[Note: This is part of a project I'm calling "A Century in a Month". The idea is that I'm going to start with a movie from about 100 years ago and pick a series of connected films until I get to the present. The rules I set this time are release years, per IMDB, can't be more than 5 years apart. I can't repeat the same connection although I can reuse the same type of connection. That means if I use "movies directed by Scorsese" to connect two, I can't use Scorsese as a connection again but I can use a director as a linking element again. I'm not really sure why I'm doing this, but it seems like a fun game.]
Connection to The Wedding Year: Both star Sarah Hyland
Premise: To get him out of a toxic relationship, a young man’s friend builds a fake influencer boyfriend for him.
When I started this “Century in a Month” project, I imagined it would be a way to find under-discussed films from masters of the medium or flawed but enjoyable star vehicles of different eras. Pretty soon though, with the limitations I set, mixed with streaming availability, I realized I’d probably end up on a movie like My Fake Boyfriend. That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed the bizarre selection of films or that I disliked My Fake Boyfriend. It’s just funny to think how I got from Safety Last! To Nicholas & Alexandra to My Fake Boyfriend. Enough musing on the project though. It was fun but too much for one month. I’ll do a version of this again but loosen the restrictions.
Anyway, My Fake Boyfriend is dumb and enjoyable in a way that a proper RomCom can be. The idea is absolutely stupid. Dylan Sprouse builds a digital boyfriend for Keiynan Lonsdale and that fictional boyfriend becomes an internet sensation that spirals out of control. The core of the movie though - Lonsdale makes up a lie to get out of a bad relationship, and it gets in the way of a potential new relationship with Samer Salem – is a classic RomCom scenario.
Unsurprisingly, I have some of the same praise and problems as I do with most films of this ilk. I’m annoyed by how much of the drama could be solved by having one or two short discussions as real humans. That distracts me throughout the entire movie. Otherwise, the rest is fine. Lonsdale is a good RomCom lead. Dylan Sprouse and Sarah Hyland are fun as the best friend couple. Samer Salem is a very charming love interest. Marcus Rosner is a very satisfying smug ex-boyfriend/villain. I appreciated the added tension of if Salem’s chef character is even gay. That’s an additional wrinkle that Gay RomComs get to use that doesn’t feel artificial the way many other RomCom complications do.
The movie falls flat on a lot of the social media commentary and the Hollywood industry backdrop is a little thin, but what do I care? It’s a RomCom.
Verdict: Weakly Recommend
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