So today I’ve had a lot of coffee and I’m crashing. I was looking for a movie where my brain could go on autopilot for a while, so I settled on this.

It starts out with a little girl and her mom. The kid is watching Pretty Woman and her mom strolls in and proceeds to tell her that happy endings aren’t real and that girls like them never get the guy because they are normal people and unattractive. Rebel Wilson plays the adult version of the girl Natalie. She is taken advantage of by people, ignored, and looked over because she isn’t is as attractive as most girls (read: fat). Her work buddy Josh who is a normal guy seems interested, but she doesn’t notice him because she is oblivious to love in general.

Natalie and her work buddy discuss romantic comedies and how horrible they are. She mentions voiceovers, clothing montages, breaking up weddings, gay best friends, and are generally toxic. I’m inclined to agree with her. Almost every romantic comedy I’ve ever seen is formulaic and trite. Let’s see how this goes.

She is on the subway going home when a man from the next cart motions to see if she wants a drink. After getting off the subway, she is mugged and hits her head on a pole. When she wakes up she has entered her own romantic comedy. Everything is cutesy, her apartment is brand new and pretty (even her dog). Every troupe that she hates is playing out from having a female rival at work, wrecking a wedding, flamboyant best friend, hot and rich guy falls for you (but you love your best friend), karaoke, sex isn’t showed, but moved to a morning after in a towel), dancing, and singing at random. This is basically her nightmare and she runs commentary on all of it.

Every part of the romantic comedy formula happens from love, discovering you’re in love with someone else, betrayal, and finding love at last. What I do like about this is that this isn’t in the way you think because she doesn’t need to be with someone to love herself. This is the best part of the film. Is it cheesy and has it been done? Yes. Did I like it? Yes.

The romantic comedy world is there to teach her to be happy, more sure of herself, and how to take a chance. She feels like she has to get someone to fall in love with her, but finds that she has to fall in love with herself. She leaves with self-confidence and respect. Cute movie, obviously and unabashedly cliche, but cute. Would I sit through it again? Eh, maybe if nothing else was on.