Whether or not it is romantic, this Rebel Wilson-starring romcom is a smart, funny parody that does not get goopy until its last breath. Even then, its best gag may be the song and dance to Madonna’s “Express Yourself” that immediately precedes the end credits. The sequence certainly contains the biggest Liam Hemsworth laugh, a sight gag at which audiences will giggle for days. The plot is standard. Wilson is a lonely, single professional woman. When she bumps her head, she wakes up in a romantic comedy until, she assumes, she gets the right man to fall in love with her.
Director Todd Strauss-Schulson had similar success with the not-very-memorable horror sendup The Final Girls. Isn’t It Romantic has the potential to be remembered for much longer thanks to Wilson (who makes a far more appealing romcom heroine than Katherine Heigl ever did), some memorable karaoke (they perform “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” too!) and Mr. Miley Cyrus, who proves the brothers Hemsworth are both as funny as they are handsome. (How unfair.)
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