Meet Cute

After watching Gary (Pete Davidson) from the other side of a crowded bar, Sheila (Kaley Cuoco) decides to make her move. She buys him a drink and the pair’s charming but socially awkward interaction leads to an unforgettable night. But there’s a catch: this isn’t the first time they’ve been on this date. Sheila casually reveals that she’s found a time machine in a nail salon that she’s been using to travel back in time 24 hours to relive this perfect night, and she’s been doing so for months. She’s determined to make her meeting with Gary the best it can be. But the more she tries to make things right, eventually using the machine to change his past, the more complicated things become.

Directed by Alex Lehmann with a script penned by Noga Pnueli, Meet Cute is an inventive and touching spin on the time loop romcom formula. It lures viewers in with Cuoco and Davidson’s endearing performances before gradually letting audiences in on what’s really going on, entering wilder territory as it goes. While its time travel ideas are nothing especially groundbreaking, the film never loses sight of the grand ideas it wants to tell within this small tale.

Davidson and Cuoco make for a fabulous pairing. Audiences will fall madly in love with their goofy sense of humour just as quickly as they fall for each other. The couple’s electric performances make it very easy to root for them, so when their encounters start to turn sour, Sheila’s pain and desperation resonates more as a result. No matter how strange Pnueli’s script gets, though, it never loses any of its heart. By the time Gary and Sheila make it to the end of their final night, the conclusion will leave viewers immensely satisfied.

Less successful is Meet Cute’s handling of its more serious aspects. While the gearshift in the second act sets the stage for some interesting ideas that subvert genre conventions, Sheila’s character arc is a little chaotic thanks to a lack of development at key points. Lehmann’s film, though visually arresting, is a bit of a mess at times. However, if this romcom teaches us anything, it’s that it’s okay for things to be a mess sometimes. 

Andrew Murray

Meet Cute is released on Amazon Prime Video on 25^th November 2022.

Watch the trailer for Meet Cute here: