Anyone who has ever watched an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia already knows how maniacally funny Charlie Day can be.
But it does feel like that outside of that show, Hollywood hasn't quite figured out how to mine those talents of his.
Horrible Bosses, Pacific Rim, Vacation, Fist Fight all arrived with varying degrees of success, but with I Want You Back, it does finally feel like someone has tapped into his particular comedic skill set.
He plays Peter, who has just been dumped by his girlfriend (Gina Rodriguez - Jane The Virgin), and while drowning his sorrows, he crosses paths with Emma (Jenny Slate - Parks & Rec), who has also just been dumped, by her boyfriend (Scott Eastwood - Fast & Furious 8).
They strike up a plan to team up and sabotage their exes new relationships and win them back, but will the sparks actually begin to fly between Peter and Emma instead?
The movie has bypassed cinemas here in Ireland and gone straight to streaming, but critics who caught it early have had some very positive things to say about it, landing a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing:
The Wrap - "Screenwriters Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger (Love, Simon) are no strangers to the subversive rom-com, and capable directing and editing by Jason Orley (Big Time Adolescence) and Jonathan Schwartz (Stuber), respectively, set leads Jenny Slate and Charlie Day up for maximum hilarity."
Arizona Republic - "I Want You Back accomplishes what it sets out to do, and you almost can’t go wrong with this cast of hilarious people. Will it be the best romcom of 2022? Maybe. Will it be considered a classic in 20 years? Maybe not. But it is the exact film our current dating culture needs."
The Hollywood Reporter - "The narrative cruises to a satisfying finish. The jokes go down easy. The characters grow in predictable directions. The film rarely strays from its genre’s conventions, and that’s not a complaint. Sometimes staying in one lane yields the most gratifying results."
I Want You Back is available to watch on Prime Video right now.
Clip via Prime Video
