The New Romantic (2018) User Reviews (13)

nice acting

[ops-52535 · 7/10 · 20 January 2019]

This is not a funny film, its not even romantic, but the acting by jessica barden are memorable and aspiring. she will be 27 this year, but has the ubelievable look of an innocent 14 yrs old girl, but at the same time could have been man hating 30 year old too. her acting really wins the contest of driving this film to a 7.

its all about romance, the lack of it, the wish for it, the quest for it, and to live with it. its a hard days night all the way through, as she tries to be seen, but at the same time trying to be a rough tough individualistic female, that means trouble and headbanging against the wall., though it ends surprisingly well ,the travel has been hard. i think a lot of girls from 13-30 will find recognition and a-ha moments , and even a good share of boys will be able to identify oneself with the main character.

im impressed by the technical product carly stone has put together, and what amazes me most is the multipel locations and settings that has been used making this flick. if i say at least 50 then im not overestimating. also the make up department shall have gratitude for making ms barden so rich and at the same time so plain and simple....

the story though might feel a bit superficial and shallow for an old grumpy man like me. will i recommend it, of course.....

never ask the director what the movie's about

[bardavidi · 6/10 · 30 January 2019]

First off, you should know that this IS a movie critical of sugar baby/daddy culture. It does not, however, pass judgement on its lead Blake played by Jessica Barden.

Other than Barden's great acting it doesn't really have any solid cinematography or outstanding memorable score.

Plotwise, any scene beside Blake sugar babying feels replaceable and at times plain cliche (halloween party on April) and name-dropping Nora Efron directly to outline her writing roots feels lazy.

This is a movie that has its soul and originality inside the criticism on the topic of sugar babies - the decision to respond to a topical subject is wonderful.

But cinema demands to be more than TELLING a good story, it's the art of showing it.

The New Romantic Review of the film

[e-angelou · 6/10 · 22 February 2019]

It's worth to watch this movie for one important reason: so you know what not to do with your life, not to push beyond thin lines. And also, to process some personality traits that we may all have but we may as well hide. This film shows how possible it is to be on "the other side" by just being yourself, not resisting, not having any moral restrictions, nothing to hold you back. It challenges matters of personality, ethics as well as social interpersonal relationships.

An enjoyable watch

[Gordon-11 · 14 August 2019]

This film tells the story of a college girl who tries compensated dating to get inspiration for her column.

The story is actually quite good. It strikes the right balance between entertainment and questioning the morality of her actions. It is light enough and yet still treat this as a serious subject. I enjoyed it a lot.

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 6/10 · 14 September 2019]

The movie was okay. The idea was nice and the performances were great. Especially the leading lady was brilliant and I loved her. However, the movie seemed to have no point at all. The themes that it dealed with never reached a conclusion and in the end, they wrapped everything up with a cheesy conclusion.

Nice story

[slytherinserpent · 6/10 · 17 July 2019]

It has a good plot and good acting, but the camera is shaking almost the entire time. I don't know how, it just bothers me. The main character looks like a 16 year old girl which makes the make out scene with the older guy kind of weird, but her acting is really good. Also, it's really nice to see Camila Mendes and Hayley Law from Riverdale here.

Just kind of there

[SaidNDone · 2/10 · 28 April 2019]

"The New Romantic" isn't terrible, it's just bland. Plot-wise, nothing particularly interesting happens the entire movie. The movie just kind of meanders through 2-3 plot-lines without digging very deep into any of them. Additionally, neither of the two main plot-lines are actually closed out, however because neither storyline was really fleshed out in the first place you don't really notice or care.

Since this movie is more of a romantic comedy, a dull plot would have been acceptable if in its place there were some form of character/relationship development. But, because the plot is so thin and the pacing is relatively slow... the main character doesn't really interact with anyone outside of her roommate in more than 3-4 scenes, meaning no real development takes place.

The net result is a movie that just kind of exists for the sake of it. "The New Romantic" wasn't bad, but I honestly don't think anyone would notice if it didn't exist.

Not even Riverdale chicks can save this film.

[imageryweddingfilms · 2/10 · 12 July 2019]

Laughable at best. The lead girl looks like she is 11 years old which makes the sex in this extremely awkward. The writing was awful, the script was a train wreck. The thought that bringing in two girls from Riverdale to try and make this film great failed completely. Best part of this film was the soundtrack which had some pretty decent songs. That's where the second star comes in. Save yourself the time and skip over this one.

Painfully Mediocre

[thesafetyinsleep · 4/10 · 19 August 2019]

As far as plot, this one is just mediocre. Easy enough to understand but not given proper attention to be particularly interesting. I wasn't invested enough in the outcomes of anything to care what happened either way.

To make matters worse, the lead actress is not likable at all to me. Something about her puts me off. I'm sure others wouldn't mind her though-most likely just an opinion of mine.

Excellent portrayal of dating as a millennial

[otemankatia · 9/10 · 24 January 2019]

Not only is the writing and acting strong in this movie, it's an excellent portrayal and social commentary about dating as a millennial (or gen Z). Whie those who are expecting a cheesy rom com will be disappointed, it's a very clever movie. Are relationships based on love or survival? Have women become a commodity in the tinder era? Are we judged by everyone all day, in person, and on social media? The ending veered a bit too close to a silly rom com but over-all its excellent. I am shocked the ratings aren't higher

I guess I'll have to finish it...

[kaelyncecilia · 4/10 · 25 April 2019]

There are still 46 mins left of this movie and I just don't know if i'll make it through. Nothing really pops out and grabs your attention. There are no twists or interesting viewpoints, but still I could stare numbly at the screen as this played in any other circumstance. But, the lead actor is just so hard to watch. She isn't very likable and doesn't have any redeeming qualities. And Brett Dier, who is normally so great on Jane, became this caricature of some dweeb? I don't need to see the end of the movie to foresee that she will get in too deep, get hurt and either write a story that wins her the grant OR realizes that Brett Dier character was her soulmate all along. Or both. The New Romantic is a misleading title.

Mediocre movie ruined by lead actress.

[auct-eu · 3/10 · 28 November 2020]

The movie is very generic and simple but watching lead actress going sugar baby, looking like elementary school student is disgusting. Note I don't hate this actress (she's just bad actress who looks like 10 year girl), but she doesn't fit it at all.

Brett Dier was the best part

[BryceBoyce25 · 10/10 · 6 October 2021]

The movie was generally just ok. Nice sound track decent acting by the leads. Brett Dier stole the film in my opinion and wish he had a bigger part. I found myself only really paying attention when he was around. But I'd still recommend it as a late night little rom com. Not bad.