''I Want You Back'' is a 2022 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by Jason Orley from a screenplay by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. It stars

Charlie Day Charles Peckham Day (born February 9, 1976) is an American actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is best known for playing Charlie Kelly on the FX comedy ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–present), which he co-created with Rob ...

and

Jenny Slate Jenny Sarah Slate (born March 25, 1982) is an American actress, comedian, and author. Born and raised in Milton, Massachusetts, Slate was educated at Milton Academy and studied literature at Columbia University, where she became involved in the ...

as two recently dumped strangers who team up to sabotage the new relationships of their exes (

Gina Rodriguez Gina Alexis Rodriguez-LoCicero (born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Jane Villanueva in The CW satirical romantic dramedy series ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014–2019), for which she received a Golden Glo ...

and

Scott Eastwood Scott Eastwood (born Scott Clinton Reeves; March 21, 1986) is an American actor. His notable films are '' Flags of Our Fathers'' (2006), ''Gran Torino'' (2008), '' Invictus'' (2009), '' The Forger'' (2012), ''Trouble with the Curve'' (2012), '' ...

Manny Jacinto Manuel Luis Jacinto ( ; born August 19, 1987) is a Canadian actor born in the Philippines. After several small roles on television, his breakout role came starring as Jason Mendoza on the NBC sitcom ''The Good Place'' (2016–2020). He has appea ...

, Clark Backo, and

Mason Gooding Mason Gooding (born November 14, 1996) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Booksmart'', ''Everything's Gonna Be Okay'' and ''Love, Victor'' and has most recently starred in ''Scream''. He is the son of actor Cuba Gooding Jr ...

also star. It was digitally released on February 11, 2022, by

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

, and received generally positive reviews.

Plot

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, thirty-somethings Peter and Emma are each dumped by their respective romantic partners: Peter's girlfriend Anne feels stifled by the complacency of their six-year relationship, and Emma's boyfriend Noah is discouraged by her lack of responsibility. Peter and Emma are both heartbroken, but after a chance meeting they become friends and try to help one another navigate their breakups. Emma confides in Peter that she considered Noah her "airplane safety mask person": the person she loved so much that she'd put on his emergency airplane oxygen mask before her own, which Peter dismisses as a silly thing to ever do. One desperate night, Emma and Peter devise a strategy to win back their exes by breaking up their new relationships: Emma will seduce Anne's new boyfriend Logan, and Peter plans to befriend Noah to convince him to breakup with his new girlfriend Ginny. Peter gets Noah to be his

personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

, while Emma volunteers for Logan's

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

production of '' Little Shop of Horrors''. Peter and Emma also grow closer; he reveals his dream of opening his own

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

and she admits her lack of ambition is due to her father's

terminal illness Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced h ...

. Peter and Noah bond, while Emma successfully impresses Logan by pretending to share his love of theatre, stunning him with a passionate performance of " Suddenly, Seymour". She also helps a troubled student, Trevor, by providing him with guidance for navigating his father's

extramarital affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of ...

. After visiting a

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

together, Peter convinces Noah to go home and take

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly seen in tablet form (ecstasy) and crystal form (molly or mandy), is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant properties primarily used for recreational purposes. The desire ...

with three girls, only to learn the girls are minors. After fleeing, Noah tells Peter he is going to propose to Ginny, to Peter's dismay. Peter breaks into Ginny and Noah's to plant fake evidence of Noah's infidelity but can't do it, and instead witnesses Noah's heartfelt proposal. Meanwhile, Emma manages to talk an eager Logan and a hesitant Anne into attempting a

threesome In human sexuality, a threesome is commonly understood as "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". Though ''threesome'' most commonly refers to sexua ...

, but Anne ultimately expresses her discomfort and leaves, having decided she wants to get back with Peter. Reconvening, Peter tells Emma of Noah's engagement and, because he is resuming his relationship with Anne, remorsefully cuts contact with Emma, who is left heartbroken. Unbeknownst to either of them, Peter and Emma are both invited to Noah's wedding in Savannah and they bring Anne and Logan as their dates. As Peter and Emma awkwardly reconnect, she reveals that she has moved out and is studying to become a

school counselor A school counselor is a professional who works in primary (elementary and middle) schools or secondary schools to provide academic, career, college access/affordability/admission, and social-emotional competencies to all students through a school ...

. An embarrassing encounter ensues between all, and Peter realizes Anne never believed in him, while Emma did, leading him to confess his love for her in front of everyone. Emma reveals they conspired to break up each other's new partners, but does not reciprocate feelings for Peter. Anne and Logan break up with Peter and Emma while Ginny demands they leave the wedding and Noah punches Peter. At a hotel the following morning, Peter and Anne reconcile and agree they aren't meant to be together. Emma apologizes to Noah, finally realizing they were not compatible. Peter and Emma take the same flight home, when heavy

turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to a laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between ...

causes the oxygen masks to fall, and Peter rushes out of his seat to help Emma put her mask on first before his. As the turbulence subsides, Emma and Peter smile at one another.

Cast

as Peter *

as Emma *

as Noah *

as Anne *

as Logan * Clark Backo as Ginny * Luke David Blumm as Trevor * Giselle Torres as Chloe * Isabel May as Leighton * Quinn Cooke as Taylor *

Pete Davidson Peter Michael Davidson (born November 16, 1993) is an American comedian and actor. He was a cast member of the NBC late-night sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL) for eight seasons, running from 2014 to 2022. Davidson's ...

as Jase *

Jami Gertz Jami Beth Gertz (born October 28, 1965) is an American actress. Gertz is known for her early roles in the films ''Crossroads'', ''The Lost Boys'', '' Less than Zero'' and '' Quicksilver'', the 1980s TV series ''Square Pegs'' and 1996's ''Twister ...

as Rita *

Dylan Gelula Dylan Nicole Gelula (born May 7, 1994) is an American actress who is best known for her role of Xanthippe on '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'', as well as her work in independent film. In 2016, Gelula made her film debut as the lead actress with ...

as Lisa *

as Paul *

Jordan Carlos Jordan Carlos (born February 2, 1978) is an American stand-up comedian who played a recurring character on ''The Colbert Report'' and is a co-host on the Nickelodeon kids' show '' Me TV''. He also appeared as a panelist and reporter on '' The Nigh ...

as Mark *

Ben McKenzie Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan (born September 12, 1978) is an American actor and commentator. He is best known for his starring television roles as Ryan Atwood on the teen drama '' The O.C.'' (2003–2007), Ben Sherman on the crime drama '' Southl ...

as Leighton's Dad

Production

In February 2021, Amazon Studios announced that Jenny Slate and Charlie Day were confirmed for the lead roles; that Jason Orley would adapt a screenplay by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger; and that Day, Adam Londy and Bart Lipton would executive-produce for The Safran Company and The Walk-Up Company.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

began in March 2021 in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. On April 16, 2021, the Savannah Regional Film Commission announced that extras were needed for four days of filming in Savannah from April 27–30. Other filming locations included the Publico restaurant and Plaza Theatre in Atlanta, and Decatur Square in Decatur.

Critical response

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Michael Phillips of ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and wrote, "''I Want You Back'' reminds us of the value of rom-coms with actual com, not to mention performers on the order of Charlie Day and Jenny Slate."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 6462958 Amazon MGM Studios films American romantic comedy films Films shot in Atlanta Films shot in Savannah, Georgia 2020s English-language films 2022 romantic comedy films 2022 films Amazon Prime Video original films 2020s American films English-language romantic comedy films