On my Notes App, every single romantic film I’ve ever seen is ranked out of ten based on my secret (and admittedly inconsistent) criteria. Post-2010 rom-coms rarely do well on this list for a range of reasons. Sometimes they rush the romance and overdo recognisable tropes. Other times, they lack realism—not in a lovably cheesy way, but in a way that pulls you out of the fantasy entirely. And often, their cultural references seem weirdly more outdated than their ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s counterparts.
Set It Up (2018), however, is an exception.
This film is focused on two overworked assistants, Harper (Zoey Deutch) and Charlie (Glen Powell), who, driven by a selfish intent to make their own lives easier, team up to try and matchmake their nightmare bosses Kirsten (Lucy Liu) and Rick (Taye Diggs). As a wannabe writer who lives in New York, Harper is the ideal rom-com protagonist. As a classic tale of opposites attract, the charming Charlie matches her energy like a golden retriever to a black cat.
With a New York setting, an airport chase, and two sets of enemies who would make great lovers, Set It Up is indebted to the ghosts of rom-coms past. Going even further back, there is something Shakespearean in Harper and Charlie’s sneakily crafted situations, such as an elevator breakdown and a baseball game kiss-cam, to set up their bosses. In its theatrically farcical nature, Set It Up self-referentially mocks the rom-com by suggesting that all love takes is a few spoon-fed, swoon-worthy lines and a few manufactured interactions.
However, what is truly ingenious about Set It Up is how the main plot distracts you from the growing romantic undertone between Harper and Charlie themselves. Though the casting of Deutch and Powell as two attractive leads suggests romance between them is somewhat inevitable, Set It Up diverts your attention from this with both the pairing of Kirsten and Rick and with Harper and Charlie’s other romantic interests. Yet, on a rewatch, you realise that in the efforts of setting up their bosses, Harper and Charlie have been setting themselves up the entire time. Present from the sidelines at every one of Kirsten and Rick’s dates, their chemistry emerges easily, especially when contrasted with the far more forced attraction between their bosses. With their slow burn, it’s enemies to friends to lovers done right.
But credit should also be given to Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs, who master playing the roles of bosses who can never be impressed. They say they don’t want dinner only to be surprised when they don’t have it. If a phone rings once, it’s already answered too late. In their demands of the impossible, the influence of The Devil Wears Prada is clear — but these characters are not carbon copies of the iconic Miranda Priestley. Instead, they are individualised to both humorous and heartwarming effect. In Kirsten, we see a woman hugely successful in her career but insecure that she does not have a family, regardless of whether she wants one. In Rick, we see egotistical desires distract him from the feelings of those around him.
Meanwhile, background characters from an engagement shop assistant to ‘Creepy Tim’ create some of Set It Up’s most comic moments with pitch-perfect facial expressions and exceptionally-timed lines. In every rewatch I’ve done, whether for Galentine’s, Valentine’s, or a work sick day, I find myself noticing new background details that cement the film’s comedy credentials.
Throughout Set It Up, Harper repeats the sentiment that you should love someone despite their “bad” traits. She lists negative qualities about her best friend Becca (the classic rom-com sidekick, equipped with good advice and a far more successful love life than the protagonist): she’s “wild” and “drinks too much”, has “never paid a bill on time”, and yet Harper adores her. You cannot love someone by pretending they are someone else, the film tells us—you need to accept them, quirks and all.
With this moral in mind, Set It Up is cheesy, with chemistry sparked by a soundtrack change and grand romantic gestures that are pleasing on screen but impractical in reality. And yet… it remains one of my favourite rom-coms of all time.
Words by Jennifer Cartwright
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