"Set It Up" (2018) Review

“Set It Up” single-handedly reinvents the Rom-Com era.

Directed by: Claire Scanlon

Rated: TV-14

Runtime: 1:45

Review by: Livi Edmonson

In the age of Netflix and other media streaming services, it comes as no surprise that many of this year’s hottest movies are coming straight to Netflix from Netflix, instead of to the box office and from the box office. One of the latest, trendiest Netflix original movies is “Set It Up”, currently holding a magnificent score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

The film follows two hardworking assistants: Charlie (Glenn Powell) and Harper (Zoey Deutch), who come up with the absolutely genius plan to basically “Parent Trap” their horrible bosses. They do this by feeding information to each other about their bosses’ likes and dislikes. Though the ultimate goal is to make their dictating bosses fall for each other, Harper and Charlie find that they might be falling for each other instead. 

I think what really will really captivate audiences about “Set It Up” is that it is everything you could ever want from a romantic comedy without being too cheesy and stereotypical. With the rom-com genre being one that lends itself to knowing its own outcome, you recognize the lovable elements of the genre in the film, but everything about it still falls in place unexpectedly, leaving you refreshed. There is not the typical guy who confesses his love to a girl, just to have her jump in his arms scene. There aren’t even any grand, romantic gestures in the film. But it is the perfect combination of realism and fantasy, which we don’t get a chance to see in rom-coms, let alone most movies anymore. 

Hollywood film is in an era where we don’t get to see as many rom-coms anymore. Filmmakers stopped making them because they became all too predictable, but the truth is, as much as we hate to admit it sometimes, we miss these classic screwball comedies. Whether they be movies we watch for guilty pleasure or maybe when we are just simply in the mood for them, we ultimately love them for the way they make us feel: happy. In a world where things are not always happy, go-lucky like it is portrayed in rom-coms, we deserve to see these films and feel happy after watching them. Sure, these flicks did reach a certain point of predictability in the mid 2000’s, but that is not a reason for Hollywood to stop making them. 

“Set It Up” is an example of a rom-com that gets it right, and it is the first one in a longtime to do so. It contains the perfect amount of humor, romance, and drama, which is everything you can ask for in a movie like this. Because we live in a world now where people would rather sit on their couch and scroll through Netflix instead of driving to the movie theater, this is the perfect film to watch to satisfy your summer movie craving. If you don’t have Netflix, this isn’t the first excellent movie to hit the streaming network here recently. So, now would be a great time to think about purchasing Netflix so you can watch this movie and many other great Netflix originals. Also, guess what? You can watch it over, and over, and over again. And trust me, with this adorable movie, you’re going to want to do just that.