‘Somebody I Used To Know’ Review: Alison Brie Gets Vulnerable In Romance

Ten years ago, Ally (Alison Brie) left her boyfriend and their small, rural hometown lớn make documentaries in Los Angeles. Now, after three years as showrunner of a trashy reality show that crosses "Survivor," "The Great British Baking Show," and "Love Island," she tells herself that "it"s just lượt thích making a documentary, except that people watch it." Her most reliable trick is staying silent for ten seconds after an interview subject stops speaking. She has learned that is when the viewer-favorite revelations come, the ones with tears, raw confessions, or anger.

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But it is no longer enough. Two network executives, played by the always-hilarious Sam Richardson and Zoe Chao (also of this week"s "Your Place or Mine"), cancel the series. The show has consumed Ally"s entire life. It defines her. She has never taken those ten seconds to consider whether she"s where she wants to lớn be. With no idea of what to vị next, she decides to lớn go to the one place she was sure she didn"t want to lớn be, her hometown.

Ally then finds her mother (Julie Hagerty) in bed with a man & flees to a local bar, where she runs into Sean (a magnetic Jay Ellis), the ex she left behind to lớn follow her dreams.

We know what the Hallmark Movie Channel version of this story would be. But Brie và her co-screenwriter, husband, & director Dave Franco lượt thích to subvert those conventions, as Brie did as co-writer for last year"s "Spin Me Round." Brie likes to lớn give her characters some humiliating setbacks. And, less successfully, she likes lớn satirize pop culture: in "Spin Me Round," it was chain restaurants & the people who run and like them; in this film, it"s reality television. The heightened tone of those moments & a few other detours are a distraction from the otherwise-skillful establishment of more grounded connections & emotions.

But first, that Hallmark movie set-up.

Ally and Sean have a magical evening together, talking, laughing, và enjoying what seems like a random all-night Tyrolian festival, with alphorns and maypole dancing. Ally, feeling lost & alone, wonders if she can still have the life she once thought was not good enough for her.

Sean never wanted to lớn leave his home, possibly because of a sense of abandonment by his biological parents he has struggled with, possibly because he is Black & his family is white. He is very attached khổng lồ his family. Sean has gone to work for his father and built his dream home on his parents" property. His certainty and sense of community suddenly appeal to lớn Ally. It feels very comfortable to settle back into the easy rhythm she has with Sean, và when she goes to lớn his house to see him the next evening, with his family.

And then Ally learns that in two days, Sean is getting married khổng lồ Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons of "Hearts Beat Loud"), who made the opposite decision khổng lồ Ally"s. Although Cassidy and Sean have known each other only six months, she"s abandoning her successful career in the city as a punk rock singer (they opened for Sleater-Kinney) to live with him.

Sean"s mother, Jo
Jo (a wonderfully warm-hearted Olga Merediz), asks Ally to film the wedding, and Ally considers this a way lớn remind Sean that she"s a better match for him. Cassidy is on lớn her immediately, asking if she plans khổng lồ "My Best Friend"s Wedding" the weekend. But Ally starts to lớn warm to Cassidy, and after the punk group performs at the rehearsal dinner party, Ally starts to wonder whether it"s Cassidy who is making the right decision.

Brie and Franco draw on an exceptional cast of supporting characters, including Hagerty, Merediz, Amy Sedaris, Brie"s "Community" co-star Danny Pudi as Sean"s best friend, and Haley Joel Osment as Sean"s immature brother. Brie and Ellis have such appealing chemistry that we instantly believe in their whole backstory (we get a glimpse of their earlier time together in an old video), và Clemons continues to impress as both actor & singer. Brie is, as always, enormously appealing. She shows us that what matters here is not Sean, the person she used to lớn know, but herself, the one she"s just beginning lớn understand.

While it might have been more satisfying with a sharper focus, Somebody I Used to lớn Know is a funny, uniquely nuanced rom-com with some interesting things lớn say. Read critic review

Somebody I Used lớn Know (2023)

Workaholic TV producer Ally (Alison Brie) faces a major professional setback which sends her running khổng lồ the comforts of her hometown. She spends a whirlwind evening reminiscing with her first love Sean (Jay Ellis) and starts to question everything about the person she"s become. Things only get more confusing when she discovers Sean is getting married lớn Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons) whose confidence & creative convictions remind Ally of who she used to be.

Rating: R

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Original Language: English

Release Date (Streaming): Feb 10, 2023

Runtime: 1h 46m

Production Co: Amazon Studios, Temple Hill Entertainment, đen Bear Pictures

Cast và Crew

Alison Brie

Ally

Jay Ellis

Sean

Kiersey Clemons

Cassidy

Danny Pudi

Benny

Olga Merediz

Joanne "Jo
Jo"

Haley Joel Osment

Jeremy

Julie Hagerty

Libby

Ayden Mayeri

Kayla

Amy Sedaris

Dave Franco

Director

Dave Franco

Screenwriter

Alison Brie

Screenwriter

Marty Bowen

Producer

Wyck Godfrey

Producer

Michael Heimler

Producer

Leigh Kittay

Producer

Isaac Klausner

Producer

Ben Stillman

Producer

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Alison Brie

Executive Producer

Dave Franco

Executive Producer

Bart Lipton

Executive Producer

Laura Quicksilver

Executive Producer

Brian Lannin

Cinematographer

Ernie Gilbert

Film Editing

Danny Bensi

Original Music

Saunder Jurriaans

Original Music

Brandon Tonner-Connolly

Production thiết kế

Sean Roney

Art Director

Michelle L. Hall

mix Decoration

Show all Cast và Crew

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