Review of Non-Transferable (2017) by Tiff I — 15 Feb 2017

A light-hearted rom-com, Non-Transferable is the story of Amy, a girl who is dumped by her boyfriend Josh after she books a non-refundable trip to Turkey for them. Empowered by her girlfriends, she ends up finding another guy with the same name to go on her trip with her.

Amy is a type-A control freak who is having a hard time not going on the romantic trip she envisioned. Josh, meanwhile, is a commitment phobe who runs away every time he faces huge life decisions. Ashley Clements and Brendan Bailey both do a great job with the comedic, almost caricature-esque moments with their characters. But because of those, I felt their chemistry was more friendly than romantic and I couldn't quite get into the romance part of the story.

For me, the movie was just okay. I felt like the writing was a bit choppy and I never felt like I fell in love with either character. I was also a bit frustrated because I felt like Amy was cast as the "crazy female" that needed to be schooled by Josh. There was definitely a bit of Taming of the Shrew in the banter, and as a feminist, I felt like more could have been done to make both of them more understandable. It's one thing to have unlikeable characters, but it's another to not be able to connect with them.

There were a few scenes where the lighting was kind of uneven (whenever Amy was in her office) and the color matching seemed off. I don't know if that was my TV though.

The movie did have some unexpected twists to do with social media that I really enjoyed. And the scenery was, of course, to die for. I very much enjoyed revisiting Turkey, particularly Ephesus and Istanbul, where I went on my honeymoon.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie for the light-hearted rom-com that it was. The main actors turn in strong performances, and as a Lizzie Bennet Diaries fan, I enjoyed all of the cameos from the cast. I know this movie was a labour of love for the actors and the crew, and I think it was a good first movie. But I'm looking forward to more from all of these people, and I hope the next one will be even better.