MEET CUTE (2022) - Movie Review

Director: Alex Lehmann
Starring: Kaley Cuoco, Pete Davidson
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Writer: Noga Pnueli
Runtime: 89 min
Rated: TV-MA
Buy This Movie: DVD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

It's love at first sight when Sheila and Gary meet in a bar - the perfect first date! Or could it be even better? When Sheila discovers a time machine in a tanning salon, she travels back to the same evening over and over again to optimize little details in the process and make their big moment even more wonderful. Over time, she begins to mold Gary more and more into a flawless Prince Charming, digging deeper and deeper into his past. This does not remain without side effects ...

Review:

I think it's time to stop ripping off "Groundhog Day". Yes, we got some fun twists on the idea of a time loop, like "Happy Death Day", but once something like "Meet Cute" comes along, it's time to stop. This movie is not a rom-com. It's a dark and disturbing drama with overbearing quirky humor sprinkled throughout. And it's not science fiction, despite loosely using the term "time machine" in reference to an obvious MacGuffin, so don't go in expecting a sci-fi adventure. That's okay though, I didn't really need a reason or explanation for the time jumps. I mean, "Groundhog Day" never explained why Bill Murray was caught in that loop, he just was. It's okay not to explain. It's definitely a weird "time machine", but I guess it's part of the movie's offbeat attempts at humor.

The movie starts off well enough with Kaley Cuoco's Sheila almost immediately revealing to Pete Davidson's Gary that she's been travelling through time to repeat their date night over and over again. That's good. I didn't need that secret to drag on for the entire first half of the movie. But then it gets weirder and weirder as Sheila reveals herself to be a troubled person and her time-travel exploits take on a disturbing significance. The overall idea is that the two protagonists are basically in a long-term relationship but only one of them is aware of that. That's wrong on so many levels. And by the end of this movie, Sheila's scary behavior is glossed over in favor of a nonsensical happy ending.

Cuoco and Davidson just don't work well together, so the romance angle is never believable, and neither character is likeable. Davidson is unbelievably bland in the role, lacking the acting chops to give the character a stronger emotional core, and without him to balance out Cuoco's manic performance, the movie simply fails in the romantic department. Cuoco isn't terrible in the role, and she clearly gives it her all, but after a while she was starting to get on my nerves. I could feel the movie trying to add more layers to the interactions between these characters, and I understand their intentions to explore the dynamics of a relationship, as well as issues of mental health, but the tone is all over the place and the execution of the movie's ideas so scattershot and poorly thought-out that when the credits started rolling I was mentally exhausted. And it's not that long, either, clocking in at around 78 minutes without credits. There's an alternate takes montage at the end, but I just skipped it entirely. What was the point other than to pad the runtime ?

"Meet Cute" is a trainwreck of a movie and tiresome to sit through. Avoid it at all costs !

SCORE: 4/10