In a time when any distraction from the monotony of existence is a rare and delightful commodity, the premiere of a new houseguest brings with it the promise of a much needed shakeup to the family order. So when your sister announced that she would be bringing her new boyfriend home for the holidays, we were excited to see what this latest lover had to offer. Unfortunately, despite strong direction and a promising premise, Jeremy just missed the mark.
The third installment in your sister’s series of lovers, Jeremy is an ambitious project with a lot of heart, but one that falls just short of the hype built up by your sister in the family group chat. Inspired by Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” Jeremy was originally described as a “smoking hot” revamp of the classic “enemies to lovers” trope.
“It’s actually a really funny story,” your sister said to you on FaceTime, unprompted. “We met in my Econ class, and I thought he was, like, such a dick. But then after a few weeks he asked me to go for a walk with him, and I realized that he’s actually kind of sweet. He was just playing Devil’s advocate.”
While your sister had predicted a large turnout on opening weekend, Jeremy’s debut in your kitchen was only decently attended, since your brother had soccer practice and your other sister was busy being angsty in her room.
Stylistically, Jeremy is solid; though cuffed jeans and dark blue sweaters are far from original, this timeless look plays well on your sister’s lockscreen and lends Jeremy a kind of familiarity one welcomes in a semi-unwanted houseguest.
Some of the awkwardness of Jeremy’s theatrical release can be attributed to production delays; although your sister had planned to debut Jeremy as her boyfriend in early September, COVID-19 restrictions prevented her from locking that shit down until mid-November, as she had to carry out her seduction with only a limited crew.
“I’m not going to lie to you - it was hard, scheming a boy with only 8 of my close friends on campus to help,” she said. “But I’m really proud of the work we did, especially under the circumstances.”
Overall, Jeremy has received mixed reviews from critics; while your mom was impressed by his table manners and considers him to be “a very nice young man,” your dad told The Haystack that he “found him a little derivative.” Despite this, Jeremy did manage to avoid the pitfalls of his predecessor, Patrick, whom your father referred to as a “dirty, good-for-nothing hooligan stoner” and once threatened to have arrested for “being a bad influence.”
Though he won’t be winning any Oscars, (an award named for your sister’s first boyfriend, Oscar, who you all agree is the one that got away), Jeremy is a decent, feel-good guy, great for an hour and 30 minutes of mindless distraction.
Rating: B-
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