While the just-released Marry Me boasts some major global starpower, the just-released I Want You Back is the smarter choice for a circa Valentine’s Day romantic comedy. It’s quirky, engaging and refreshingly clever. And you can watch it on Amazon Prime Video! I Want You Back is a post-breakup meet cute about 30-somethings Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate) — two strangers who find each other crying in the stairwell of their Atlanta office building just after being dumped by their significant others. The two quickly bond over their grief, declare themselves “Sadness Sisters,” engage in some drunken karaoke, and then hatch a plan to break up their exes’ new relationships and win back the former love of their lives. Theirs is a tale of desperation fueled by social media envy.
As the plan unfolds, Peter stealthily befriends Emma’s ex Noah (Scott Eastwood), a personal trainer who has happily moved on with Ginny (Clark Backo), the beautiful owner of a pie shop; and Emma aims to seduce drama teacher Logan (Manny Jacinto), the new boyfriend of Charlie’s ex Anne (Gina Rodriguez). Peter has to do some heavy lifting– literally, and Emma has to feign an interest in the arts and volunteer her services on the set of a middle school production of Little Shop of Horrors.
Of course things spiral out of control – in funny, heartfelt, sad and endearing ways as the plan works on one level and blows up on another. The entire ensemble is fun to watch, though Day and Slate drive the bulk of the comedy and the drama.
There’s never much doubt where this journey will ultimately end, but the path is paved with enough witty, relatable and unexpected turns to keep viewers engaged and genuinely invested in who ends up with whom. There’s plenty to love about this love story.
I Want You Back opens on February 11, streaming on Amazon Prime Video.