I live my life by one principle: If Zoey Deutch is involved in something, that thing is automatically good, or at least better than it would be were she not involved. (Okay, so maybe it’s not the principle I live by; but it’s for sure a principle). So even while I didn’t have high expectations for Something from Tiffany’s, I still held out hope that her involvement could at least make it a watchable rom-com, something fun for the Christmas season. Unfortunately, not even Zoey Deutch could breathe enough life into this one. It’s not horrible by any means, but there’s nothing special that sticks out about it.
Even more disappointing is that it has a fun enough premise, especially for this kind of movie. Rachel’s (Deutch) boyfriend Gary (Ray Nicholson) and Ethan (Kendrick Sampson) are both at Tiffany’s buying something for their respective girlfriends. Ethan is with his daughter Daisy (Leah Jeffries), looking for an engagement ring for Vanessa (Shay Mitchell). Gary just wants something “reasonable” (i.e. not too expensive) for a Christmas gift. (Something from Tiffany’s is even set during Christmas! Another layup it bricked).
Gary leaves the store (he rudely pushes past Ethan and Daisy on the sidewalk so the audience knows he’s a dick) and walks into the street, only to be hit by a cab. Ethan goes to check on him (so the audience knows he’s the “good guy;” not a lot of subtlety here, folks). As they gather themselves, their Tiffany bags get switched. Ethan takes the earrings Gary bought for Rachel, and Gary takes home the engagement ring Ethan and Daisy picked out.
Neither discovers the mixup until Christmas morning, when Vanessa loves the earrings and Rachel accepts the unplanned surprise proposal, when Gary doesn’t take the opportunity to explain it. This sets off what should be a fun, ridiculous series of events as Ethan tries to get his ring back. But alas, this is not that movie.
At only 87 minutes, Something from Tiffany’s can at least be commended on its short runtime, except that it comes at the expense of anything resembling depth or substance. Every single character and every single scene is as surface level as they come. We learn next to nothing about the Ethan/Vanessa and Rachel/Gary relationships. Gary is a jerk because we’re told he’s a jerk and also because he’s…late for stuff? Vanessa and Ethan have some problems, but it never feels like they should break up. The problems presented certainly don’t seem like anything that they couldn’t at least try to work out.
The obvious hook is that the audience is supposed to want Ethan and Rachel to end up together, which, duh. But so little time and effort is put into building their chemistry and budding potential relationship. Deutch and Sampson give admirable efforts, and manage to squeeze out every ounce of charm they can from this barebones script. But there’s simply nothing there. The story is just so…bland.
We barely see Ethan and Rachel spend any real quality time together to make us believe they could be a good match. The whole thing feels like it’s simply ticking broad plot points off a checklist. It’s a sad waste of two talented, charismatic actors. But even still, everything good about Something from Tiffany’s comes solely from Deutch and Sampson’s said talent and charisma. As “blah” as the movie is, it could have been far worse, and would have been had these two not been cast in the leads.
The supporting characters don’t offer anything either. Daisy is cute and sweet, but she’s nothing more than the usual “daughter who loves her dad and wants him to be happy” character. Rachel’s friends are there for comedic relief and sage life advice. Except the jokes don’t land and the advice is simple and boilerplate. Again, there’s simply no life or energy to this story.
A good setup and two solid leads offered a hint of a promising movie, but those hopes are instantly dashed. It’s simple enough and there’s nothing inherently horrible about it. You might get drawn in with the initial setup, but there’s nothing there to keep you locked in. I suppose you could do worse, but that’s not exactly a good selling point. In the end it’s a forgettable movie that wasted a fun setup and two great leads.
Score: 56/100
