Love is a wonderful thing.
Whether it finds it forms in a romantic comedy, or a touchingly comedic story, it’s good for the soul to sit through a film where the world actually feels like it could be good, funny and lovely.
There’s certainly been enough of the dark stuff over the last three years to last us all a lifetime and so the current rise and rise of romantic comedies and small but emotionally big indie films is a welcome thing indeed because it reminds us that good things come from life too.
It was easy to forget that caught up in death, lockdowns and the end of life as we knew it, but here are three films to reassure us that connection matters and love is actually pretty, fabulously wonderful.
Thank you 2023 — I am beginning to like you more already; cinematically, at least …
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When Mordecai Samel, a Holocaust survivor, portrayed by Oscar nominee Judd Hirsch (The Fabelmans, Ordinary People, and Independence Day) is given a new iPhone, an unexpected series of events upends his world. A heartwarming Miami-set comedy based on a true story. iMordecai is directed by the first-time filmmaker Marvin Samel, making his feature directorial debut with this project. The screenplay is written by Rudy Gaines, Dahlia Heyman, and Marvin Samel. Produced by Dahlia Heyman and Marvin Samel. This initially premiered at the 2022 Naples Film Festival in Florida last year. (courtesy First Showing)
iMordecai premieres on 10 February in select US cinemas with VOD to follow 11 April.
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From breakout director Raine Allen-Miller, her feature debut film Rye Lane is a romantic comedy that stars Vivian Oparah (Class, The Rebel) and David Jonsson (Industry, Deep State), as Yas and Dom, two twenty-somethings both reeling from bad break-ups, who connect over the course of an eventful day in South London – helping each other deal with their nightmare exes, and potentially restoring their faith in romance. Rye Lane is directed by the up-and-coming British filmmaker Raine Allen Miller, making her feature directorial debut with this after a few shorts & music videos previously. The screenplay is written by Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia. Produced by Yvonne Isimeme Ibazebo and Damian Jones. This is premiering at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival this month. (courtesy First Showing)
Rye Lane premieres on Hulu in US on 31 March along with release in UK cinemas (release date TBA)
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Could you swap lives with your best friend who lives across the country? Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher are about to find out in Your Place or Mine, a new romantic comedy directed by Aline Brosh McKenna. Debbie (Witherspoon) and Peter (Kutcher), are friends who have known each other for over a decade and keep in constant contact despite living on different coasts. They’re also total opposites: Single-mom Debbie is an accountant whose Los Angeles life is planned down to the nano-second, while Peter is a marketing executive and aspiring writer whose New York life changes as quickly as he does girlfriends. But when circumstances call for them to take over each others’ homes and responsibilities for a week, they realize that maybe they’ve been living the life they think they should, instead of the one they really need. (courtesy Netflix)
Your Place or Mine premieres on Netflix on 10 February.