There’s no cute encounter in “Meet Cute,” which is kind of the point. The film, whose name derives from a romantic comedy where two people meet in an unusual way, makes for a good story of the kind that rarely happens in real life, owing as much if not more to “Groundhog Day” as with “When They Met” Harry Sally…” Kaley Cuoco and Pete Davidson are the would-be pair in Alex Lehman’s rom-com episode, which could have been called “500 First Dates” for its portrayal of a love-sick woman in a mono-obsessive quest to make things right. The film itself is much freer than the film’s heroine, and much of its charm derives from a well-rehearsed performance on several levels.
What appears to be the first night of Sheila (Coco) and Gary (Davidson) together unfolds over the course of nearly 30 minutes of screen time and takes place in the “pre-sunrise” context of romance, walking, and talking, as the two open up to each other the way people seem to be. They are only able to do it when they just meet someone new and attractive. They venture from bar to restaurant to ice cream truck, all the while insinuating and belittling each other, but there are signs that something, if not amiss, is surely odd: Sheila will finish Gary’s sentence before him can or expect something to happen. just before it happens. This would have been much more effective if Sheila hadn’t joked – but seriously revealed that she’s a time traveler within a few minutes of meeting him, unfortunately – like an over-engaged person on a first date, “Meet Cute” can’t help deliver too far soon very.
However, there is a twist: Sheila is not forced to reclaim this night by forces beyond her control, nor does she return voluntarily to correct a past mistake and ensure she is on the right foot. She does this because she thinks the only place to go from for a perfect night is to break up, into the warts relationship mess, and would rather stay hanging out on a perpetual honeymoon period. She somehow tells Gary about this at the end of every night, and thinks there’s no harm in that because he won’t remember her words the next time they meet. There is a bit of humorous desperation to her, as is the fact that her time machine is actually a tanning bed in the back room of her favorite nail salon.
Certainly, the number of titles generated by Davidson’s romantic tangles dwarfs those of his films, which is unfortunate. He plays himself in “Big Time Adolescence”, “The King of Staten Island” and even “Body Bodies Bodies”, yes, but at least he does it well. That’s the case here too, although the “Saturday Night Live” alum is less impressive than in the past only because he’s still not doing something we haven’t seen before. (He was even in an SNL sitcom “Meet Cute” with Kristen Stewart five years ago.) The real star is Coco, who finds a fruitful middle ground between the witch and the caustic that would feel familiar to anyone with a cheerful friend whose sense of humor comes as a defense mechanism. Her pain comes more and more with each scene and culminates with the revelation of what she was really doing when it happened on her time machine.
Although concealed by humor, this premise has been sad in nature at least since Groundhog Day. Bill Murray’s character wouldn’t have spent much time trying to escape his 24-hour prison by getting rid of himself otherwise. “Meet Cute” tends to this melancholy more than its predecessors, and it is better for him. Whether you consider Claire’s actions romantic, obsessive, or both, there’s no denying that she doesn’t come from the healthiest of places. This film gives more depth than the average rom-com, but also creates tonal friction that isn’t fully resolved.
Just as the magic of their first date seems forced, not as a result of natural chemistry but the fact that Sheila has rehearsed it countless times, so does the movie. Do we really have to make this romance work, given the deception and obsession behind it? Cuouco makes us wonder, but the answers don’t quite satisfy. It can be hard not to wonder if “Meet Cute” only exists because Peacock wanted to replicate Hulu’s success in “Palm Springs,” forgetting, though ironically, one of the genre’s key messages: that you can’t force perfect moments to exist and should. To allow them to happen on their own.
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