All The Rom-Com References In ‘Isn’t It Romantic’ You Might Have Missed
If you’re a die-hard rom-com fan, chances are you’ve already checked out Isn’t It Romantic on Netflix. And if you haven’t – you totally should, it’s great!
The movie, starring Rebel Wilson and Liam Hemsworth, is both a rom-com and an affectionate parody of rom-coms all at once. It pokes fun at all the classic tropes of makeover montages, kisses in the rain, and last-minute sprints to the church/airport to declare your eternal love.
On top of the more general satire, it also includes some very specific references to iconic rom-coms. Here are all the ones I spotted…
The Pretty Woman dresses
Rebel Wilson has an INCREDIBLE rom-com-approved wardrobe in this movie, but there are a couple of moments where her outfits are a direct homage to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.
The first is when she emerges from hospital in the white dress and black hat, and a dog-walker passing by literally says, “hey, pretty woman!”
Later, the red dress Rebel’s character Natalie wears for her date with Liam Hemsworth’s character Blake is strikingly like the one Julia Roberts wears for her Cinderella moment.
The Suddenly 30 shoes
The wardrobe scene in Isn’t It Romantic is reminiscent of the moment in Suddenly 30 when Jennifer Garner’s character is blown away by her grown-up wardrobe, especially all of her gorgeous shoes.
The Enchanted musical number
When Natalie realises she’s in a rom-com in the middle of Central Park, couples start dancing around her in what looks like a direct visual reference to the big musical number from Enchanted (which in itself is a gentle parody of Disney movies).
The When Harry Met Sally foodgasm
Adam DeVine’s character Josh jokingly mimics having an orgasm while he and Natalie bond over a meal, a nod to Meg Ryan’s famous deli moment in When Harry Met Sally. It’s even topped off with Blake walking in and saying “I’ll have what he’s having”.
The Jerry Maguire line
When discussing their trip to the Hamptons, Blake mentions taking Natalie there in his helicopter, to which she responds, “you had me at hello-copter”. It is, of course, a riff on the oft-quoted line Renee Zellweger says in Jerry Maguire.
The My Best Friend’s Wedding sing-along
The karaoke scene, in which Natalie doesn’t want to participate but ends up enjoying it and having everyone else join in in an epic sing-along, is a homage to My Best Friend’s Wedding. There are actually two scenes in that movie it connects to – the moment when Cameron Diaz’s character is forced into karaoke by Julia Roberts’ character, and the later scene where Rupert Everett kicks off a lunchtime song session.
The My Best Friend’s Wedding declaration
The moment when Natalie stops Josh’s wedding to declare her love is a send-up of an extremely popular trope, but her wording – “choose me, love me” – is very similar to what Julia Roberts says in My Best Friend’s Wedding.
The Jerry Maguire confession
At the end, even after she and Josh connect, Natalie declares “I complete myself”. It’s a glorious twist on the famous Jerry Maguire line “you complete me”.
