Somebody I Used to Know

Name: Somebody I Used to Know
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Released: February 10, 2023
Rating: 57
Cast: Alison Brie, Ayden Mayeri, Danny Pudi, Fabi Reyna, Haley Joel Osment

2023

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Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Ratings

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4.9

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4.9	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Ratings

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Somebody I Used To Know

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Movie Details & Credits

Amazon Prime Video | Release Date (Streaming): February 10, 2023 | R

Starring: Alison Brie, Ayden Mayeri, Danny Pudi, Fabi Reyna, Haley Joel Osment, Jay Ellis, Julie Hagerty, Kiersey Clemons, Marian Li, Olga Merediz

Summary: Workaholic TV producer Ally (Alison Brie) faces a major professional setback, which sends her running to the comforts of her hometown. She spends a whirlwind evening reminiscing with her first love Sean (Jay Ellis), and starts to question everything about the person she's become. Things only get more confusing when she discovers Sean isWorkaholic TV producer Ally (Alison Brie) faces a major professional setback, which sends her running to the comforts of her hometown. She spends a whirlwind evening reminiscing with her first love Sean (Jay Ellis), and starts to question everything about the person she's become. Things only get more confusing when she discovers Sean is getting married to Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons), whose confidence and creative convictions remind Ally of who she used to be. Directed by Dave Franco, and written by Franco & Alison Brie, Somebody I Used to Know is an unconventional love story about three people who unexpectedly help each other re-discover who they really are, where they came from, and where they're going. [Amazon Studios]… Expand

Director: Dave Franco

Genre(s): Comedy, Romance

Rating: R

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Critic Reviews

Collider Emily Bernard

Feb 9, 2023

Somebody I Used To Know—like life—can’t be clearly defined. Instead, it embraces its messiness and unpredictability, and the very harsh reality that “life happens.” Read full review

Lovia Gyarkye

Feb 9, 2023

Somebody I Used to Know, written by Brie and her husband Dave Franco (who also directs here), is a sharply conceived and smart romantic comedy — the kind of film that might inspire hasty accusations of trying too hard to be different. It takes the narrative skeleton of the genre and enhances it with its own subversive elements. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Nell Minow

Feb 10, 2023

We know what the Hallmark Movie Channel version of this story would be. But Brie and her co-screenwriter, husband, and director Dave Franco like to subvert those conventions, as Brie did as co-writer for last year's "Spin Me Round." Read full review

IndieWire Samantha Bergeson

Feb 9, 2023

Somebody I Used to Know doesn’t chalk up a failed relationship to circumstance or even bad choices. It’s simply the respectful endurance of love even though that person may not be “the one.” Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Feb 9, 2023

Somebody I Used to Know comes dangerously close to being interesting. It’s a romantic comedy, but it’s almost a twisted drama about a seriously damaged creep who goes back to her hometown and starts wrecking people’s lives. Read full review

Natalia Winkelman

Feb 9, 2023

The film lacks the indelible details and authentic feeling necessary to encode it in long-term memory. Indeed, soon after finishing the movie, it already feels far away. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Feb 9, 2023

The laughs are few and far between and the “heart,” so important to a good rom-com, is left out altogether. Read full review

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User Reviews

Stream2BigScree

Feb 12, 2023

Hey, Streamers! It’s mid-February, and it seems you either watch romantic comedies or you’re anticipating the Big Game. For those who aren’t into the latter, here’s some more counterprogramming courtesy of Prime Video and the minds of Dave Franco and Alison Brie, Somebody I Used to Know.Hey, Streamers! It’s mid-February, and it seems you either watch romantic comedies or you’re anticipating the Big Game. For those who aren’t into the latter, here’s some more counterprogramming courtesy of Prime Video and the minds of Dave Franco and Alison Brie, Somebody I Used to Know. It’s a “romantic” comedy involving wedding shenanigans, which we all love. Am I right??? Here’s whether you should know this somebody.

Dave Franco directs the screenplay he wrote with his wife and the movie’s star, Alison Brie. Somebody I Used to Know takes place over a few days in Leavenworth, Washington when Ally (Brie) returns to her mother’s home after her reality television show was canceled. While in town on day one, Ally predictably runs into her old flame, Sean (Jay Ellis), after ten years; and they seem to pick up right where they left off. Sean, of course, is hiding the big news of his impending wedding, which leads Ally to go full-on Julianne Potter (My Best Friend’s Wedding reference). Wedding sabotage hijinks ensue.

This storyline is so tiresome. How many times do we have to see a woman, usually, attempt to sabotage her ex’s wedding? Why would anyone think that’s going to turn out good for you in the end? Why would you even want someone who was easily manipulated by you? Is that satisfying? I have so many questions for this played-out genre.

Now, Somebody I Used to Know steps right into all of the problems with this genre of romantic comedy. It is predictable and unoriginal. In fact, it borrows so heavily from My Best Friend’s Wedding that I am now wondering if that was Franco and Brie’s objective. It is a shame that this movie feels so derivative because Alison Brie is generally a likeable screen presence. You can easily root for the characters she plays, even someone who is being so manipulative. The one good thing that Franco and Brie have added to this movie is a theme about self-empowerment. The screenplay revisits ideas about making oneself happy, and it is impactful at times. I wish those ideas had been more in the forefront than the wedding sabotage.

There really isn’t much else here. There’s a nice sing-along to look forward to. Haley Joel Osment and Danny Pudi get some good moments, but Osment, in particular, is so unnecessary. That’s all really. Eh. *Shrug*

Ultimately, Somebody I Used to Know is fine but too derivative, unoriginal and predictable to really be interesting. While the movie hints at other meaningful themes, it settles with the cliches of wedding sabotage movies to be its driving force. That’s pretty disappointing. Alison Brie is a pleasant on-screen presence and Haley Joel Osment gets some daffy moments. I’d only suggest a handful of popcorn for this if you need something to fill the time while waiting for Rihanna’s halftime show.… Expand