I Want More Rom-Coms Like I Want You Back

One hallmark of contemporary studio comedies is apparent disdain for the antediluvian concept of a script, as if following words on a page has grown passé and allowing actors to make up gags as they go along has become the preferred method. There are, of course, people with a facility for improv, and I Want You Back gives the sense that Day and Slate are two of them: There’s a casual amiability at the heart of their interactions, an unshakeable feeling that they’re so relaxed in their roles and their screen partnership that what reads as riffing comes naturally. It’s entirely possible that they aren’t riffing at all, and that Aptaker and Berger’s work was adhered to with minimal alterations during the shoot. If that’s the case, then the alternative explanation to Day and Slate’s charming performances is that they’re good at acting. This is a slightly less satisfying account, but it’s offset by the satisfaction of their screen presence.

Peter is characterized by affability. He can make friends with anyone. You want him to make friends with you, too, but watching him make friends with Noah—whom Eastwood plays with a chipper, modern-day masculinity that’s shockingly approachable—suffices. Emma is characterized by empathy. She feels deeply for others, whether Peter or Trevor (Luke David Blumm), a troubled kid at Anne’s school whom she befriends and comforts. Day and Slate treat them both as authentic people instead of as caricatures: Prototypical Day freakouts are absent from I Want You Back, and Slate carries herself as she does in films like Landline, putting realness ahead of silliness. When the movie does get silly—and, whether at an ill-advised clubbing afterparty or an awkward attempt at a threesome, the movie does get very silly indeed—it’s buttressed by all of the relatable, wonderful humanity Orley’s leads bring to their parts.

The film leaves itself dangling in the climax with a couple of plot resolutions that don’t quite land or which clang against the spirit Orley, Day, Slate and frankly everybody else on board foster throughout the rest of its running time. There’s another minor quibble, too: Studios today are seemingly incapable of making comedies that clock in at 90 minutes. I Want You Back is just a symptom of that problem, though, and the minutes it has are mostly used well, so the stumbling pace it hits toward the end can be forgiven. More studio comedies should take chances on their principal cast members the way I Want You Back does. Even if little else here worked, at least Day and Slate do.

Director: Jason Orley
Writers: Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger
Starring: Jenny Slate, Charlie Day, Noah Eastwood, Gina Rodriguez, Clark Backo, Manny Jacinto, Luke David Blumm, Isabel May, Pete Davidson
Release Date: February 11, 2022

Bostonian culture journalist Andy Crump covers the movies, beer, music, and being a dad for way too many outlets, perhaps even yours. He has contributed to Paste since 2013. You can follow him on Twitter and find his collected work at his personal blog. He’s composed of roughly 65% craft beer.