I Want You Back (2022) User Reviews

Better than I thought it would be.

[rstef1 · 7/10 · 11 February 2022]

The movie is a cute romcom, nothing more or less. But unlike many others of its genre, it actually has some funny moments along with the tender ones. Charlie Day and Jenny Slate have chemistry together and Scott Eastwood and Gina Rodriguez score laughs as the supporting players. The final scene is a groaner, but I enjoyed the rest of the film.

I only watched because of charlie day

[bosimmons-44782 · 7/10 · 12 February 2022]

So, i only watched this because of Charlie day and i have to say it was not as bad as i thought. It was really cute and something i have not really seen before when it comes to the story. It wasn't the normal formula as other romcoms but i have to say i knew the ending from the beginning but was happy to watch it play out. I would recommend this to watch.

Funny and cute

[wvj3 · 8/10 · 12 February 2022]

This is one of the best rom coms I've seen in a long time. Growing up in the 90's there were so many I loved but haven't seen any in year. This was definitely a good one to watch.

Reversed how I thought I'd feel about the movie

[kier420 · 6/10 · 9 March 2022]

Charlie said in a podcast that even when the script was handed to him it was given with something along the lines of "eh I don't know if you're into it, it's not your style". I'm saddened to say I felt the same when I first saw the trailer, cute well done story line, but that it wouldn't click right with Charlie as the MC. I was slightly unsure of Jenny as well. I was happily proven wrong after watching. Their characters blended so well together I was thoroughly impressed with the actor's chemistry. It was the writing that felt flat. The plot had good potential and it kept my attention until the end but I felt like multiple scenes were missing that spark that would've made the scene soar.

A surprising standout in the genre

[mpboylanjr-54038 · 7/10 · 11 February 2022]

I wasn't expecting much out of this movie , and through the first 20 minutes I thought it would just go into a pile with the rest of the cheesy romcoms, but I am a sucker for a good one and I want you back actually is very decent. It has some funny and sweet moments and the two leads are very good. You either love or hate Charlie Day, let's be honest he's pretty much the same guy in every movie, but if you can stand him you probably will enjoy this film. Definitely a good watch with your significant other. The little shop of horrors suddenly Seymour song is great !!

Day and Slate make a nice combo

[ferguson-6 · 7/10 · 11 February 2022]

Greetings again from the darkness. It all happens in the first three minutes. Peter gets dumped by Anne, and Emma gets dumped by Noah. We haven't even had a chance to form any opinions of these two long-term relationships, and just like that ... they are both kaput. Director Jason Orley and screenwriters (LOVE, SIMON collaborators) Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger toss us a curveball by having the dumpees form an alliance to help the other win back their dumpers. It's an unconventional approach in this genre and it works due to some sharp writing, and the extraordinary comic timing of the two leads.

Nice guy Peter (Charlie Day, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") loves kids, loves the elderly, and loves Anne (Gina Rodriguez, ANNIHILATION, 2018). She abruptly dumps him because he's a bit boring and she wants a "bigger life" ... her dream is to be a Broadway star. Peter is crushed when she dumps him. Emma (Jenny Slate, OBVIOUS CHILD, 2014) works as a receptionist at an orthodontist office, and Noah (Scott Eastwood, THE OUTPOST, 2019) appreciates her humor, but is turned off by her lack of career ambition. Mind you, he's a fitness trainer. Emma is crushed when she dumps him.

Peter and Emma have a sobbing meet-cute in the stairwell of the office building where they both work, and soon, drunk karaoke and lots of alcohol lead to quite an intricate scheme. Emma will seduce Anne's new boyfriend Logan (Manny Jacinto), while Peter will befriend Noah and talk him out of love with new girlfriend Ginny (Clark Backo). The expected results find the appropriate exes crawling back into familiar arms. It's a plan seemingly doomed to failure, but certain to provide many opportunities for laughter.

