Isn’t it Romantic (2019), directed by Todd Strauss-Schulman

Talented architect Natalie lacks self-confidence and self-esteem, rendering herself almost invisible at work. Totally rejecting the tropes of romantic comedies, she also excludes any possibility of love or any kind of happy ending for herself. When she is mugged and knocked unconscious, Natalie wakes to find herself in a utopian version of her life in New York and her worst nightmare – a romantic comedy. How can she escape it? Rebel Wilson is very funny as Natalie and she is ably supported by Adam Devine, Liam Hemsworth, Betty Gilpin and Priyanka Chopra. There is a nice underlying message about loving yourself before worrying about finding love with anyone else. The film has a lot of fun poking at the extremes of the genre like waking fully made-up, breaking into song, stopping weddings and stereotypical gay best friends. While enjoyable and at times laugh-out-loud funny, the film ends up succumbing to its own tropes by reinforcing that people should stay in their own lanes and insisting on a trademark happy ending.

Last Christmas (2019), directed by Paul Feig

Selfish, feckless and estranged from her family, since recovering from a serious illness aspiring singer Kate seems to be perpetually living on the brink of disaster. That starts to change when she meets Tom, who shows her that helping others can make you happy. But is the elusive Tom really the solution to Kate’s troubles? Written by Emma Thompson, using the music of George Michael and Wham!, the story arc is very predictable but it is done well. Emilia Clarke sparkles in her elf outfit as Kate and Henry Golding charms in the slightly tricky role of Tom. The supporting cast makes the best of a script that teeters on the edge of sentimentality, but throws in enough dirty laughs to save it from total soppiness. It features Michelle Yeoh in an unusual role and Emma Thompson, who is hilarious as Kate’s Yugoslavian mother. The film makes a few gentle political points about xenophobia and exclusion of the other. It relies a little too heavily on too few songs, which adds to the predictability, but Clarke sings them very appealingly. It’s a nice touch to see a cameo appearance at the end by Andrew Ridgeley.