THE STORY – Following a breakup with her boyfriend and loss of her job, a woman heads to her hometown, where she reunites with friends and former flings, turning her life upside down.
THE CAST – Iliza Shlesinger, Tom Welling, Megan Mullally, Lola Tung, Garrett Wareing, Cassidy Freeman & Aimee Garcia
THE TEAM – Josephine Decker (Director) & Iliza Shlesinger (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 98 Minutes
Much was written about the supposed death of romantic comedies a decade or so ago. Far less has been said about the genre’s resurgence, or reshaping, in the mid-2000s. No filmmaker had a greater impact on that era than Judd Apatow, who fused raunchy, R-rated humor with traditional romance to revitalize a form that had begun to feel creatively exhausted. Much has changed since then, though you might not know it from watching “Chasing Summer,” a nostalgic, crowd-pleasing rom-com that feels as if it stepped straight out of the late 2000s. That sensibility may seem like an unexpected match for filmmaker Josephine Decker, known for challenging, experimental work like “Madeline’s Madeline.” Still, the result is a glossy, fun picture designed to entertain.
Iliza Shlesinger writes and stars in “Chasing Summer,” her second time doing both following “Good on Paper” in 2021. She plays Jamie, a successful disaster relief worker who thrives on her workaholism, at least until she is abruptly dumped by her boyfriend while on assignment. Suddenly homeless and between job sites, she returns to her hometown in Texas. Jamie is not someone who simply grew up and moved away. She fled after years of accumulated drama. Slowly, the details come into focus: her cheating ex Chase (Tom Welling), rumor-spreading classmates led by Aimee Garcia, and her recovering addict sister Marissa (Cassidy Freeman). There is plenty she would rather avoid. Her parents (Megan Mullally and Jeff Perry) are loving but predictably overbearing, making her temporary return anything but comfortable.
For now, Jamie wants very little beyond a place to crash while preparing for her next job in Indonesia. Instead of reflecting on her future, she slips easily back into her teenage habits, immaturity, and all. While this approach mostly works, the film never fully establishes her as a well-adjusted adult, leaving her to feel emotionally stalled. Even upon returning home, her strongest connection is with a much younger employee (Lola Tung) at her sister’s skating rink. Still, these shortcomings matter less when the comedy is landing as consistently as it does. Shlesinger is endlessly charming as Jamie re-immerses herself in Texas culture. Whether she is blasting Sum 41 or downing oversized convenience-store drinks, the film leans hard into nostalgia and broad humor. It strongly recalls the Apatow-era rom-coms, right down to its lovable but underdeveloped lead.
To its credit, “Chasing Summer” eventually grows into a more mature emotional space. Jamie begins a relationship with Colby (Garrett Wareing), a much younger man whose optimism and openness reflect what she feels she has lost. More importantly, reconnecting, sometimes reluctantly, with her former classmates reveals that her memories of the past are incomplete. This is where the film truly shines. Many of us believe we have outgrown the people we left behind, only to discover that they have evolved as well. They are not frozen in old conflicts, as we imagine. Through these realizations, Jamie is forced to confront her own arrested development. It is a thoughtful, vulnerable insight, even if it is occasionally buried beneath broad comedy and familiar plotting.
Predictable as it may be, “Chasing Summer” has enough easygoing charm to keep things moving. While it may seem like a conventional project for Decker, her visual sensibility brings a grounded authenticity to the material. The stripped-down aesthetic makes the story feel more sincere than it might in the hands of a more polished studio. Ultimately, “Chasing Summer” works as a loving throwback to raunchy rom-coms. Though it plays things relatively safe, it sticks the landing, offering a warm, hopeful take on what it means to go home again.