The scenes featuring Charlie Day and Jenny Slate are easily the film's best. These are two talented and funny actors who play off each other beautifully. Of course, we presume to know where all of this is headed, and it may involve a threesome and a balcony jump into a hot tub ... or it may not. The concept of sabotaging someone else's happiness in hopes they will return to you is a bit psychotic to say the least. But it's all handled with kid gloves and plays off the old adage, "misery loves company." A bit of truth and relatability occurs as both Emma and Peter dread the idea of starting over in love - a quite common dread. The film kicks off with Jimmy Durante singing "The Glory of Love", and though you'll likely laugh a few times, you'll likely notice the lack of glory in the behavior of Emma and Peter.

Exclusively on Amazon Prime Video February 11, 2022.

Charlie Day hit it out of the ballpark

[Genkinchan · 6/10 · 28 February 2022]

We all know the story line of this rom com... how the movie we played out... it was predictable to say the least but with all the cast doing their best it was kinda of enjoyable for me especially Charlie Day hot the ball right out of the ballpark with his hilarious performance..

The remaining cast Jenny Slater, Scott Eastwood etc put in quite the show to keep it afloat

The soundtrack was decent too.. but I find the movie to be quite long.. should have shorten it by 15 minutes or so

Overall worth a watch.

Surprisingly great.

[Ken_ZomgWtfBbq · 8/10 · 11 February 2022]

Cute, sweet, and funny. A few belly laughs

Day is convincing enough but Slate is the standout.

Highly recommend if you're a fan of the genre, or want a cute romantic film.

One of the funnier rom coms I've seen in a while

[cardsrock · 7/10 · 3 March 2022]

The humor is the clear standout here. Day and Slate have loads of great lines and made me chuckle throughout. The story is pretty cliche and doesn't really surprise you, but it's sweet and you'll have a good time.

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 5/10 · 18 February 2022]

Apart from the ending, which was hmm nearly an open ending, the film was enjoyable. The premises were interesting and the progress was smooth, though the story was more or less predictable and didn't differ from any other movie out there with the same theme. Still, the main actors had chemistry, which helped the movie a lot.

Definitely Scott Eastwood's best movie

[Eggoreluckadman · 8/10 · 11 February 2022]

Really enjoyed this which makes sense since Jason Orley's previous film Big Time Adolescence was one of my favorites of 2020.

Now his second feature I Want You Back is one of my favorites of 2022.

Charlie Day and Jenny Slate are an endearing duo and Gina Rodriguez and Scott Eastwood are just as good as their respective exes.

It is a cheesy and predictable, but with Orley's direction the film has layers and heart.

Pleasant

[matthewssilverhammer · 7/10 · 26 March 2022]

I Want You Back meets the bare minimum for the rom-com genre: it's sweet and funny. Based on so many others in the genre, this is a harder bar to meet than one may think. Day is good, and Slate is a treasure; they play their friendship turned (spoiler...I guess?) romance with a When Harry Met Sally... influence and confidence that is as unashamed as it is corny. The secret weapon, though, is Eastwood; he needs to do more comedy like this and less copying of his dad's beady-eyed, masculine stoicism.

Mmm I don't know

[AfricanBro · 5/10 · 16 February 2022]

I liked watching this but I can't willingly or confidently say I actually like the movie itself. It definitely gets better as you watch along, maybe that's because it's two hours long and you get invested in the characters. It felt like a script from a different era, like a 2000's or early 2010's movie for me, where gaslighting, manipulation and all didn't really get you cancelled and they weren't trying to sneak in some agenda into the movie. And the comedy aspect of the movie is the characters put in funny situations instead of just having witty comments or jokes in the dialogue. Just a simple lighthearted romcom, it's not trying to blow you mind away or have you in your feels.

Charlie Day plays the same annoying character in every movie but I liked the rest of the cast so I still wanted to see it through and I'm glad I did because it becomes sorta worth a watch towards the end. The concept is similar to horrible bosses; you help me and I'll help you situation. I'm hesitant to call it a good movie because "10 things I hate about you", "love, Rosie", "Definitely, Maybe", "one day", "50 first dates" etcetera etcetera, those are good movies, they're not the best in the genre, but depending on your taste could make you go like oh I really like that movie. Not this, this is just the good type of okay. I think.

