Isn't It Romantic
Warner Bros. | Release Date: February 13, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
16
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Little White LiesPatrick SproullAug 28, 2025
The satire isn’t quite as sharp as you would hope though. Read full review
60
EmpireIan FreerMar 1, 2019
Isn’t It Romantic had us at hello but loses its spell when it has to develop its plot. Not as smart or sharp as you’d hope, it still delivers a lot of fun for those who can’t resist a bad Katherine Heigl flick. Read full review
60
Rolling StonePeter TraversFeb 14, 2019
Thanks to the comic tornado at its center, Isn’t It Romantic is still your best bet for a Valentine’s date at the movies. You could do worse. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenFeb 12, 2019
For all its winking jabs, this blend of giddy bits and teachable moments eventually follows the same old playbook. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeFeb 12, 2019
In a fun, glossy take down of age-old genre tropes, Rebel Wilson wakes up in an alternate universe, dominated by romantic comedy cliches. Read full review
50
ObserverOliver JonesFeb 14, 2019
Rarely if ever has a film ostensibly about and informed by cinema been so thoroughly un-cinematic...And un-emotional: that spark of love is also missing in action. Perhaps this is why the film chose to drop the question mark from its title. If it had been posed as a query, the answer would have been, no, not nearly enough. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenFeb 14, 2019
The screenplay by Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox, and Katie Silberman nails the mechanics of a rom-com, even if it takes Wilson’s delivery to drive the lessons home. Scenes are succinct and the movie comes in at 88 minutes even with a tacked-on song-and-dance video at the end (as a nod to the film’s wildly successful karaoke-bar sequence earlier in the film). Read full review
50
The Film StageJohn FinkFeb 14, 2019
Isn’t It Romantic misses several opportunities to find humor in its absurdity with low stakes, too little of a comic payoff, and only a few cursory observations about gender roles and norms in these universes. Read full review
50
SlateInkoo KangFeb 13, 2019
Natalie might protest the whitewashing of New York by rom-coms, but Isn’t It Romantic trots out multiple supporting characters of color whose sole roles are to make the white protagonist look good. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDerek SmithFeb 13, 2019
As the film becomes increasingly reliant on predictable narrative tropes, it evolves into the very thing it set out to parody. Read full review
50
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonFeb 13, 2019
In conceptual terms, the movie has more in common with Scream, in that it’s an examination of genre clichés (in this case romantic comedies) that both satirizes and embraces them. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Chandler LevackFeb 12, 2019
The two actors at the centre of these high-concept comedies are good, giving and game, but they’ve been cut a raw deal by trite material that belittles their very existence. Read full review
50
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergFeb 12, 2019
The film’s reliance on conventions even as it snickers at them gives it the faint air of a con. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeFeb 12, 2019
While there’s virtually no risk that “Isn’t It Romantic” will make you to love your favorite rom-coms any less, Strauss-Schulson hasn’t figured out how to have his cake and eat it, too — to look down on the very confection he’s so busy peddling. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsFeb 12, 2019
There’s not much kick to Isn’t It Romantic, even after it goes over the rainbow. It gets by, and commercially it may well be a modest hit — but has more to do with Valentine’s Day timing than the film itself. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghFeb 13, 2019
The problem isn’t that it pokes fun at romantic comedies, it’s that it itself isn’t a terribly good one. Read full review
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