Recently, Netflix has perfected the recipe for the instant classic rom-com with recent successes including The Kissing Booth, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, Alex Strangelove, #RealityHigh, and now Someone Great.  The largest difference between Someone Great and all the other films is that the others focus on teenagers, while Someone Great focuses on an “older” demographic, the almost 30-year-olds. And although this age group dating and being romantic isn’t out of the ordinary in real life, it is in rom-coms, especially in the recently successful films. In my opinion, I give Netflix props for reaching out of their comfort zone and adding variety to the rom-com comeback.

Someone Great focuses on the aftermath of a break-up of the nine-year relationship between Jenny Young, played by Gina Rodriguez, and Nate Davis, played by LaKeith Stanfield. Jenny is moving from New York City to San Francisco for her dream job, being a  journalist at “Rolling Stone” Magazine. This forces her to not only leave behind her boyfriend but also her two best friends, Blair, played by Brittany Snow, and Erin, played by DeWanda Wise. Jenny and her friends decide to have one last crazy day before she leaves, in order to help Jenny get over the breakup that at first is claimed to be only because Nate doesn’t want to do long distance. But throughout the day Jenny has flashbacks of her relationship, both the good and the bad. Through these flashbacks, the audience, and Jenny is able to see that the situation isn’t so black and white. The film is a statement on growing up and how that never really ends, as well as someone being perfect for you — whether it be romantically or in a friendly way — for only certain parts of your life.

The movie was a fun watch, mainly because it was the kind of movie where you could turn your brain off, not have to think, and just sit back and relax. There were some genuinely funny moments, and others that were forced, or just not funny at all, but that’s expected in a rom-com. The characters, as well as the plot, tried to be modern, key word being tried. Although there were many relevant references, there were also many irrelevant ones, I can’t help but think that in one or two years, the references will all be considered old and cringey.

What else was cringey? The predictability of the film; although rom-coms tend to be predictable, there was not a single moment of the film that I did not see coming. This caused me to zone out quite often, and not become as invested in the characters as I would have, had there been a surprise or two in the film. Speaking of characters, the chemistry in this movie varied. The chemistry between Jenny and her friends felt as natural as it could, but her chemistry with Nate was nonexistent and awkward. The actors looked as if they were uncomfortable, and wanting to simply just get the scene over with.

Actor, Gina Rodriguez, is known for her role as Jane in the television show Jane The Virgin, and as I was watching this movie I felt as if I was watching Jane, not a new, different character (even the names are similar, Jane and Jenny). Not that the character of Jenny wasn’t entertaining, it just felt overdone and used as the characteristics, quirks, and even dreams of the two characters were very similar.

For me, the biggest problem of the movie was the timing, some scenes were unnecessarily long and important scenes were way too rushed, especially the ending. Due to this, the movie felt much longer than it actually was. Although I was quite harsh on this film and I wouldn’t watch it again, I would say if you are in a rom-com, turn-off-your-brain, laugh-at-stupid-jokes kind of mood, then this is the movie for you.