Romance movies can be a blast, but are they realistic representations of healthy relationships? More often than not, no. Elisa Kalani and Cazzie David look to clarify some of those unrealistic expectations movies have placed on romance via their feature directorial debut, an “anti-romcom” called I Love You Forever.
Sofia Black-D’Elia leads as Mackenzie, a 25-year-old law student who sticks to brief hookups and “situationships.” However, then she meets Ray Nicholson’s Finn during the ultimate “real life meet-cute.” Does true love really exist? Could Finn be the perfect guy? Mackenzie thinks so — until she starts getting glimpses of his dark side. Ultimately, Mackenzie winds up “trapped in a tumultuous and depleting cycle of emotional abuse, and must confront whether her true love is too good to be true after all.”
In celebration of I Love You Forever’s world premiere at SXSW 2024, Kalani, David and Jon Rudnitsky who plays one of Mackenzie’s two closest friends alongside David, all visited the Collider interview studio to discuss making their movie, and to weigh in on the romance movies that get it right, and the ones that get it wrong.
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