Arguably subpar, but Slate and Day make it worth the ride

[aidanratesmovies · 6/10 · 18 February 2022]

A fun premise with charming stars, turned sour at times- I Want You Back certainly doesn't do anything new for romcoms or these actors careers- but it is light fun that is fine for a casual watch at least once. First off, i'm really happy to see underrated comedic actors Charlie Day and Jenny Slate take on lead roles here- because their talent so far in their career has largely taken on the form of supporting characters. Both have a great chemistry, and provide some seriously brilliant laughs and gags throughout. The dialogue is written quite well, although the story is a bit of a mess at times. The concept is intriguing, but also feels half thought, and it's ending proves to be a bit too meager to remain satisfying. The rest of the supporting cast was fine, some overdid it (Scott Eastwood, Gina Rodriguez), and some were just meh. Oddly enough the only person in the film besides Day and Slate that proves to be rather memorable and decent was kid actor Luke David Blumm who has several fun moments throughout the film. In the end, I Want You Back is nothing special- but it does serve as a wonderful showcase for stars Slate and Day- two comedic actors who are vastly underrated- and some funny moments here and there. The script is poor at times, tonally awkward, and forgettable- but its not a bad watch. Just could have been better.

My Rating: 6/10.

Good break up movie

[Gailthesnail8 · 7/10 · 13 February 2022]

Good cast. Funny but serious I guess. If going through a breakup, it's very good.

Charlie day and Jenny slate are hilarious as always. I didn't recognize the rest of the cast, but they were good.

It's a full circle, kind of getting closure movie. It doesn't try to sugarcoat the hurtful things.

Something old, something new...

[ailemad · 6/10 · 12 February 2022]

I have to admit I was nervous about the pairing of Day and Jenny, but omg I laughed..so hard! It's the perfect mix of drama and comedy. It brought back so many real emotions that a break up brings that I wanted to cry, but the humor and lightheartedness kept me from doing that, which makes it a perfectly balanced rom-com. Somewhat clichè, very slow parts near the end and dragged out, but very watchable.

funny, cute & fresh

[a_filmcritter · 6/10 · 12 February 2022]

Pros: romcom style, fresh and funny, easy watch Cons: filler/unnecessary scenes, dragged out plot

The dynamic between Slate and Day is fun. They have some funny and sweet moments, and it doesn't feel forced at all.

However, there were scenes that were completely unnecessary and made the movie drag. The dialogue/script was average and the ending was cheesy and predictable (but isn't that true for all romcoms).

One of the best of its type

[uberdonkey6 · 8/10 · 13 February 2022]

Romcom with gentle feelings and beautifully written.. now I don't mean super romantic, nor super funny. It's beauty is in the touching characters, all of whom are human and just trying to do their best. Also, it is unpredictable in its delivery.. you really have no more idea who will end up together than the characters do. Only predictable bit is climax where they all meet back up together at the end. The writing is also quite gentle, thoughtful, but not soppy. I'm 50 yr old guy, and think this would appeal to both men and women.

Watch this if you want a nice film to see with your partner or just a Sunday afternoon film which will keep you watching. Not something for the background, at start seemed a little confusing/complicated, but overall a satisfying film. Well done to the team who made it.

Cute cheesy rom com

[justinemarquez-19098 · 7/10 · 11 February 2022]

This movie has good chemistry between Charlie Day and Jenny Slate. It's one of those classic feeling rom coms where you know the ending but you still want to see how they get there kind of thing. I will say the only small issue I had was certain scenes where Slate's character gets close to a middle schooler and drives the kid home without permission from his parents where they end up talking about sexual things (don't worry, it's not like that) as well as gives him her personal phone number to keep in contact with her...I don't know it just felt unnecessary and honestly a little creepy if this were a real life situation if that makes sense. I understand that they were setting it up to make her realize her true calling as a guidance counselor, but they could have gone about it another way. I will say this, the ending was albeit cheesy but very cute. I walked away (from my couch) feeling that both Slate and Day deserve more leading roles in the future.

