Old flames, naked truths: ‘SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW’ is a rom-com that provides more than warm feelings of love

Preston Barta // Features Editor

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, you can expect more romance movies to be released just in time for the season of love. Among them is Dave Franco’s sophomore directorial work Somebody I Used to Know, starring and co-written by Alison Brie. This marks the second feature collaboration between the two married talents following Franco’s 2020 terror The Rental – and it’s a refreshing, well-grounded tale of love, self-discovery and introspection. 

Co-starring Top Gun: Maverick’s Jay Ellis and Dope’s Kiersey Clemons, Somebody I Used to Know centers on workaholic television producer Ally (Brie) as she faces a professional setback that sends her running back to the comforts of her hometown. Shortly upon arrival, Ally spends a magical evening reminiscing with her former flame, Sean (Ellis), and questions the stepping stones she walked on to get where she is. But, does this mean we should expect this to be happily-ever-after for Ally, or are there more than warm feelings of love?

Yeah. It’s much more complicated than that. Sean is about to get married to Cassidy (Clemons), a young woman with creative ambitions that remind Ally of her before she left town. So, expect characters to struggle with who they are, where they came from and where they’re going – and you’ll joyously soak it up, laughing and feeling it all along the way.

Franco’s new film is not your typical romance. While it has familiar ingredients like the will-they-won’t-they plot and funny side characters (a terrific Haley Joel Osment and Danny Pudi), Franco and Brie aren’t afraid to step on the unconventional path by asking deep questions about not only relationships but humanity at large. Are we truly living for ourselves? Are we putting caps on our creative potential? 

Somebody I Used to Know is a phony-less examination of humanity souped up cool-kid kicks and intelligent humor. Franco and Brie have compelling observations about how time unfolds for people and the constant construction we’re under. It’s lovely.

Q&A

Ahead of the film’s drop on Amazon Prime Video this weekend, Fresh Fiction film critic Preston Barta (virtually) sat down with Franco and Brie. In the video interview below, we chat about random horror movies, penning character behaviors and the quiet competition between Franco and Brie with musical moments. Enjoy!