Is the romantic comedy dead? It’s a question many fans of the genre have been asking themselves over the years following its heyday in past decades. There have been glimmers of hope for the genre here and there, though, whether that be Anyone But You’s recent box office success or the release of Upgraded, which just landed on Amazon Prime. When CinemaBlend spoke to the new movie’s director, she shared just how much attention she and the filmmakers paid to the rom-coms of the past we all have fallen for over and over… and over.
Carlson Young helmed Upgraded, with this being her second feature film and first romantic comedy. The director is also an actress who was part of the Scream TV series, among a number of credits over the years. When I asked her about the movie’s influences, she said this:
Well, we talked a lot about the sort of ‘90s, 2000s kind of nostalgic rom-coms that we were missing, like Notting Hill, Four Weddings And A Funeral, Moonstruck, When Harry Met Sally. Like all of these classics like How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. We just wanted to capture that playful energy. And also, there's a lot of really classic storytelling in those movies as well. And so, as the director, I was trying to kind of find that way to capture just a timeless quality.
Many of the best romantic comedies of all time were made between the 1990s and the early 2000s, so of course Carlson Young did her research and rewatched a ton of them in hopes of capturing the energy we all know and love from the genre. She also had her star Camila Mendes as a producer, who shared with CinemaBlend that she helped a lot with the dialogue to fit her dynamic with co-star and love interest Archie Renaux. When I asked Young if any of her rom-com research influenced a specific scene, here’s what she shared:
I don't know a specific scene [from a classic romantic comedy] I could point you to, but I mean when we went into pre-production, like my brain was literally rotten with romantic comedies that I'd been researching. Like I was living and breathing and dreaming in romantic comedy. It was very funny… It was more just an energy [we were trying to emulate].
So there’s no romantic comedy easter eggs, per se, but I can definitely see how those movies in particular influenced Upgraded. Carlson Young’s picks are some really great ones that really put a lot of focus on the chemistry between its two stars. I can especially see the comparison between Upgraded and How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days because both kind of have its leading character building a relationship on a lie and having to face it as she actually forms a true bond with the other person.
In Upgraded, Camila Mendes plays Ana Santos, an intern in the art scene who is asked to fly to London to assist her boss (played by Marisa Tomei) with a big collection. However, when she is upgraded to first class on her way there, she talks up Archie Renaux’s William which she keeps up across the pond when she lands.
Stream Upgraded with your Amazon Prime Video subscription now.
