“At me or at your place.” Everything seems to be there, but why is the new Netflix romantic comedy not good?

First let me say: I love romantic comedies. I can forgive them a lot if they provide me with one and a half to two hours of film magic. Beware, there will be spoilers.

“At your place or mine?” The best of any of the heroes of this Netflix movie

The recipe for a good romantic comedy?

– 1 favorite actress

Is. Reese Witherspoon has enjoyed the sympathy of many viewers since “Legally Blonde”, he also has a lot of experience in romantic comedies (“Girl from Alabama”, “Like Heaven”), and at the same time something that a lead actress in a romantic comedy can rarely boast of: Oscar on account. In You Or Me, she plays Debbie, a Los Angeles-based mother who has to travel to New York to pass her accountant exam – not her dream career, but it’s a practical choice.

What’s the problem: While Witherspoon has a rom-com-perfect smile, here she plays an overprotective mother (which is not a complaint, of course) who has absolutely no problem violating other people’s boundaries. When she finds the manuscript of her best friend’s novel, she hesitates for a moment whether she should read it, since he never told her, but a moment later, she doesn’t mind showing it to the editor of the publishing house without the permission and knowledge of the author who also described it there intimate thoughts.

With you or with me? Erin Simkin / Netflix

– 1 favorite actor

Ashton Kutcher gained popularity years ago thanks to the not-so-bright Michael Kelso in the sitcom “The Pink 70s”, then he played in both box office hits and more ambitious cinema. He undoubtedly has the status of a Hollywood star today, even if after splitting with Demi Moore and being involved with Mila Kunis, they try to get out of the way of the paparazzi. And he was not hurt by the nominations or the Golden Raspberry Award. In addition, he is now on a roll with the “Pink ’70s” reboot, which debuted on Netflix earlier this year. That’s why on paper he presents himself as the perfect candidate to play Peter – a resident of New York who doesn’t really like commitments.

What’s the problem: With this character, I could dwell on, for example, Peter’s complete disregard of the rules that Debbie has developed in the mother-son relationship over the years, but I will focus on something that changes a pleasant romantic comedy into a completely unsympathetic story. Well, viewers at some point find out that Peter really loved Debbie for 20 years. Read: he was friends for two decades with a woman from whom he wanted more and allowed her to share everything that is said to a loved one with whom you have a non-sexual friendship for two decades. His explanation that something always kept him from telling the truth is a bit hard to believe. I was immediately reminded of the wonderful romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally”, in which we also have a long-term friendship, but on both sides – here the heroes at some point realize that they have “something more”, but no one has hidden such an important things in front of the other person for years.

– an unusual situation full of schemes

Nobody will reinvent the wheel, it is known that romantic comedies are stories about two heroes who for some reason are not together, and in the end they are supposed to be. Here we have two friends with twenty years of experience, who after a one-night stand never ended up in bed again, but they became so close that they know everything about each other. Or so they think… And when it turns out that just before the accountant exam, Debbie’s babysitter left Debbie, Peter decides: I’m coming and I’ll take care of your son.

It’s not always a surprise – and it doesn’t even have to be. Most often, and this is the case with “At your place or at my place?”, just for some reason one of the characters realizes that friendship, reluctance or whatever connected them is really love.

What’s the problem: The creators of “At your place or at my place?” they literally give Debbie and Peter a few minutes in one place, usually they communicate by phone or video calls (the split screen is a classic romance trick, used as early as 1959 in “Social Phone” with Doris Day and Rock Hudson). However, it is not easy to show mutual relations when there is no interaction. And here we have another, more important problem…

– chemistry between the characters

What’s the problem: she just isn’t there. And although some suggest, looking at the photos from the premiere, that Ashton Kutcher did not embrace his film partner so as not to provoke rumors of an affair, we also have evidence in the form of photographs that they can laugh together and feel good in each other’s company. Unfortunately, in “At your place or at my place?” Kutcher has a better energy exchange with another friend from years ago, the lesbian Alicia played by Tig Notaro.

Reese Witherspoon, Ashton Kutcher, and Tig Navaro Netflix

And even ticking off additional elements, although often found in romantic comedies such as:

– a sweet and resolute kid with a problem

– handsome “the third one” or beautiful “the third one” (here we have both – it is worth paying attention primarily to the unconventional Mika played by Zoe Chao, who in one second turns from being interested in sneaking into Peter’s bed into Debbie’s companion)

– a strange hero of the second plan (Steve Zahn, great in “White Lotus”, playing here for who knows why – and even “Notting Hill” proves that this theme can be played phenomenally)

– scene at the airport

didn’t help. If you’re looking for a good romantic movie on Netflix, .