Isn’t It Romantic Blu Ray Review (Warner Bros)

Isn’t It Romantic is a 2019 comedy film directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson (The Final Girls, Onion News Empire, Drunks Vs. Highs, & Zombies and Cheerleaders). The budget was $31 million & it grossed $48.8 million worldwide at the box office. In the early 90s, a young Natalie watches the romantic comedy Pretty Woman & her alcoholic mother crushes her spirit and enthusiasm by telling her that women like them do not get happy endings in real life. 25 years later, Natalie (played by: Rebel Wilson from Pitch Perfect franchise, The Hustle, Bridesmaids, & The Brothers Grimsby) is working as an architect in New York City. Twenty-five years later, She has low self-esteem & she is treated as a pushover by her colleagues. Her assistant Whitney (played by: Betty Gilpin from Glow, Nurse Jackie, A Dog’s Journey, & Masters of Sex) watches movies all day instead of helping her. A new client & billionaire named Blake (played by: Liam Hemsworth from The Hunger Games franchise, The Expendables 2, Independence Day: Resurgence, & Cut Bank) mistakes her for an assistant during a key meeting.

She is frustrated so she goes out with her best friend Josh (played by: Adam Devine from Workaholics, The Final Girls, The Lego Batman Movie, & Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates) for karaoke. She gets attacked by a mugger later that night & accidentally knocks herself unconscious. She wakes up & everything is different all the sudden. Her life is perfect now, she has a better place, she is respected by the people around her, & men are throwing themselves at her now. She is very confused about the situation & she thinks it feels like all those romantic comedies that she hates. Her grumpy neighbor Donny (played by: Brandon Scott Jones from 24×24, Other People, & UCB Comedy Originals) is her new gay best friend & helps her discover new life as she struggles believe all of this is real. Blake is trying his best to convince Natalie to be with him. Josh ends up saving & meeting swimsuit model Isabella (played by: Priyanka Chopra from Baywatch & Quantico) which causes Natalie to rethink her own feelings. Natalie has it all now but she is starting to realize what she was always wanted was right there but is it too late now????

Todd Strauss-Schulson did an amazing job with The Final Girls. The slasher parody came out of nowhere, it really impressed me! So when it was announced he was doing a similar film with the romantic comedy sub genre I was instantly curious about the project. I had a bad feeling when I first seen the trailer & I should have went with my gut feeling on it because this was the worst comedy I’ve seen all year. Unfortunately, Rebel Wilson was cast as the lead. She is not funny, she’s a horrible actress, & I honestly don’t understand why she is so popular. I will say I can tolerate her in small doles & in supporting roles sometimes. She was alright in Bridesmaids & The Brothers Grimsby but I’ve hated everything else she’s been in besides those two. One of the high points about this production was the amazing chemistry between Rebel Wilson & Adam Devine. Adam Devine can be hit or miss with his roles but he was the best thing about this movie. He definitely helped Rebel out when it came to her performance. The script was sloppy & weak. It tried way too hard to make fun of previous rom coms but it fell flat almost every time. Pretty Woman was a huge influence on this, a few of those moments were actually funny but for the most part it was just very awkward. I love satires & the concept was actually very interesting but it wasn’t executed the way it should have been. I know they did it on the purpose but the soundtrack for this was one of the worst I’ve heard in a film in a long time. The musical number at the end was cringe worthy & it was a bad way to end this train wreck.Not going to lie, I will never watch this again & I felt like it was a waste of time. If you are curious about it, I highly recommend renting it first.

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Warner Bros! This 1080p (2.40:1) transfer looks great on blu ray! Rebel Wilson has some crazy outfits & the cinematography really captures New York. It has 4 different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, & Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 on the release. It’s a dialogue heavy feature & everything is crystal clear here. The music & score has a huge boost to it on these tracks, it blasts through the home system. It also has a variety of subtitles which includes English SDH, French, & Spanish. I wasn’t a fan of the actual film but this a great technical release!

Let’s discuss the special features from Warner Bros on this release. 4 “Deleted Scenes” that run almost 7 minutes which includes “Closet Therapy”, “A Monument to Love”, “Tub for Two”, & “A Good Surprise”.  Nothing major here, I can see why these were cut but fans of the film will enjoy them. “I Wanna Dance!” is a little over 4 minutes. It has interviews with director Todd Strauss-Schulson, actors Rebel Wilson, Adam Devine, Priyanka Chopra, & various members of the production. It’s a behind the scenes look at the big scene at the end of the film. They talk about putting together the musical number for this. They chat about getting the right vibe & getting the choreography down for it. This release also includes a slipcover, a digital code, & a DVD copy of the release. It’s available everywhere right now!!!!