Someone Great is a Netflix movie about a woman who gets her dream job but loses her boyfriend of 9 years because she has to relocate. Gina Rodriguez and Lakeith Stanfield star in the romantic comedy. 

I have to start this review off by saying that Romantic comedies are not really my genre. I am trying to expand my tastes and be able to talk about these movies though. Someone Great is not a typical romantic comedy however as it starts out at the end of the relationship with flashbacks to the good times. The movie isn’t about finding the love of your life but about having to end a relationship with the person you thought was.

This one actually hit pretty close to home in several regards but we won’t get into all of that here. I want to say it’s a modern story but I’m sure it’s actually one that was more common in the time before we had cell phones, social media, facetime, and other means of communication that allow you to connect with people anywhere in the world almost instantly. That aspect of it is what makes the breakup so difficult on Gina’s character.

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Someone Great has a lot of very deep, very real, and moving moments throughout. While the drug use was a bit much for me the chemistry between the ladies and the themes that are addressed in the movie made it a solid watch.

The cast

I’ve mentioned that the movie was led by Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) and Lakeith Stanfield (Atlanta) but the other members of the cast were strong as well. Gina’s character (Jenny) spends most of the show with her two friends Erin and Blair, played by DeWanda Wise (She’s Gotta Have It) and Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect) respectively. The three ladies have amazing chemistry despite their very different on-screen personalities. Blair is the most straight of the three, professional and clean-cut for the most part. Blair is the laid back type. She’s pretty much going with the flow throughout the movie, only getting serious when necessary. Then Jenny is the fun, goofy one. All three women are intelligent and ambitious but aren’t defined by these traits.

On the men’s side, Nate (Lakeith) is mostly there in flashbacks. He reminded me of myself in a lot of ways. Very chill, not super expressive even in the emotional moments but a deep thinker. They seemed to balance each other out well in that regard but it feels like his character was threatened by Jenny’s success, even though she seemed to support his professional endeavors. There are two other somewhat important male characters played by Alex Moffat (Saturday Night Live) and Peter Vack (Homeland) but they are better learned as the movie goes along.

The flow of the movie

I usually write about the pacing in a movie but for this one I think the way it flows is more important. It’s a short watch at only an hour and a half so pacing was not going to be an issue.

Someone Great wants to be a fun movie at its core with some real moments throughout. The way this was handled was brilliant because it lulled you into a false sense of security before bringing you back down. They basically take you on the emotional roller coaster ride with Jenny. The entirety of the movie is about Jenny needing her friends to take her mind off of her freshly ended relationship. They’ll be in the middle of dancing, or singing, or laughing about something before Jenny is reminded of Nate or a moment in their relationship and the mood quickly shifts. By the end the movie the tone shifts in the opposite direction to bring resolution to key ideas at play.

Drug use

You may or may not know that I live a sober life and while I don’t judge those who don’t it’s not necessarily something that is going to appeal to me since I can’t relate. I almost questioned why it bothered me so much in Someone Great but didn’t bother me in movies like Pineapple Express. I’m going to chalk that up to my age or the fact that it was unexpected in this one where I knew what i was getting into with Pineapple. It could also be that I’m an old geezer at this point in my life. This is just  personal thing but I mentioned it in my quick review so I figured I’d address it.

*Bonus*

I debated not adding this but I will. DeWanda Wise’s character, Erin, has a very interesting story arc and I think I enjoyed her character the most.

Overall

If you aren’t like me and excessive drug use doesn’t bother you and you have a romantic bone in your body you’ll likely enjoy Someone Great. The acting is good, it’s funny, it’s touching without being sappy and I’m sure a lot of people can relate to it. I actually didn’t think about it until just now but there are a lot of moments in a relationship that you see throughout the film and I didn’t roll my eyes at any of them. They’re all very real situations that will definitely hit you in your feelings. Keep the Kleenex handy.

-Bibs