Review: Marisa Tomei and Sherry Cola's Chemistry Carry Indie Comedy You're Dating a Narcissist

You’re Dating a Narcissist is the debut feature of Ann Marie Allison, bringing her third screenplay to life through her own artistic vision. The vision itself may be flawed, showing her inexperience behind the camera and in the editing room, with a film too afraid to let any of its moments linger, but its message delivered a story about human beings with their own flaws, which really allowed margin for error in Allison’s first attempt.

Most of that is thanks in part to Marisa Tomei, who is one of the only comedic actors to win an Academy Award for a pure comedy performance for a reason. Even this deep into her career as a character actor, she still finds fresh and inventive ways to bring zany characters to life like no other. The primary concept of the film is essentially the Liz Lemon dealbreaker bit stretched into a feature length entry, but Tomei portrays the psychologist character still reeling from her past relationship trauma to the point that she forces her daughter into a generational mistake with such levity that the character that could be narcissistic, overbearing, and toxic to the point of general annoyance shows such nuanced heart that you can’t help but root for her instead. 

As her character starts to lose her grip amidst the abrupt engagement of her daughter, it turns not only into a farcical mother/daughter romp, but a sleuthy-rom-com as well, and one that perhaps this generation needs. The modern dating experience is quite unlike the world previous generations have grown up in. The mass proliferation of the internet, to the point where we have unbridled access to information at our fingertips at every point in time, has gamified that of dating to an extent that hasn’t previously been seen, and the best at games: the people who play them. Mix in a second struggle in the Gen Z lifeblood: the pendulum swing on mental health, which ultimately has made a lot of therapy speak, at best, derivative, and at worst, toxic, even if the accessibility and promotion of these ideas come from the heart. This is a film that does a great job exploring the impact and struggle of therapy speak, and how it may accidentally damage people around you without downplaying the importance of the message that the words convey, while also never losing sight of the way dating has become gamified. The idea of Tomei’s character witnessing how the game can be played through the lens of a parent while delivering the storyboard through what’s essentially a mini-psych lecture creates a fascinating dichotomy for the audience to sink their teeth into. 

Perhaps the surprise standout in support isn’t Ciara Bravo who plays the daughter, but Sherry Cola. Cola, of Joy Ride fame and recently on Apple TV’s Shrinking, portrays the protege of Tomei that helps her out with understanding her daughter, but also deals with her own relationship struggles with her mistress. The film focuses just as much, if not more, on Cola’s character, ultimately hinging the success of the film on Cola’s chemistry with Tomei, and the two knock it out of the park. 

This film certainly has its flaws. It isn’t made with a ton of confidence or experience behind the camera, highlighted by the fact that its ideas often feel more like a series of sketches than a fleshed out feature. Its script is fine, but at best amusing. Its concept isn’t for every demographic. But there’s a good time to be had here, if you can put yourself into the shoes of very human characters and want to enjoy hanging out with them for 95 minutes. This gets a soft recommendation, but not necessarily something to make sure that you have to watch unless you’re a completionist of Tomei’s work. The film will be available on PVOD on May 1st.

Photo Credit: Harpoon Media.

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