Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, which might have you in the mood ... for watching a romantic movie or two, which is exactly what streaming services are betting on this week. Not only is the J. Lo/Owen Wilson rom-com “Marry Me” landing on Peacock along with its simultaneous theatrical release on Friday, but almost every major streamer is releasing new romantic movies this weekend as well, which will be sure to freshen up your roster of old rom-com favorites.
Launching on Amazon Prime Friday is “I Want You Back,” a film aiming to land in “When Harry Met Sally” territory. Starring Charlie Day and Jenny Slate, “I Want You Back” has something for every Valentine’s Day emotion: it’s a breakup movie, a make up movie and a friendship story. Day and Slate star as two recently dumped singles who make a pact to mutually break up their exes’ new relationships. Naturally, high jinks ensue, and rifts are driven though it’s obvious that these new friends are the ones that should be together. While the film, directed by Jason Orley and written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, is somewhat predictable, Day and Slate are so charming and funny that these romantic machinations are fun to watch. Scott Eastwood and Gina Rodriguez co-star as the exes, while Manny Jacinto just about steals the show as a seductive middle school theater teacher. “I Want You Back” streams on Amazon Prime Friday.
Arriving in theaters and on Apple TV+ on Friday is Josephine Decker’s “The Sky is Everywhere,” an adaptation of Jandy Nelson’s young adult novel. This is a first love story intertwined with a grief story, as the young Lennon (Grace Kaufman) falls in love with guitar-strumming Joe (Jacques Coliman) in the aftermath of her beloved sister’s death. Decker directs with a swooning sense of magical realism, bringing to life Grace’s love of music and her surreal home filled with roses among the redwoods. It’s perfect for capturing, or bringing back, that uniquely heady rush of teenage emotions.
Along the same lines, Joey King stars in “The In Between” streaming on Paramount+ on Friday. In this story of teenage love and loss, directed by Arie Posin and written by Marc Klein, King stars as Tessa, a young photographer who falls in love with the strapping Skylar (Kyle Allen). When he’s killed in an accident, she believes he’s attempting to reach out to her from the afterlife.
For something a bit more titillating, the Korean sex comedy “Love and Leashes” arrives on Netflix on Friday as well. Directed by Hyeon-jin Park, “Love and Leashes” stars two massive K-pop stars: Seohyun, of Girls’ Generation, and Lee Jun-young, also known as singer/rapper Jun, of U-KISS. This appealing pair co-star in the erotic comedy, as a pair of co-workers engaging in a unique relationship who end up falling in love.
And if all else fails, the old standbys are just a click or two away: “When Harry Met Sally” and “You’ve Got Mail” are streaming on HBO Max, while “Something’s Gotta Give” and “Sleepless in Seattle” are on Amazon Prime.
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