Since I couldn’t attend every screening at the film festival, I watched a few films at home instead. The first was You’re Dating A Narcissist!, whose realistic humor I enjoyed in a comfortable setting. It worked well outside the festival context, with amusing, relatable writing and performances. This small indie comedy resonates with anyone familiar with parental scrutiny over romantic choices and can be appreciated anywhere.
Marisa Tomei stars as a respected psychologist, author, and podcaster, Judy, whose work is dedicated to helping people recognize the signs that they are caught up in relationships with narcissists. She soon faces an unexpected but inevitable challenge when her daughter, Eva (Ciara Bravo), falls in love with a confident, wealthy doctor named Theo, who proposes to her and asks to meet Eva’s mother and father. When Eva breaks the news to her mother. Judy instantly rushes to be with Eva to warn her of all of the indications that she could be entering into a problematic marriage. Eva, nevertheless, remains undaunted in her pursuit of happiness and questions everything her mother is contesting along the way.
Written and directed by Ann Marie Allison and co-written by Jenna Milly, You’re Dating A Narcissist! puts a new and entertaining spin on a “Meet the Parents” situation. There is so much humor in the movie that works well, but I also feel that the development of the Judy character is written in ways that make the character far too unreasonable and downright frustrating to make for a believable, respected psychologist. I think that if the filmmakers had toned the character down a notch, this movie would have played out more credibly and satisfyingly without the film’s grating moments.
This isn’t Marisa Tomei’s fault. She respects the script and direction, delivering a passionate and driven performance as written. Tomei is hilarious, but the development of her character’s annoying traits often irritated me. The rest of the cast is solid, with only Sherry Cola standing out as Judy’s hilarious best friend and patient.
Overall, the film is an enjoyable romp, but it would be stronger with greater subtlety and more developed characterization of the lead. I recommend You’re Dating A Narcissist! for viewing both in theaters and at home.