It’s been two weeks since Netflix released their original rom-com “Someone Great,” a film that deals with love, loss and friendship and most importantly, steers away from the typical – and often unrealistic — happy endings we’ve grown so used to watching. The film stars Jane the Virgin native, Gina Rodriguez, alongside DeWanda Wise, Brittany Snow and LaKeith Stanfield. Gina plays Jenny, an aspiring music journalist in New York City who recently accepts a job offer at Rolling Stone across the country, leading towards a strain – and eventual breakup – on her relationship with long-time boyfriend, Nate. Not only does the film examine her heartbreak and loss through a number of flashbacks, but we also watch as she braces for a new beginning and gathers her closest girlfriends, Erin and Blair, for one last night of NYC fun.
Perhaps what I considered the heart and soul of the film was the intimate and whimsical friendship between Jenny, Blair and Erin. Although the film mostly focuses on Jenny and her journey towards grief and denial over her nine-year relationship, it is the connection with her best friends – as well as her own self-reflection — that ultimately guides her towards reality and acceptance over her breakup. As we watch them navigate around the city, we realize that Jenny isn’t the only one faced with difficult life barriers. Erin, a hard headed, weed-loving, confident lesbian, flounders and struggles to commit to her girlfriend, Leah, out of fear that she will be left heartbroken. Blair, although gives off the implication that she’s successful and happy with her “real adult” life, struggles to loosen up and abandon all the things that continue to hold her back. However, despite the circumstances, they are able to grow mentally and emotionally as they eventually face their problems head on.
The film, which has already scored an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, exemplifies the lasting bonds of friendship and the reality of terminating a relationship even despite the continuation of love and care for one another. Letting go of a deeply invested relationship – especially a nine year one – is never easy and it’s critical that films such as this one exist to manifest the essence of relationships and most importantly, breakups. Throughout the entire film we witness Jenny: sob while she drinks out of a bottle at the train station, harmonize with her best friends to Selena Quintanilla’s notorious heart-wrenching song “Dreaming of You” while standing in the middle of a liquor store and lastly, sit in the fountain where she and Nate first declared their love for each other and come to terms with the end of her relationship, but the beginning of her new life.