re”; one of the jokes involves language being bleeped, and some of the language may be guessed; C-1, with “holy”; reference to genitalia; “t*ts”; crass and sexual language, including “j*zz”; middle finger(s).

2

Violence

A woman and a thief fight, and she runs into something which knocks her into a coma; a woman goes to step in front of a subway and then is stopped; a woman is hit by a car; a car crash; a woman at a hospital removes an IV and blood sprays a doctor’s glasses.

3

Drugs

Drinking; talk of “getting wasted”; a man exhales smoke; a character sells pot and mentions how it’s beneficial that he lives near an all-girls' school (to, presumably, sell them drugs); prozac is mentioned.

3

Nudity

Revealing outfits with cleavage, including an advertisement; a man wears only a towel, throws it off, and later with the towel, is tackled. There is not any explicit nudity in the scene; swimsuits; a woman on a television is seen in a bathtub. Her bare shoulders are seen.

3

Other

Crass, rude jokes, including about weight; gay stereotyping and more; talk about wanting to die; a joke regarding Jesus; some ideas regarding love which not everyone may agree with; characters break into an ice-cream shop, and the man says he’ll leave a $100 tip; a dog leaves a mess for its owner; mention of a palm reader.