Comfort Film: Someone Great

I am under no delusion that Someone Great is a masterpiece, if I claimed that it would be a straight-up lie. What I can argue with absolute confidence is that this film is an underrated Netflix original gem that despite what some people assume is not a love story, and that's why it's my main comfort film. Overall I have three films that I consider comfort films which basically means I watch them specifically to bring me joy. A classic and certainly one of the greatest films of all time is Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park passes the Bechdel test, it features Jeff Goldbloom as the damsel in distress whilst badass Laura Dern is saving the day and it has dinosaurs, tell me that isn't a good time. My second comfort film is Kong: Skull Island and honestly I don't have a super in depth explaination for this one I just find it unexpectedly funny and Brie Larson is hot. But Someone Great is my favourite comfort film mostly because I never tire of it and every time I watch it I feel so happy.

Do I consider Someone Great a rom-com? Yes, Partially. Do I think it's way more than that? Absolutely. The trailer for Someone Great frames it as nothing more than your average rom-com and so you expect the classic rom-com narrative. I'm not a massive lover of rom-coms and the only reason I wanted to watch this film was because I had seen a clip of the 'Truth Hurts' scene and thought that was hilarious. If this film had followed that classic narrative it would have gone something like this. Jenny (played by Gina Rodriguez) takes a new job but has to move from New York to San Francisco to take it. Her boyfriend Nate doesn't want to do long-distance and so he ends their relationship leading Jenny to hyper-focus on getting into the club night Neon Classic with her friends (Brittany Snow and DeWanda Wise). As the night goes on you expect her to bump into Nate, rekindle their relationship and either try long-distance or get back together. However writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who is now showing a real talent for writing accurate female friendships, goes in a different direction. When Jenny seeks out Nate at Neon Classic she decides against talking to him and instead returns to their spot that the audience has seen in flashbacks to 'finish it'. She dreams that Nate follows her and wants to try again but when she wakes up it's her friends who have followed her and Jenny admits to them and herself that her relationship with Nate is over for good. This means she will be moving to San Francisco for her new job and she states she's going to miss her friends the most. This to me was such an unexpected and refreshing take and it reminded me of what should have happened in the series finale of Friends. I was screaming at the TV saying that Rachel should have got on that plane and taken the job in Paris rather than give it up for Ross of all people. To watch Jenny put herself and her career above a relationship that was doomed to fail was so vindicating, because in all honesty it's what I would have done.

Throughout the film we see flashbacks of Jenny and Nate's relationship from the night they met right up to their break-up and it is admittedly well done. Even though their relationship was doomed to fail their love story is raw and beautiful and Jenny's heartbreak over it ending is obvious but the love story takes a backseat in this film. Someone Great is not a love story, it's the story about the power and intimacy of female friendship. Usually the friends in a rom-com are relegated to side characters but in this film Nate is the side character and Erin and Blair are fully fleshed out characters that have their own plots. Blair has hit a rut in a loveless relationship and often feels as though she's lost who she is. Erin is perpetually stuck in the same place too sturborn to admit that she loves the woman she's seeing. The dymanic between the three characters only works so well because the chemistry between Rodriguez, Snow and Wise is instant and apparent. The vibe between the three is not unlike the relationship between myself and my sisters and it's so nice to watch. The fact that the film ends with the three of them at Nate and Jenny's spot catching each other up on the night and heading out to get food is so reminiscent of nights out with my friends during uni. The dynamic between the three of these characters, the love and support they have for one another is what puts female friendship at the forefront of this film. A film about women that's written and directed by a woman, that's what makes it feel so authentic. We love to see it.

Whilst the love stories take a backseat in this film I can't not mention the growth of Erin's relationship with Leah throughout this film. Erin, whilst happy, is very reluctant to call Leah her girlfriend and seems to be very afraid of committing to her, something Blair and Jenny call her out for multiple times in the film. When Blair confronts her stating she wants a friend who will go to the farmers market with her and wants Erin to admit that she loves Leah, Erin gets vulnerable and admits that she scared. Later in the evening Erin and Leah say 'I love you' making their relationship official. What's so nice to see is that the issues surrounding these characters weren't focused on sexuality but on every day things such as past heartbreak. If Leah's character had been male nothing in their story would have changed and that for me is the mark of a great LGBTQ+ realtionship. I think we can all agree we're past the point of coming out stories.

Overall this film is beautifully shot, nicely written and well acted. I feel like we all have at least one film that makes us feel better no matter our mood and Someone Great is that film for me, so check it out and it could be that film for you.