Isn't It Romantic- A Clever Yet Clear Satire

**SPOILER**

Isn't It Romantic, which stars Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, and Priyanka Chopra, was released on Valentine's Day and is one of the newest satirical movie. The movie is clever in its use of satire by having the plot of the movie to be about Natalie, a pessimist woman, who ends up getting stuck in a romantic comedy. The audience is first introduced to the main character (Natalie) with the opening scene of her as a little girl, watching Pretty Woman. As she admires the beautiful Julia Roberts and the love story that plays before her, her mom dissuades her from believing in "that crap", stating that women who look like they (Natalie and her mother) do not get happy endings or love. Flash forward twenty some years, and Natalie is working at an architecture firm, yet she is still the same negative, anti-love girl she was when she was younger. After being told that Natalie needs to be more open to men, she is robbed by the first man who "flirts" with her on the subway that night after work, and gets so injured she is put in a coma. During her coma, she wakes up in what seems to be a romantic comedy. She is surrounded by love, people falling in love, and cliches. As she attempts to escape this lovey-dovey world, trying everything she can think of along the way, she eventually realizes that she needs to love herself first. Once she accepts her love for herself, she finally wakes up from her coma. She is then able to go accomplish all she needs in her work, be confident enough to stand up for herself, and get the man (the one she's "meant" to be with).

Throughout the movie, the audience is aware that Natalie knows that she is "in" a romantic comedy, and has the goal to get out of it. The audience gets to watch her make effort after effort to escape the rom-com, first trying to get the "dream man" to fall for her, then her best friend (who she is "meant" to end up with), and then finally accepting love for herself. All the while, everyone around her is completely unaware that they are in a romantic comedy. The movie is both ironic and a parody in this way. It is ironic because all along Natalie is aware that she is in a rom-com, yet she continues to have to go along with it all (for the simple fact that she literally can't seem to escape it). Also, while most ironies do not allow the main character or narrator to know what is happening, Natalie is aware the whole time, and it is everyone around her who is unaware. The audience is able to get a laugh out of watching the characters around Natalie do exactly what can be predicted based off the usual set up of rom-coms, and Natalie go crazy knowing that they aren't aware what is happening. It is also a parody because it pokes fun at romantic comedies, using every cliche in the book. While in a typical romantic comedy the characters love the cliches and go along with them (because the movies are cheesy), Natalie gags at them. This makes the movie all the more humorous. It uses the predictable aspects of romantic comedies to help its audience along, allowing them to predict (along with Natalie) what will happen next and then laugh at Natalie as she still has to go through it.

Though Isn't It Romantic is a romantic comedy at its core, with the plot centered around a female who faces hardships (that are mocked throughout), until she eventually falls in love. BUT, the style of Isn't It Romantic is set up so differently, which helps create a more unique and fresher narration of a romantic comedy than most audiences are used to. The movie can be labelled as a satire because it is a comedy that addresses real world problems. Isn't It Romantic isn't the normal romantic comedy, that encourages the audience to root for the "cookie-cutter" female to get the guy. The movie is centered around a plus-sized actress (Rebel Wilson), which creates a different narration for a rom-com from the beginning. While the audience understands and sympathizes with Natalie for having a negative attitude about love because of how society has taught her to feel about her own body, they also cheer Natalie on to break the mold. While Natalie is trying to get her best friend/ the guy she is "supposed" to end up with to fall in love with her in hopes to escape the romantic comedy world, she finally realizes that she does not need him to fall in love with her to escape. All she needs is to love herself. By ending the movie with messages of self love and acceptance, Isn't It Romantic becomes an effective satire. It shows a powerful woman who was previously insecure about herself begin to truly love and accept herself, accomplish her goals in her career, and STILL get love.