Here’s Why Amazon’s New Number One Movie Is A Sudden Rom Com Gem

There’s a very good reason why Amazon’s new rom com, Picture This, has gotten so popular in such a short amount of time.

In fact, it’s currently the number one movie on the platform. But while I could probably answer this mystery with a simple, “It’s good,” there’s more to it than that. In this fun romantic comedy, photographer Pia is told that she’ll meet her soulmate during her next five dates. While she’d much rather focus on her sister’s wedding, her family is instead trying to set her up with anyone who will have her. Sounds good, right? If you haven’t given Picture This a shot yet, here’s why you should watch it ASAP.

Simone Ashley is an international treasure.

Picture This is carried by its lead, Simone Ashley. You may recognize her from everyone’s favorite season of Bridgerton, Season 2, in which Jonathan Bailey’s Anthony Bridgerton understandably falls head-over-heels for her. Her on-screen chemistry wasn’t a one-off, though. She’s just as great in Picture This, often turning otherwise banal scenes into charming affairs. If they had picked anyone else, this probably would have been a bomb.

Great romantic comedies are currently hard to come by.

Aside from a few personal gems like 2023’s Happiness for Beginners and last year’s Boot Camp, the genre has been mostly filled with made-for-streaming duds. And as a rom com lover, that pains me in a very personal way. Thus as soon as a good romantic comedy comes out, of course it would soar to the top of the charts. How could it not?

The main character doesn’t need to be fixed.

The biggest problem with romantic comedies, even the classics we all loved from the ’80s and ’90s, is that the female main character almost always needs to be saved–mostly from herself. She’s an absolute wreck. While Picture This’s Pia needs to work on some things, like her languishing photography business, she’s not nearly as much of a disaster as heroines of the past. She doesn’t need to completely change her personality to find love and happiness, and that’s honestly the best message.

It isn’t filled with stereotypes…for the most part.

That’s another problem with rom coms of the past. They would often have cookie-cutter characters and offensive stereotypes. Picture This could have easily gone in this direction–especially with its multi-cultural cast and plot.

I’d say the only place this falters is with Pia’s gay best friend, Jay. He’s got the sass and the stereotypical libido and palatable-for-the-straights personality you’d expect from a character like this. Still, he doesn’t feel as cookie-cutter as he could have. He has emotional depth and an actual role in the story, even if we don’t get to know who he is beyond the way he interacts with Pia.

All that said, Picture This does deserve its spot at the top of Amazon Prime’s most-watched list. Check it out on Prime Video.