With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you can expect more romance movies to be released for the season of love. Among these films is Now You See Me star Dave Franco’s next directorial project Somebody I Used to Know. The film is also co-written by and stars Alison Brie (Community) as the run-down workaholic, Ally. This marks the second feature film collaboration between the two married actors following Franco’s 2020 horror movie The Rental. This movie will also be Brie’s third time as co-writer of a feature film in recent years.
The rest of the movie’s cast includes Jay Ellis (Insecure) as Sean, Ally’s first love and ex, and Kiersey Clemons (Dope) as Cassidy, Sean’s fiancé. The involvement of Danny Pudi (Mythic Quest) as Benny, a groomsman and friend of Ally's, also makes this an exciting Community mini-reunion between him and Brie (who revealed the role was solely written for him). Franco's The Afterparty co-star Zoë Chao is also in the movie, playing Ramona. Olga Merediz (In the Heights) and Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense) also join the cast as Joanne and Jeremy. Amy Sedaris (Bojack Horseman) and Julie Hagerty (Marriage Story)round out the list as Deedee and Libby.
With a wonderful ensemble and timely rom-com, here’s a helpful guide on how you can watch Somebody I Used to Know.
Related:Dave Franco on 'The Rental', Sequel Ideas, and the Horror Potential of Airbnb
Is Somebody I Used to Know Coming to Theaters or Streaming?
The R-rated rom-com will exclusively be streaming on Prime Video and its premiere date is February 10, 2023. There have been no mentioned plans for the film to be released in cinemas. The film’s runtime will be 106 minutes in total or 1 hour and 46 minutes.
Watch the Somebody I Used to Know Trailer
The Somebody I Used to Know trailer opens with Ally in a diner awkwardly attempting to avoid the attention of her ex, Sean. Being back in town, the two of them reconnect for old times’ sake and contemplate how their relationship ended. Unbeknownst to Ally, her quiet hopes of rekindling things with Sean are dashed by his new fiancee, Cassidy. Instead of running away, Ally joins in the couple’s engagement celebration despite Benny’s suspicions of her motives. Cassidy generously welcomes Ally’s company and the two get to know each other. Ally makes the shocking realization that Cassidy reminds her of her younger self and contemplates how she’s drastically changed since then. The trailer ends on a will-they-won’t-they cliffhanger of Ally being alone with Sean and Cassidy in two different scenes.
Related:'Spin Me Round': Alison Brie on Her Dynamic With Aubrey Plaza and the Film's Mix of Tones
What Is Somebody I Used to Know About?
The film focuses on the concept of "the one that got away", which is depicted by Ally and Sean’s relationship. Their seemingly finished love story serves as the emotional center of the movie while exploring the themes of time and self-discovery. Brie has explained this sentiment further in an interview saying:
Part of the inspiration came from Dave and I taking a walk in his hometown in Northern California and just trying to tap into that idea of going back home, seeing people from your life and kind of what that brings up for you personally; how you start to measure who you are now against who you used to be. And also, we wanted to do a bit of an exploration about the one that got away.
Added to the film’s mix is the complicated dynamic of Sean’s fiancé Cassidy and how Ally mingles with her despite the romantic history of Ally and Sean. Both Brie and Franco have alluded to the film My Best Friend’s Wedding among other classic rom-coms as inspiration for the story. Yet, the movie will explore a more messy love story and an unconventional love triangle between Ally, Sean, and Cassidy. The official synopsis reads as follows:
Workaholic TV producer Ally (Alison Brie) faces a major professional setback which sends her running to the comforts of her hometown. She spends a whirlwind evening reminiscing with her first love Sean (Jay Ellis) and starts to question everything about the person she's become. Things only get more confusing when she discovers Sean is getting married to Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons) whose confidence and creative convictions remind Ally of who she used to be.
More Alison Brie Movies That You Can Watch Now
Since the breakout days of Community, Alison Brie’s career has been built with an impressive, versatile amount of roles in shows such as Mad Men and GLOW, as well as films like The Five-Year Engagement and The Lego Movie. She’s established herself as a brilliant leading star with memorable performances that never fail to entertain the audience. The following films explore Brie’s range in comedy and drama along with her involvement in co-writing screenplays:
Horse Girl(2020): Brie's first foray into screenwriting was for this psychological drama film that was screened at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Brie stars as Sarah, a shy, unassuming woman who works at an arts and crafts store with her coworker, Joan (Molly Shannon). Her humdrum life gets disturbed by some bizarre episodes leaving gaps in her memory and ending up in places she doesn’t remember traveling to. The incidents escalate and leave Sarah’s life in chaos to the point of her believing that this could be the doing of aliens. The film was co-written and directed by Jeff Baena (Life After Beth) who threads the story with mystery and paranoia. The unpredictable movie can be streamed on Netflix.
Sleeping With Other People(2015): One of Brie’s underrated rom-com movies, Sleeping With Other People is an incredible team-up with Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso) where they play Lainey and Jake. The two characters had a one-night stand in college only to reunite years later to see that they both deal with ongoing commitment issues that have impeded their own romantic relationships. Yet, this mutual problem sparks a friendship between them that eventually grows into an attraction, leaving Lainey and Jake at an impasse. Do they act on their undeniable feelings or risk hurting each other, given their terrible romantic track records? The film was written and directed by Leslye Headland (Bachelorette), who makes the absolute most of the easygoing chemistry between Brie and Sudeikis.
Spin Me Round(2022): In the most recent film and second screenwriting credit in her career, Brie plays Amber, a simple manager of an Italian restaurant. One day, she receives the lucky chance to go on an all-expenses paid trip to Italy where she’ll attend the restaurant franchise’s immersion program. Amber even gets the chance to meet the franchise owner, Nick Martucci (Alessandro Nivola), who romances her and makes the trip even dreamier. However, she soon becomes suspicious of the strange and shady business surrounding Nick’s sister, Kat (Aubrey Plaza). The trip soon unravels into major chaos that not even the exquisite backdrop of Tuscany, Italy can save. This dark comedy reunites Brie with Baena in another whimsical story of an ordinary woman landing in extraordinary circumstances.
