| Director | Carlson Young |
| Cast | Camila Mendes, Archie Renaux, Lena Olin, Marisa Tomei |
| Runtime | 104 minutes |
| Streaming Platform | Amazon Prime Video |
| Genre | Romantic, Drama |
– No Spoilers –
Camila Mendes’s newest rom-com is a fun and light watch that feels like a love child between The Devil Wears Prada and Cinderella. Although no stepchildren were kept in basements in this movie, Mendes’s Ana is definitely an uninvited guest in her sister’s living room so there’s that. Either way, the movie isn’t anything new nor is it anything life-changing but it’s a good watch if you’re in the mood to watch something that can be forgotten the moment it is over.
Upgraded follows every conceivable rom-com trope in the book to a tee and doesn’t try to do much more than the minimum. Thus, although it’s totally forgettable, there’s a cuteness to it that will make you smile. The movie follows Ana, a broke worker for an auction house, who wants to get in the good graces of her boss to improve her life in any way possible.
Although the future looks bleak when we start off, things take off when she is suddenly invited to London to work with her boss and comes across a handsome young man who, in spite of the connections and wealth that he possesses, is a softie through and through. Of course, she lies and of course, that comes to bite her in the bum later on.
The plot sounds like something that you might have watched many times in the past because that’s exactly what it is. You can see the end from the moment the movie starts and it never tries to sway from the tried and tested routes that you know it will take. The predictable plot isn’t made better by Mendes who, despite being pretty good in general, isn’t remarkable and doesn’t fit into the role of someone who loves art.
Whenever she prattles out about the artwork around her with glossy eyes, she looks out of place and uncomfortable. Nothing more can be said about Archie Renaux’s William whose character isn’t anything more than a handsome guy who isn’t just a rich guy. Unfortunately, that’s all the depth that he is given.
It’s sad that we don’t get to watch rom-coms that touch your heart these days because the central conflict that is introduced in such movies is just so insane and unbelievable that it makes the protagonist look like a bad guy. Never mind that normal people don’t act like this but it’s just so improbable that it puts you off. The point I am trying to make is that you either have to go big or you have to go the relatable route. Anything in between feels like a cop-out, which this movie is exactly like.
On top of that, the conflicts that are introduced in Upgraded are also solved swiftly without much effort and you don’t feel any tension or anticipation on behalf of anyone. That is mostly because the problem is solved before you are even given a chance to feel anything about it. I think the movie really misses this aspect and ends up being a wet sock to the face.
Upgraded Review: Conclusion
This forgettable rom-com does nothing to excite you or make your heart flutter because there are hardly any stakes. The issues that Mendes’s Ana faces are stuff we have already seen Anne Hathaway’s Andrea Sachs go through in The Devil Wears Prada but more mellow and the sudden inclusion of rich people who apparently fall in love with this random woman on a plane feels a little too out of place to be believable. That being said, Mendes and Renaux are an attractive couple and it’s a watchable movie if you feel bored and need something to pass the time.
Upgraded will stream on Amazon Prime Video from February 09, 2024.
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