Amazon may be the home for sleeper rom-com hits this year. They gave us the fantastic rom-com I Want You Back for Valentine’s day, and for Christmas, we’re getting this little gem of a movie. Something From Tiffany’s reminds me a little of Serendipity, which was labelled too schmaltzy for critics, but grew to become a Christmas classic over the years.
It begins with a purchase of a ring. Need you ask where? Ethan (Kendrick Sampson) and his daughter Daisy (Leah Jeffries) are engagement ring shopping at Tiffany & Co, and Ethan’s hoping to propose to his girlfriend Vanessa (Shay Mitchell) on Christmas day. As they leave the store, happy with their purchase, a fellow shopper Gary (Ray Nicholson) gets hit by a car. Ethan goes to help and in the confusion, he grabs the wrong Tiffany & Co bag. So now Ethan has Gary’s earrings for girlfriend Rachel (Zoey Deutch), and Gary has his engagement ring.
When Ethan and Daisy drop by the hospital to check on Gary, they run into Rachel, and before you know it, Ethan and Rachel are making eyes at each other, yet feeling guilty about the attraction they feel because of their significant others.
The best kind of rom-coms are the type that invite you into the setting and the season. It lets you feel the Christmas season, but not in a cheesy, fake-snow kind of way. As Ethan and Rachel munch on cornettoes and walk around New York City, you feel its vitality and bustle. Deutch and Sampson also have great chemistry, so it’s easy to root for their characters to be together. Deutch is the perfect rom-com leading lady, delivering a sincere and captivating performance. The ultimate dream is to see her and Glen Powell – her Set It Up co-star – in another rom-com together.
Whenever significant others are involved, it’s harder to properly stick the resolution, as they need to end those relationships first before they can begin proper with each other. It’s even more difficult when these characters are especially faithful and can’t even bring themselves to acknowledge the possibility of something blossoming with another person. In Serendipity, things are flirty and romantic between the lead characters despite the fact that both are attached, while in this movie, Rachel and Ethan are infinitely better people, and are constantly trying to do the right thing. I wanted more romance and less conflict, and with this movie, there’s more of the latter.
However, I like the movie’s view on what makes a good partnership. A good partner will lift and encourage the other – to pursue their dreams, or emboldening them to try again despite having failed once before. There should be willing compromise, but with this comes the knowledge that sometimes not all relationships can stand the test of time. Things that once made sense might not anymore, and the ones we’ve fallen in love with need to continue to be the people we fell in love with. We can’t hold in our heads the memory of who they used to be, it’s who they are now that matters.
Also, I really enjoyed Rachel’s friendship with Terri (Jojo T. Gibbs). T. Gibbs is so funny and fabulous, and made me laugh every single time. This is the second time this year that she’s been shackled with the best friend role – first time was in Mimi Cave’s Fresh – so I really hope she gets more of a leading role in her next project.
This movie has done nothing to wane my fear of entering Tiffany & Co – I still fear its pristine, white carpets and I fear its prices even more. But hey, that’s why there’s movies, so I can enjoy seeing others experience the joy of expensive jewellery. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend after all.
Review screener provided.
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