Someone Great Film Review: A Great Female-Driven Rom-Com

Directed By: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Main Characters: Gina Rodriquez as Jenny Young Brittany Snow as Blair Helms DaWanda Wise as Erin Kennedy

Run Time: 92 minutes

Rated R

Women empowerment seemed to be the popular trend throughout 2019, and if a group of females helping their friend after a breakup didn’t make it to our TV screens, directors would be missing out. In the simple female-driven rom-com, the film Someone Great, a Netflix original follows the adventures of three females and their friendship in a fun, friendly yet devastating way. With many female-driven rom coms out there that follow a group of women enjoying their lives, it seems the movie industry falls a little short at providing a sad/touching film that faces some real truths. Does Someone Great fill that void and bring some sorrow and heartbreak to our TV’s? It sure does. The film is filled with real scenarios and real heartbreak.

Similar to the famous movies Clueless or Girls Trip, where the storyline follows a strong female lead, Someone Great follows the ups and downs of relationships as friends grow up. Director of Somebody Great, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, develops very realistic and relatable characters. She also does a great job of portraying the special friendship that the girls have with one another making them very relatable to women. Also, the strength between women uniting together despite the banter, with the many sing-along scenes, the goofy conversations and the unnecessary arguments really show the humor and charm throughout the entire movie.  

For director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Someone Great was really a breakout film for her. Her other main work in the past was a drama TV show, Sweet/Vicious, that only lasted for one season. But for Robinson, Someone Great was really her directorial debut. The on-screen graphics between the breakup, memories, and flashbacks hold a big place in her film and really make it outstanding.  

The film itself is very similar to any other rom-com, but one thing that pulls away from others is the truthfulness the movie has with heartbreak and relationships.

The movie begins with the main character Jenny, who becomes devasted after her boyfriend of nine long years suddenly breaks up with her after she takes a new position as a journalist, which happens to be her dream job, but it is across the country.

Gina Rodriguez who is Jenny in the film is known for her witty and sweet character, especially in her star role as Jane from Jane the Virgin. She is portrayed as a mess in this film, but she quickly picks herself up and the film follows her and her two best friends as they have their final night out before her big move. Brittany Snow, who plays Blair also similarly plays her good-girl act as she does in her other films like Pitch Perfect and Hairspray.

Even after Jenny realizes the chances of her running into her former boyfriend Nate at the Neon Classic concert downtown, the three best friends, Jenny, Blair, and Erin seemingly take it upon themselves to lift her out of her sorrow and are determined to party the night away before she leaves for San Francisco. 

A day of shopping, partying and hanging out with the girls seems to be the right thing to do to help her forget about Nate. But as she quickly learns that there’s no amount of self-medicating that will prevent all the memories together from flooding back whenever she hears a song or sees a place. The use of neon filter really gives a good transition within the film to show Jenny’s memory going from her happy and sad times with Nate.

While the story ultimately follows Jenny’s story as she overcomes heartbreak, the director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson does a great job of including all three of the girls’ roadblocks in their lives as they are growing up. Blair, for example, is struggling to dump her boyfriend for a guy she is really into and happens to be having an affair with. She also does a big thing for herself throughout the film by calling into her job as a PR strategist to spend a day with the girls. Erin, Jenny’s other best friend struggles to realize that she is falling in love with the girl she has been hanging out with and does not want to admit to being in a committed relationship.  

The plotline was influential and worked very well for the type of movie this was. I do personally think that it was a little too fast-moving and might have been better if turned into a TV show. But in reality, I think the director did a substantial job by making this a movie and I would not be surprised if there was a Someone Great 2. I think the most memorable part of the movie is the scene where Jenny is dancing around her kitchen after her breakup and her friend Erin pops over and brings a bottle of wine while they dance to the song “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo. I think this part was so significant because so many girls could relate to both the song and scene and was an overall great way to show girls being there for one another. The performance by Gina Rodriquez as she portrayed a strong mess was really outstanding throughout the entire film.

In all the film had great visuals all throughout and really does well at telling the story along with the script. The dialogue between the girls throughout the entire movie is really relatable. I personally really enjoyed this movie. It gave women-powered rom coms a more realistic look. I could relate to these girls in the film, and it made me want to have a group of friends like them. The women empowerment through the whole film is done really well.

I do think that Someone Great branched out and filled the void that the traditional female-driven rom coms needed by introducing more realistic and relatable characters, along with heartbreak and sadness. The only flaw this film has is the fast-moving plot, fingers crossed for a Someone Great 2!

I give the movie a 4.5 out of 5-star rating for overall.