Funny rom-com filmed in Atlanta and Savannah.

[TxMike · 13 February 2022]

Simple premise that starts the movie - two couples who don't know each other have almost simultaneous breakups. In one case the girl dumps the guy, in the other the guy dumps the girl. The two "dumpees" meet quite accidentally and soon decide to cooperate. Each will get involved with the other's ex and do something to break up the new relationships so each can win back their lovers.

There are a few things annoying about the story and the characters, particularly Charlie Day's high-pitched raspy voice is extremely hard to listen to at times. But he and the other actors do fine jobs with the roles. It is pretty easy to predict where all this will end up but it gets there in an unpredictable way. Overall a very entertaining, lightweight comedy about relationships.

My wife and I watched it at home after dinner and a bottle of Zinfandel, streaming on Amazon Prime.

not good

[herotop-44195 · 1/10 · 1 March 2022]

I watched this movie and I think that it is very unsuccessful. There is no story or subject matter. A very ordinary cast and they do not have the necessary charisma and an empty, stupid scenario. They failed to make us laugh and we did not benefit from anything. The money wasted to produce such films. I hope to see useful and touching films in the coming days -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thank you.

Sweet and funny

[tsta-35379 · 8/10 · 12 February 2022]

I watched this due to being a fan of Jenny Slate and Charlie Day. It was a nice mixture of humor and sweet moments with their characters. The other characters were a bit boring but maybe that was intended so the focus would be on the main characters? Overall a good watch if you enjoy romantic comedies.

"We're all just pretending we know what we're doing"

[BrunoRatesTheMovies · 7/10 · 27 February 2022]

Very surprised by this one. Felt like the grandchild to Harry Met Sally. I say grandchild as it had similar beats, but was still generationally removed. I had fun watching this but it felt like Is should have been a series as it does drag out in the 4th act. Yes, I said 4th act.

Should be called super Charlie

[pauldmcnally · 4/10 · 19 February 2022]

Poor film, straight to dvd or VOD material. Film heavily relies on Charlie for laughs. The majority of actors fall flat with jokes and can't carry the film. The film is also too long, could have been done in 50mins.

The Cast Really Sells this Standard Rom-Com

[kjproulx · 7/10 · 28 February 2022]

In a recent review, I was mentioning the fact that most romantic comedies go straight to a streaming platform these days, with only a few exceptions. I Want You Back is yet another one of them, but sadly, I don't hear many people talking about this one. With so many options to watch right now, I have a feeling this one will be forgotten about, but it shouldn't. Does it have a lot of overused tropes? Yes, but the nature of how they're presented felt fresh. Here's why, at the very least, I think it's worth checking out when you don't know what to watch.

Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate) are both newly single.

Neither of them did the breaking up part and neither of them is over their exes. After meeting each other and bonding over their similar situation, they become friends and attempt to ruin new relationships that their exes now have. I'm sure you can guess where the story goes and you'd probably be right, but it's the journey that got to that point that I enjoyed. It never felt like a cheesy rom-com, but the ending was overly cheesy and I think it was intentional.

Charlie Day is hilarious as always and gives a deeper performance than I'm used to seeing from him, so that alone sold me. Jenny Slate has also nearly always impressed me with her performances and I think this might be her best yet. On top of that, the supporting cast of their exes in Scott Eastwood and Gina Rodriguez both added a layer of silliness to the movie that I thought was great. For being as streamlined of a movie as it is, I was still entertained from start to finish. I would also like to shout out Manny Jacinto, whom I've only ever seen in the series The Good Place. His presence in this film had me laughing on multiple occasions. Great job!

Overall, I Want You Back is about as basic as you can get with a storyline like this, but it's elevated by some fun surprises in the script from writers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. The cast works very well together and I believe director Jason Orley has a bright future in feature film directing. This was the biggest film he has done to date and I think it truly did showcase some "actors directing" talent on-screen. I walked away from this film basically nodding my head in agreement as I knew how it was going to end, but I just have to admit that I still like what they did. I Want You Back is nothing you haven't seen before, but it's still worth watching.