PLOT: When a lovesick musician is given the wrong number for his dream girl, he teams up with a driven psychology student to find her. Together, they spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.
REVIEW: I remember first seeing the trailer for Finding Emily earlier this year and being intrigued. I always like it when an old trope is updated for modern times, and there’s nothing more tropey than someone searching for a mysterious person after a one-of-a-kind meet-cute. Obviously, Cinderella is the most famous example, but even something like Serendipity or Before Sunrise could be considered offshoots. But in a world of social media, is it really that hard not to find someone?
Finding Emily takes a look at Owen, who meets a mysterious girl named Emily one night, who seemingly gives him the wrong phone number. On his desperate search, he teams up with a different Emily to try to find her, and we follow their journey. From emailing every girl named Emily at the local University to going door to door to various bars downtown, the search continues. But unbeknownst to Owen, Emily is actually using him as an experiment in love and logging all her findings. The search for Emily is genuinely intriguing, with the question not being whether or not he’ll find her, as this is literally a movie called “Finding Emily.” Instead, it’s more about, when he does find her, whether or not she’ll live up to his expectations.
I was a little worried I’d have a hard time rooting for Owen as I found Spike Fearn‘s Alien Romulus character to be so grating. Thankfully, he quickly settles into this lovable goofball role with ease. It’s hard to have someone who constantly makes mistakes and still manages to be likable yet he pulls it off. I wish he were given a little more agency outside of “I need to find this girl,” but hey, that’s what the movie is. He has wonderful chemistry with Angourie Rice, who has always been great and has felt poised to break out huge for years. She is instantly likable and does really well with her stolen glances.
I really like that they put the “Manic pixie dream girl” stereotype in their crosshairs. The film makes a good point about not missing what’s right in front of you because of some imagined ideal that we’re searching for. Every Year After‘s Sadie Soverall does a great job in the role, as it really has two very distinct and vastly different points to get across. There’s a lot of pressure to nail the meetcute between her and Owen and it lands perfectly. It’s really their second interaction that shows how good the two actors are though. I’m also a big fan of Phil Wang so it was awesome to see him show up in a supporting role, though he’s definitely underutilized.
Any love story is all about the connections and I was impressed with how believable the progression of some of these relationships happen to be. I also enjoy how the film takes a look at how romantic acts of love in a movie can come across like a crazy stalker in real life. Some women view Owen as predatory while others see him as a hopeless romantic. It makes a good point about how acts of love are entirely dependent on how they’re received, no matter how well intentioned they may be.
Like many romantic comedies, Finding Emily made me roll my eyes a couple of times, but it’s genuinely sweet overall. There are some dumb moments, and there’s a whole subplot involving girls trying to search for Owen that didn’t really land. They’re able to utilize social media in an interesting way, having strangers chime in on the strange situation to provide a bit of commentary. It also allows for some fun editing moments like the girls responding to Owen’s email being in the room with him, and disappearing as he closes his laptop.
Finding Emily has a very obvious conclusion, but the journey getting there is interesting enough to make it not feel tired. What’s that old saying? “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” And I genuinely enjoyed my time here. I found myself rooting for the leads, which, given my avoidance of corny romance, speaks to its ability to get an audience invested. The narrative moves at a brisk pace and has the right amount of energy. I was rooting for love to win, which means the film did its part.
Finding Emily is playing In Theaters on August 28th 2026.
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