Before I write about any film, I ask some basic questions. One of the most basic i:s “What did I like the best about this film?” In the case of Someone Great, the answer is, and I kid you not: Gina Rodriguez’s t-shirts. Yup. That was #1 with a bullet. And if there’s a good film out there whose apex can be described in t-shirts, I’m Gina Rodriguez.
I feel like this is one of those films that assumed we were having fun because they were having fun. Yeah, ok, I like that you like what you’re doing on screen, but honestly, this doesn’t resonate. Someone Great is about three girlfriends searching for Someone Great and finding themselves. Yay! While that certainly could be relatable, their adventures were packaged entirely within their twentysomething-without-a-plan environs, which narrows the empathy considerably.
Weeks later, I’m still trying to figure out whom the title pertains to. Is it one of a trio of aggressively diverse girlfriends (Rodriguez, Brittany Snow, and DeWanda Wise)? Is it one of their SOs, or is it an untouchable myth like bigfoot, a unicorn, or any Republican health care plan?
Jenny (Rodriguez) is the unofficial leader of the trio. If there’s a story here, it’s about her. You might have to search a bit to find one. But trust me, when you find it under the couch covers, it’s hers. She just broke up with her nine-year-steady, Nate (LaKeith Stanfield). The official reason is “distance” as Gina is about to take a job 3,000 miles away. But if you ask me … if you’ve been dating exclusively for nine years without making a marriage vow, well, there are other things at work. Apparently, one of the sticking points is not lack of love, which is the saddest part of this tragedy.
Trying to bust out of her depression, Jenny gathers Blair (Snow) and Erin (Wise) and the trio declare to have a last girlfling before Jenny moves. This amounts to little more than hunting down concert tickets and have PG-13 sex adventures –you know, you could staple that sheet to your boobs and it would be less obvious than the cover-for-the-camera maneuver. I’m not even disappointed so much as, “Why go there?” If you’re only going to hint at sex, leave it at that and get to Something Great, like that dude who is part pimp, part scalper, part dealer, and all playah; he was the best character in this film.
Gina Rodriguez isn’t having a great year. Between Miss Bala and this trainwreck, it’s a wonder Jane ever stopped being a virgin.
Someone Great is specifically tailored to a certain specific group: semi-professional urban young women who are post college, but still haven’t made a single major decision in their entire lives. While the film will almost certainly appeal to that particular group, it will not necessarily appeal to … pretty much everyone else. And, lemme tell ya, the ratio of people I’ve described to all humankind is pretty much the ratio of human history to all of Earth history. Well, you get the idea. And not being in that group, I’m with the 99% of other.
Relationships are never easy
You try to be all please-y
But I know this one ain’t groovy
Can I break up with a movie?
Rated R, 92 Minutes
Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Writer: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Genre: Adult friends, woo!
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Women caught between college and life
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Bros
