It’s a great time to be a rom-com fan. As beloved leading ladies like Meg Ryan, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts, and Sandra Bullock return to the genre we all love, Nancy Meyers alum Diane Keaton and Pretty Woman’s Richard Gere have decided to join the movement, starring in a multi-generational rom-com called Maybe I Do.
As if Keaton and Gere weren’t enough to draw you in, Susan Sarandon, William H. Macy, Emma Roberts, and Luke Bracey fill out the cast. As Sarandon continues to promise a “slut era” on Twitter, perhaps Maybe I Do will be the perfect vehicle for her transformation. Plus, fans of the brilliant and underrated Netflix rom-com Holidate should be thrilled to see the captivating duo of Roberts and Bracey reuniting here as well.
That young pair will lead the charge as Michelle (Roberts) and Allen (Bracey), a couple who start questioning the next steps in their relationship. What better way to do that than to invite the parents over and ask them how their marriage is working out? (I could list three better ways, but c’est la vie.) By some strange coincidence, these parents already know one another very well, leading to a bunch of boisterous opinions and ensuing hijinks.
The hot package sold at Cannes, with writer/producer Michael Jacobs making his feature directorial debut in the comedy based on his script. “I got to watch this incredible cast playing characters I think people will love seeing them play,” Jacobs told Deadline. “The difficult choices they have to make about what might be the best rest of their lives is something I am hopeful will resonate strongly with the audience.”
Keaton has starred in a few ensemble rom-coms in the past few years, including titles like Love the Coopers and Love, Weddings & Other Disasters. Same with Roberts and Bracey, who starred opposite each other in Holidate. But Gere, the Pretty Woman playboy? We haven’t seen him in quite some time, so it’s a real treat to get him back in the game.
Just this week, Meg Ryan’s directorial effort, the rom-com What Happens Later, was announced, which finds her starring opposite David Duchovny. All this lovely news comes as Sandra Bullock releases her adventure romance The Lost City, J.Lo gives the performance of a lifetime in Marry Me, and Julia Roberts stars opposite George Clooney in the upcoming Ticket to Paradise, yet another rom-com that reunites the prolific Ocean’s 11 duo.
All of this to say: the rom-com renaissance is only just beginning. While Netflix has been quietly pushing out crumbs of rom-com decency amid a whole vat of cheesy garbage, the pros are now teaming up to electrify the genre once more.
