Somebody I Used to Know: Film Review
After enjoying a surprise lockdown hit with his directorial debut, 2020 horror The Rental, Dave Franco returns to the director’s chair for the romantic comedy Somebody I Used to Know.
The movie stars Alison Brie (who co-wrote the film with Franco) as Ally, a workaholic producer who doesn’t know what to do with herself when her (hilariously silly) reality show is cancelled. She returns home and bumps into her ex Sean (Jay Ellis) and thinks reigniting that relationship will solve her problems, however, he is about to marry Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons). Ally makes it her mission to ruin their wedding and get Sean back.
While it revolves around Ally’s wedding sabotage plan, it’s a little deeper than that. It’s actually about Ally questioning her life choices and the path she’s chosen for herself. Cassidy reminds her of the wild, reckless, fun-loving person she used to be and her trip home forces her to assess the person she’s become and make changes to her life. That existential side of the film resonated with me more than the wedding hijinks, although they are pretty fun at times.
Brie is so good at playing highly-strung, annoying, meddling characters who often make unlikeable choices. But she brings humanity to them so you don’t write them off and are willing to see them do better. She has a palpable chemistry with Ellis as her former flame and her evolving relationship with Cassidy is interesting. Clemons is the opposite as the young, cool and exciting Cassidy and I enjoyed watching them bond, despite them wanting the same man!
Looking at the supporting cast, I also want to give a shout-out to Haley Joel Osment, who is absolutely hilarious as Sean’s brother Jeremy, and Julie Hagerty as Ally’s sweet mother Libby, who always seems to be having sex.
Somebody I Used to Know is a lovely way to spend 106 minutes. I enjoyed this movie in the moment but it is ultimately quite average and forgettable.
Streaming on Prime Video now