What’s Up, Scarlet?

Well, the lead character in What’s Up Scarlet? has four dogs. So, early on I was predisposed to have good will towards this movie. And while I think the conflicts can veer too dramatic for this comedy, the initially earned four dog goodwill carried through most of the film.

What’s Up Scarlet? is the unlikely love story of two women. The first is the titular Scarlet, a no-nonsense matchmaker who’s quick to react to a situation with anger. The second character is Sabrina, an immigrant and actress. The women initially meet during a minor car collision. When Sabrina admits she lives in her car, Scarlet allows her to stay the night. Due to some emotional manipulation, Scarlet’s own loneliness and the chemistry the women share, this one night turns into a semi-permanent situation. While Scarlet and Sabrina start out as friends, eventually they do fall into bed together only for Scarlet’s homophobic mother to discover them. This puts pause and strain on their relationship as does the fact that Scarlet’s brother wants revenge on Scarlet for unknowingly set him up with an ex-porn star.

On paper, What’s Up Scarlet? doesn’t look amazing. If I saw a screenplay for this movie, I would not be impressed. What carries the film is the solid, committed performances from the cast and the overall energy the film has. Scarlet and Sabrina are both likable, really competent leads which really does keep the movie afloat. As occasionally cliche as it is, I was really excited to see how this chance meeting between two very different women would blossom into a romance.

Admittedly, it never blossoms into full, unambiguous romance. There’s really only one scene where they kiss. Leading up to that scene, they were friends with Scarlet showing jealousy. Following their one love scene which is interrupted by Scarlet’s mom, Scarlet shuns Sabrina’s attempt to kiss her. However, they continue to live together, do activities together and later, Sabrina says she loves Scarlet. Still, there is no concrete confirmation that they’re overtly a romantic couple. Though the film does end with them cuddling on a romantic boat ride in Italy at sunset. Yeah, they still haven’t kissed onscreen since that first time but I don’t think even really good friends take a vacation that romantic together.

As much as What’s Up Scarlet? has the energy required for this kind of comedy, not all of the actual jokes land. The curse of comedy is that it can age really poorly. Some of the jokes made in this 2007 movie are not kosher in 2021. Early on, Scarlet asks Sabrina if she’s retarded, for example. There’s also a truly awful scene where Scarlet’s brother opines why it was so terrible it turns out his girlfriend was an ex-porn star. Very slut-shamey. There’s also an ex-lover of Scarlet’s who shows up at her work and doesn’t take no for an answer. Scarlet continuously rejects his come-ons but he just comes on harder. This ends with him pinning her to her desk and her failing to fight him off. Luckily, her assistant interrupts this attempted rape scene that’s played for a light-hearted chuckle.

Even when the jokes don’t age poorly, Scarlet tends to takes its dramatic scenes too far. On the one hand, I admire the fact that they did take them all the way and there certainly was conflict in the film. On the other hand, some of these situations are full anti-jokes. The best example is Scarlet’s mother. Overbearing and shitty mothers are a common comedy staple. And sometimes in the film, it works as comedy. But generally, there’s nothing funny about this mother. She’s emotionally and verbally abusive. When she catches Scarlet and Sabrina in bed, she goes on a homophobic tirade, speaking every worst fear a queer person has when they picture their parents reacting poorly to their coming out. What’s Up Scarlet? is a bit too eager to go full-on angsty drama for a movie that is still tonally a comedy.

Maybe the four dogs are making me biased. Because even though What’s Up Scarlet? doesn’t have a screenplay that should work and its comedy chops are extremely hit and miss, I kind of liked it. Mostly, this hinges on its two leads and their cute, weird relationship. This is a true case of opposites attract. While the relationship seems implausible, Scarlet and Sabrina also feel so natural existing in each other’s space and sharing their lives. What’s Up Scarlet? may be uneven but it does feature a core couple who are likeable and incredibly easy to root for.

Overall rating: 5.6/10