A film inspired by a Taylor Swift song. The chaos following a breakup. Gina Rodriguez popping molly at a Jessie Reyez concert. A tumultuous girls’ day set against a New York City backdrop. A soundtrack of your favorites: Lorde’s “Supercut,” Phoebe Bridgers’ “Scott Street,” and Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” (in the scene that catapulted her into the mainstream!). What more could you possibly ask for in a movie?
The 2019 Netflix film Someone Great turns the typical romantic comedy on its head. The film follows Jenny, played by Gina Rodriguez from Jane the Virgin, as she navigates the first 24 hours post-breakup. Jenny is set to move to San Francisco the next morning, so she embarks on one last day with her two best friends, Erin and Blair (played by DeWanda Wise and Brittany Snow).
The film opens with Jenny and her boyfriend, Nate (LaKeith Stanfield), deep in the honeymoon phase. A strategic supercut (set to none other than Lorde’s “Supercut,” obviously) details the timeline of their nine-year relationship, from meeting at a college party to graduation to landing new jobs, to their ultimate ending. The film excellently hops from past to present, mirroring just how intertwined memories and reality become in a breakup.
Rodriguez’s character is refreshingly real. She drinks liquor straight from the bottle, dances to Lizzo in her underwear, and walks around the city in a beanie and no bra (an outfit that my roommates pointed out is something I would definitely wear. This is true). Where other films often downplay or over-exaggerate a breakup, Someone Great gracefully dances along this line. Jenny switches from hurt to longing, to wanting to kill her ex to writing poetry on the subway, to crying in a bodega all within a single day. Speaking from experience, this is an extremely accurate depiction of the female breakup.
While parts of the film scream 2019 millennial (Erin ripping a Juul, Blair holding a hot pink “FEMINIST” mug, the excitement of Kanye being the surprise musical guest at a concert), the many comedic moments and its emotional substance stand the test of time. Jaboukie Young-White and RuPaul are scene-stealers, both hilarious in their portrayals as out-of-touch drug dealers. Someone Great cuts from quick-witted humor to raw, emotional moments without giving the audience whiplash. In a prelude to the film’s emotional finale, Jenny explains her heartbreak to an old college flame, Matt (Peter Vack), in the back of the club. “You’ve been blessed with a broken heart,” Matt says. “When it doesn’t hurt anymore, that’s when it’s really over. Live in this as long as you can.”
While the film is a reflection of Jenny’s love and loss, the true “someone great” are Jenny’s friends. While exploring the breakup, the film centers around Jenny, Erin, and Blair on a quest to get VIP tickets to the fictional music festival “Neon Classic.” They grab snacks and spring Blair from a work meeting. The day is reminiscent of many I’ve had myself, made up of good friends, a long task list, and an exciting final destination.
Erin and Blair let Jenny ride her emotional waves while keeping her from going completely off the rails. However, each woman still has their own character arc within the film. Erin enters a serious relationship, despite a deep-rooted fear of commitment. Blair leaves a relationship that has turned loveless. The two are hesitant to distract from Jenny’s day but are still able to have their own problems while Jenny navigates her breakup. These characters are multi-dimensional, rather than just doting friends catering to Jenny’s sadness and mania. These sub-plots give depth to the bonds within the group.
Someone Great is not just a rom-com, a breakup movie, or a “girl’s take on the big city” film. It is all of these things, as well as an ode to female friendship and twenty-somethings, and a depiction of both the beauty and darkness of love, all rolled into one. No matter how many times I watch this movie, I never grow tired of it. As I become older and more experienced in love, life, and friendship, I always find new pieces to laugh at and to relate to. I’ll be sure to watch Someone Great each time a boy lets me or my best friends down, and I will for sure be showing this movie to my future daughter someday.
Someone Great is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
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