‘Finding Emily’ Review: Wrong Number, Right Movie
The romantic comedy of the year that has movie goers pronouncing “Rom-coms are back!” is finally here in all its messy, adorable fun.
Every year it seems like we get a truly great rom-com. Last year was Materialists, the year before it was Lisa Frankenstein, and this year it is Finding Emily. What makes Finding Emily stick out is how traditional it is to the rom-com formula, making it feel like a refreshing yet familiar experience. Finding Emily follows Owen, a meandering lovesick musician, after he meets a girl at the bar he works at one night. The mysterious potential dream girl gives Owen the wrong number, which leads him to team up with a driven psychology student to help him find her. Together the two go on a frenzy across a college campus that leads to shocking gags, personal growth, and romance in the air. Read our full review for Finding Emily below.
Finding Emily is proof that you don’t need huge movie stars to make a great rom-com. In this modern age of rom-coms, it seems that the main driving point is “Look at these two big actors, let’s put them together it must be great.” That’s not how chemistry works. Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeny are popular young stars, but that did not do 2023’s Anyone But You any favors. You probably have not heard of Finding Emily’s stars, Spike Fearn and Angourie Rice, but you will be forced to take notice after this movie. They are electric, authentic, and perfectly capable of carrying this movie all the way. Both of them are able to handle both the romance and the comedy with ease. Spike Fearn specifically plays the male romantic lead in such a fun way. He captures all of the characters’ messy, sweet flaws. That goes into what this movie understands that makes it so good. Finding Emily is not afraid of making its characters imperfect. They are selfish and obsessive, yet real and charming. The director and the actors were confident enough with the story and the characters to have fun and be a little imperfect.
The story of Finding Emily is more of a mixed bag. It starts off really strong. A simple premise about getting a wrong number but feeling like you need to get in contact with someone. In the age of iPhones it is hard for romantic comedy writers to find a way to build a romance. There are fewer avenues for miscommunication when it comes to this modern tool. In When Harry Met Sally, Harry had to run to the New Year’s party to tell her face-to-face that he loved Sally because he didn’t have a phone to call her. Finding Emily feels like this pre-phone rom-com world because he does not have her number or her last name so finding the mystery girl becomes way harder. More chaos can ensue. The only problem is that it goes too far. It starts with Owen going on a podcast, then other people are making TikToks about him, and it makes it seem like this story is a viral moment in this world. I just do not see the value of having a montage of TikTok’s on the big screen. They went with a “yes and” approach with this story. It makes for an entertaining first watch but once you’ve seen how far it goes the surprise wears off and underneath is a film that went too far. When it comes to rom-coms, simplicity is key, and the story got away from this one for a bit.
In the end Finding Emily comes together as very strong, but a little flawed. For the audience goers who are asking for quality rom-coms on the big screen you will be incredibly pleased. I was personally smiling and laughing throughout the entire film. Do not hesitate to see this in a theater near you if you can. We need more films like Finding Emily on the big screen, and the only way to get that is to show up at the theater.
Finding Emily is directed by Alicia MacDonald and stars Spike Fearn, Angourie Rice, Cora Kirk, Sadie Soverall, and Minnie Driver. The film was released on August 28.
Thank you for reading. If you liked this Finding Emily review, check out more reviews here at Feature First!
