It isn’t actually hard to fall in love with romantic comedies. We are, after all, wired to…well, love. All we really need is a couple of people with good chemistry, a beautiful setting and we’re set. We promise. It’s easy.
Falling Inn Love isn’t just that, though.
No, Falling Inn Love is the kind of romantic comedy that doesn’t always rely on the main characters’ chemistry, but that actually cares about establishing who the two are as individuals before bringing them together. Moreover, it’s the kind of romantic comedy that’s actually, gasp, not just about the romance, but about the community of people.
That’s what makes it so good.
Well, that and the fact that Christina Milian and Adam Demos have the kind of chemistry that can make you see fireworks. Because, of course, this is still a romantic comedy. It all comes back to that.
I have a bunch of other good things to say, but let me start by praising these two, and how convincing they are as two people who bicker, not because they’re that different, but because they are that similar. TV has lately lost its north when it comes to bickering, which was always meant to be about this, about not understanding each other, and never about actually trying to hurt each other.
This is “enemies” to “lovers” done the only way it could actually work in real life. Because, trust me, the chances of you actually falling for the person who tried to kill you or something of the sort, are slim to none.
So, yes, the movie does that in a way that isn’t just respectful and kinda nice, and it does it all within an environment that feels like…well, family. Each and every one of the relationships within the movie feel real. Gabriela’s friendships with these new people, as well as Adam’s relationships with just about everyone, are not just there to add color to the story, they are real things that we can relate to.
Even Chelsea, because she’s less of a stereotype and more of a person who can do bad things, but isn’t actually bad.
You know, like in life.
I think you get my point. And, I haven’t even gone into the one thing Falling Inn Love does better than most romantic comedies around: diversity.
Look, I’ve only been waiting for a latinx-led rom com for 84 years, and when I got it …it was beautiful. Because no part of the plot was about Gabriela being Latina. She just was. Her last name was Diaz, she spoke English and Spanish, and that was it. That’s who she was. Period.
Yes, there is a place for TV that delves into people’s roots, and I appreciate that as much as the next person, but there’s also a place for quiet acceptance of diversity, and a romantic comedy that isn’t about finding yourself is probably a place for the second one.
Plus, there’s the fact that the movie never feels like it’s trying to be too diverse, instead it feels like it understands that the world just is. There’s not just Gabriela, but the quiet way in which they incorporate the culture in New Zealand, not to mention the gay couple running the little coffee shop – which sounds like a stereotype, and somehow, maybe because of the heart the movie puts into it, ends up being anything but.
Plus Gabriela makes a friend. A real friend! Someone that’s there, on her side, someone who wants the best for her, and more importantly, someone who isn’t just there to push her towards a love interest, but towards happiness.
So, have I made it clear I loved the movie or not yet?
All jokes aside, though, the resurgence of the romantic comedy has been something I’ve truly enjoyed, but if I had to pick between this movie and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – which I adored; Set it Up – which I also, really, really liked and Always be My Maybe – which was cute and funny, I’ll pick this one every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
It might just be because I’m not a teenager anymore, so this hits a little closer to home than To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. It might be because I feel Gabriela closer to me than I ever felt Sasha from Always be my Maybe. Or maybe it’s because, as much as I loved Set it Up, there wasn’t as much romance in that as I expected – and wanted – from, you know, a romantic comedy.
Falling Inn Love is, truly, just the type of romantic comedy I wanted, nay, the type I needed to make me feel like there’s still more to be expected from this genre. And, perhaps, more importantly, it was the type of romantic comedy I will definitely watch, over and over again.
Agree? Disagree? Did you enjoy Falling Inn Love? Share with us in the comments below!
Falling Inn Love is streaming on Netflix now.
