I watched 3 of the worst-rated rom-coms on Netflix so you don't have to. I was surprised that one of them actually wasn't that bad.
- Valentine's Day is the perfect excuse to stream one of the many rom-coms Netflix has to offer.
- "Love & Gelato," "Senior Year," and "Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between" were the worst-rated of 2022.
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, you might be looking for the perfect rom-com to stream. If that's the case, the three worst-rated rom-coms on Netflix may not be at the top of your list. With Rotten Tomatoes scores that didn't even break 30%, the films were among the worst to debut in 2022.
But are they that bad?
That's where I come in. After watching Netflix's "Love and Gelato," "Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between" and "Senior Year," I found that two weren't worth your time, but one was actually not that bad.
"Love & Gelato" (2022)
"Love & Gelato" — given a dire 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes — follows Lina (Susanna Skaggs), a recent high school graduate who goes to Italy at the behest of her recently deceased mother. There she is meant to find herself like her mother did when she went to Italy as a teen.
Amid this self-discovery, Lina becomes entangled in a love triangle with two Italian suitors, Alessandro (Saul Nanni) and Lorenzo (Tobia De Angelis). One comes from a wealthy family, while the other has culinary school aspirations. From there, drama unfolds along with a storyline about Lina's birth father.
While critics can be unduly harsh when reviewing a movie, I can see why this one is rated so poorly. In my opinion, it's really not that great.
The acting is fine: no Oscar buzz, but not unwatchable. Perhaps, it's geared toward younger audiences, which is why I had a harder time connecting.
The film ultimately does have a good message of putting yourself first, but the cheese factor overpowers this sentiment.
Needless to say, I'd recommend skipping "Love & Gelato."
"Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between" (2022)
"Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between" landed the highest score from Rotten Tomatoes with 29%. In the film, seniors Claire (Talia Ryder) and Aidan (Jordan Fisher) meet at a party, have a whirlwind romance, and make a pact to break up before going to college. As you can imagine, their feelings for each other intensify, and their hope for an easy breakup gets complicated.
The movie flashes between the beginning of their relationship and their final date before they leave for college and inevitably break up. During the date, Aidan takes Claire to places significant to their relationship. Things come to a head at the end of the movie, and they are forced to decide the fate of their relationship.
One good thing about the movie is that it is short, just under 90 minutes. This makes it an easy watch, and if you hate it, you can watch something else after.
I didn't like or dislike this movie. It's a good movie to watch if you want to zone out for a while, in my opinion.
"Senior Year" (2022)
With a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 23%, "Senior Year" opens with a flashback to 1999, where Stephanie Conway (Rebel Wilson) is a 14-year-old high school outcast with dreams of becoming popular and winning prom queen. Through her hard work and determination, she does become popular and even lands Blaine (Tyler Barnhardt), the guy she's been pining over for years.
However, her seemingly perfect world comes crashing down when a cheerleading accident right before prom puts her in a coma for two decades.
Flash forward 20 years, Stephanie, now 37, wakes from her coma and is determined to relive her final months of high school and claim the prom queen crown. Along the way, comical hijinks ensue as Stephanie tries ingratiating herself with her Gen Z classmates.
The movie is full of early aughts pop culture references and fun musical moments. The humor in the film is of the crude teenage variety, so if that's not your thing, you probably won't like this movie. Personally, I had a few good laughs throughout.
Also, I appreciated that the film had some heart. There are some good messages about friendship and not hinging your value on social media clout.
This was definitely my favorite of the three.
What I learned from watching these three rom-coms is that sometimes a poorly rated movie is poorly rated for good reason, but other times it's truly subjective. But you'll never know until you give them a shot. Plus, if you don't like it, Netflix has dozens of other recommendations lined up and ready to go.