‘I Want You Back’ captures romance and comedy really well: actor Charlie Day

PTI, Feb 17, 2022, 4:30 PM IST

New Delhi: ”Horrible Bosses” star Charlie Day says his latest film ”I Want You Back” is a movie that harks back to some of the Hollywood classics that perfectly captured the essence of romance and comedy. Day, known for starring in the sitcom ”It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” as well as blockbusters like ”Horrible Bosses” and ”Pacific Rim” movies, said he has been a life-long fan of romantic-comedy genre, having watched beloved hits like ”Sleepless in Seattle” and ”When Harry Met Sally”.

”I like the tradition of movies that it comes from. I love movies like ‘When Harry Met Sally’ and ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ and certain Nancy Meyers and Woody Allen films. I just like romantic stories. And I thought this film really captured the romance and the comedy quite well,” the 46-year-old actor told PTI in a Zoom interview from Los Angeles.

”I Want You Back”, directed by Jason Orley, is a story of ”real” and ”down to earth” people, the actor added.

”They were well-rounded characters. There was no sort of magic trick to the movie that made it exist. It was just a really sweet story about people who wanted to find love. In addition to that, there were some real genuine laughs on the page…” he added.

The romantic comedy, which started streaming on Prime Video from February 11, is about Peter (Day) and Emma (Slate), two thirty-somethings who have been dumped by their respective partners. They decide to team up to win their exes back by destroying their new relationships.

Day said the film felt like the right opportunity at the right time as he was keen to take up roles that push him outside of his comfort zone.

”I felt challenged by our director Jason in a good way. He was pushing me to be really vulnerable, grounded and real in a way that I just found exciting to get to do. I’d like to get to do more of it.

”I really hope that I get the opportunity to do more roles that push me even further outside what I’m comfortable doing and maybe that means less comedy and more dramatic things… I really want to challenge myself,” he added.

The film presented Day with a well-crafted character in Peter, who feels stuck in his professional life and decides to do something about it.

The actor said being complacent is a ”pitfall that I can fall into at any stage of my life”.

”I think it’s easy to get complacent. And I find that I do get complacent often and I have to push myself to take risks and try new things. Fortunately I’m able to do that.

”I’ve been able to have a good career and a good home life because of taking those risks, but it’s also easy to play it safe. It’s scary to put your neck out there, whether it’s a professional thing or a personal thing. It’s hard to take risks. I sympathise with anyone who is scared to do it because life is scary.” Asked about his thoughts on the concept of one true love, Day, who is married to actor-writer Mary Elizabeth Ellis, said he doesn’t believe in it.

”I don’t believe in the idea of one true love. I think we are capable of so much love that we can love multiple people. Whether it’s our partners, our children, our family members or even just our friends.

”I think that one relationship can last a lifetime and when you look back on it, you can say, ‘wow, that was a real true love.’ But I think our love is multi-dimensional.” ”I Want You Back” also stars Gina Rodriguez, Scott Eastwood, Manny Jacinto and Clark Backo.