Review of Set It Up (2018) by David K — 15 Jul 2018

Strengths: It feels like romantic comedies can either be truly awful or a fair amount of fun, without much room in between. Thankfully, this was the latter. Zoey Deutch (Harper Moore) plays a very charming lead role, as the overworked assistant of a ruthless female sports writer. Glen Powell (Charlie Young) is fine in his role, but works in terms of having solid chemistry with Deutch. It's endearing that the movie doesn't beat you over the head with how Charlie and Harper should be together. In fact, I would've been fine if it just went a different route and had them end up as friends. It feels natural when things get romantic between them. The script is solid, allowing for some witty moments and funny scenes. A show stealer was Titus Burgess (Creepy Tom), though I really wish we got more of him.

Weaknesses: One issue with the romantic comedy is that is far from new territory. This film featured several tropes we're used to from this kind of movie, hitting plenty of familiar beats. There's nothing groundbreaking about it. Lucy Liu (Kirsten Stevens) and Taye Diggs (Richard Otis) are kind of just there as the demanding bosses. I've seen much better from both. There are a few moments where it seems like the filmmakers were trying too hard. Some of the sexual related jokes miss the mark, while the elevator scene was meant to be hilarious, but felt a bit too over the top.

Overall: Is this movie cheesy and somewhat formulaic? Certainly. But, it's also sweet, features two leads with good chemistry, and endearing. You're not going in for an Oscar nominated movie. Go in for some charming fun and you'll enjoy it a lot.