Way back, Ally (Alison Brie) left the little-changing and small city she as soon as known as house in an effort to comply with her Hollywood goals. After all, vacating house meant she additionally, regrettably, left outdated flame Sean (Jay Ellis), breaking his coronary heart (and a little bit little bit of her personal). Her profession goals grew to become locked into the unscripted world far, removed from her noblest documentary ambitions — and Ally now not is aware of herself. After her present will get dropped after its third season, she heads again to the house she largely left behind, operating into Sean and having a whirlwind of a time spending their first night time collectively in a decade in that beautiful talk-until-dawn kind of means. Nonetheless reeling from her life being upended, she turns into interested by rekindling that outdated flame earlier than discovering there is a catch: he is getting married to the youthful rocker Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons), whose free-flowing nature represents all the pieces Ally was once. Allyy units her sights on sticking round, with goals of stopping the marriage, to remind Sean what he is been lacking.

If that sounds broadly acquainted, it is as a result of it’s … “My Greatest Good friend’s Marriage ceremony” acquired there first. To be truthful, “Anyone I Used To Know” is conscious of that reality, even name-dropping the Julia Roberts traditional. Originality in rom-coms, just like the Satan, is within the particulars, and people particulars proceed to raise and modernize the 1997 movie’s themes to a substantial extent. Because the film progresses, Cassidy will get a contemporary, younger, and impartial arc alongside Ally’s personal path of self-discovery. They’re good pivots, however considerably too little and definitely too late.

The writing right here definitely boasts strengths. The characters really feel largely fleshed-out and lived-in by proficient performers, although they do not fairly elevate issues to the purpose of feeling actually authentic as written. A skilled girl who way back misplaced her freer self, then heads house and reconnects with an outdated flame? Her competitors, a younger rebellious girl loaded with free-flowing charisma? Third-act pivot or no, they’re acquainted trope-laden characters in trope-laden conditions. These well-trod conditions are deliberately taken into new, up to date instructions that largely work, however not fairly sufficient to reclaim the overly acquainted. It is an gratifying effort to look at propelled by proficient performers, however on the similar time, a lot of the movie feels far too eerily acquainted, like deja-vu you may’t shake.