''Somebody I Used to Know'' is a 2023 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

Dave Franco David John Franco (born June 12, 1985) is an American actor. He began his career with small roles in films such as '' Superbad'' (2007) and '' Charlie St. Cloud'' (2010). Following a starring role in the ninth season of the comedy series '' Scr ...

and co-written with his wife

Alison Brie Alison Brie Schermerhorn (born December 29, 1982) is an American actress. Her breakthrough came with the role of Trudy Campbell in the drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), which won her a Screen Actors Guild Award. She gained recognition fo ...

. The film stars Brie,

Jay Ellis Wendell Ramone "Jay" Ellis Jr. (born December 27, 1981) is an American actor. In 2013, Ellis received his first major role on BET's series ''The Game (American TV series), The Game''. He is a main cast member on HBO's series ''Insecure (TV serie ...

, and

Kiersey Clemons Kiersey Nicole Clemons (born December 17, 1993) is an American actress. She is known for her role in the 2015 comedy-drama film '' Dope'', playing Cassandra "Diggy" Andrews. Subsequently, she went on to co-star in '' Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising ...

. It was released on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

on February 10, 2023.

Plot

Ally is the

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

of a successful, but waning,

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series called ''Dessert Island''. After filming the season's final episode, she is informed that the show will be cancelled. With no social life outside work, Ally decides to take a break and visit her mother in

Leavenworth, Washington Leavenworth is a city in Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee, Washington, Wenatchee−East Wenatchee, Washington, East Wenatchee Wenatchee-East Wenatchee metropolit ...

. At a bar in her hometown, she runs into an ex-boyfriend, Sean. They spend the night drinking together, and kiss in the car when Sean drops her home. Sean refuses Ally's invitation for sex, and she leaves awkwardly. Later that day, Ally visits Sean's house with the intent to apologize for the incident, but learns that he is getting married that weekend and his family is throwing a party. Ally tries to leave, but Sean's mother Jojo insists she attend the wedding to film it. Ally learns that Sean's fiancée, Cassidy, is alienated from her parents. She feels suspicious about her, and gets her assistant, Kayla, to dig up information about Cassidy's family. Meanwhile, a streaming platform is interested to renew ''Dessert Island'' for another season and wants to interview Ally. Cassidy is uneasy about Ally's presence at wedding parties. She performs with her punk rock band at a bar, and later shares a table with Ally to talk about Sean. Cassidy tells Ally that she plans to stop touring with her band to settle down with Sean after marriage. Ally notices that she is unhappy about this. Kayla finds information about Cassidy's parents, and Ally asks her to send them an anonymous invitation to the wedding. When Ally and Cassidy spend more time with each other, Ally realizes her impression of her was mistaken. They bond over common interests, even ending up

streaking Streaking is the act of running, often naked, through a public area for publicity, as a prank, a dare, or a form of protest. Streaking is often associated with sporting events, but can occur in more secluded areas. Streakers are often pursued b ...

together on a golf course after smoking

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

. Sean is distracted by their growing closeness. On the eve of the wedding, Cassidy is surprised to see her parents. Ally does not confess to inviting them, leading Cassidy to blame Sean for it and call off the wedding. At their hotel, Ally tries to correct her mistake by getting Sean and Cassidy to understand each other better. Sean realizes he is suppressing Cassidy's career and apologizes. Meanwhile, Ally takes the blame for inviting Cassidy's parents, and Cassidy reneges on cancelling the wedding. Ally leaves the event permanently and returns to her mother's house, where they have a heart-to-heart about being one's true self. Ally leaves for Los Angeles, but makes a pact to visit more often. ''Dessert Island'' is picked up for another season, but Ally passes showrunning duties on to Kayla. She chooses to focus on her interests, picking up another show instead, which centers around the topic of

nudism Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...

Cast

Production

In August 2021, it was announced that

and

had joined the cast of the film, with

directing from a screenplay he wrote alongside Brie.

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 ...

produced and distributed through

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service prim ...

. In September 2021,

Julie Hagerty Julie Beth Hagerty (born June 15, 1955) is an American actress. She starred as Elaine in the films ''Airplane!'' (1980) and '' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982). Her other film roles include ''A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy'' (1982), ''Lost in Am ...

Haley Joel Osment Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, Osment's role in the comedy-drama film '' Forrest Gump'' (1994) won him a Young Artist Award. His breakthrough came with the psyc ...

Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Most recently, she has appeared in both ''The Mandalorian'' (2019–2020) and ''The Book of Boba Fett'' (2022) as Peli Motto. She played Jerri Blank in the ...

Danny Pudi Daniel Mark Pudi (born March 10, 1979) is an American actor. His roles include Abed Nadir on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), for which he received three nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in ...

Zoë Chao Zoë Carroll Chao (born September 19, 1985) is an American television and stage actress and screenwriter, principally known for her role as Isobel in '' Strangers'', and Zoe in '' The Afterparty''. Early life Chao was born in Providence, Rhode ...

Evan Jonigkeit Evan Jonigkeit (; born February 18, 1983) is an American actor known for his roles in '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', ''Bone Tomahawk'', and '' Easy''. He currently stars as Captain Chesterfield in Discovery Canada's '' Frontier''. Early life ...

Olga Merediz Olga Merediz (born February 15, 1956) is an American actress and singer. Merediz originated the role of Abuela Claudia in the Broadway musical ''In the Heights'', for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured ...

, Ayden Mayeri and

Kelvin Yu Kelvin Yu (born 1979) is an American actor and writer. Early life and education Yu was born to Yu Ming-chuan and Lin Ling-juan. He grew up in Los Angeles, where he currently resides. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles ...

joined the cast of the film. Franco said the film was inspired by 1980s and 1990s romantic comedies.

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 actor ...

began in and around

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, in September 2021. In August 2022, Brie stated that post-production had wrapped and the film was finished.

Release

The film was released on February 10, 2023.

Reception

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, 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 arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which uses a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

, assigned the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title 2023 romantic comedy films 2023 films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films Amazon MGM Studios films American romantic comedy films Black Bear Pictures films Amazon Prime Video original films English-language Amazon Prime Video original programming English-language films Films about interracial romance Films about weddings in the United States Films directed by Dave Franco Films produced by Wyck Godfrey Films set in Los Angeles Films set in Washington (state) Films shot in Portland, Oregon Temple Hill Entertainment films