The Big Picture

Despite being marketing as a rom-com, Upgraded focuses more on Anna’s professional struggles than her relationship with Will. The imbalance of comedy over romance throws off the pacing and leaves key aspects feeling underdeveloped. Upgraded is still worth watching for its performances and the journey of self-discovery, but temper your romantic expectations.

At face value, Prime Video’s Upgraded has all the hallmarks of a straightforward, good-time romantic comedy. We have our heroine, Anna (Camila Mendes), a broke-yet-fashionable woman living in New York and working a dream job in the arts, under a demanding boss, who by complete happenstance meets a handsome stranger, and things escalate from there. In practice, it’s less straightforward, with Mendes taking center stage in a story that is substantially more about Anna’s personal life and career than her budding relationship with William (Archie Renaux). While the end product is still a fun watch, those hoping for a classic rom-com are left with a movie that leans far more on the “com” than the “rom.”

Upgraded It follows Ana, an aspiring art intern who is invited on a last-minute work trip to London by her super boss, meeting the handsome and wealthy William on the plane. Release Date February 9, 2024 Director Carlson Young Main Genre Comedy Writers Christine Lenig , Luke Spencer Roberts , Justin Matthews

What Is ‘Upgraded’ About?
Image via Amazon MGM

Upgraded follows Anna (Mendes), a woman with an art history Master’s degree working at a gallery apprenticeship she seems far too qualified for. But it’s all worth it for the opportunity to work with Claire Dupree (Marisa Tomei, who is clearly having the time of her life with the role), a legend in the world of fine arts auctions. The job is demanding, and her boss is unreasonable, but it’s all worth it for Anna, who wants to apply the experience towards owning her own gallery one day.

After Anna saves the day at work, more specifically saving Claire from a sticky situation, she is rewarded with the opportunity to fly to London to help with a high-profile auction. She gets upgraded from the worst seat in economy class to first class, where she meets the handsome, sweet, and charming Will (Renaux), and inadvertently lies to him about her title at the auction house, leading him to think she’s the director. On arrival in London, the game is on for Anna to keep her lie, her budding relationship with Will, and her friendship with his mother Catherine (Lena Olin), separate from her professional struggles with Claire, and more specifically Claire’s two assistants Suzette (Rachel Matthews) and Renée (Fola Evans-Akingbola).

‘Upgraded’ Doesn’t Really Feel Like a Rom-Com

Despite the marketing suggesting that Upgraded is, in fact, a rom-com, the focus of the story leans so hard on Anna’s professional woes that it hardly has time to devote to her relationship with Will, making that whole half of the story feel rushed at best. The problem is, the setup is there. The setup is, in fact, excellent. It’s a modern-day Cinderella story. Anna even has two wicked “stepsisters” in the form of Suzette and Renée, who definitely saw The Devil Wears Prada and decided the toxic elements of the job were aspirational, and not a cautionary tale. Anna is upgraded courtesy of her “fairy godmother” airline employee. In London, she and her Prince Charming even go to “balls” — parties and galas — together. The setup is done, and the familiar story beats are present.

In execution, however, all of this becomes sorely lacking. It feels like not a day goes by without someone in Hollywood decrying the overabundance of romance, despite the fact that it seems we have less meaningful romance on-screen than ever before, and this script plays right into that fear. There’s almost a needless anxiety throughout that spending too much time on Anna and Will’s relationship will somehow cheapen Anna’s professional aspirations, never mind that this exact needle is one romance novels mostly manage to thread with great success. Once we move past the meet-cute, which is excellent, and Mendes and Renaux do a terrific job with it, Anna and Will’s relationship develops a distinct lack of tension. Her reason for continuing to keep her secret seems flimsy, as does their eventual third-act breakup. It’s also very telling about the film’s priorities that Anna spends more time on-screen with Will’s mother and her boss than she seems to with Will. The most significant moments of their romantic relationship are conveyed via montage, which would be fine if the romance were not half the point of Upgraded in the first place. As a result of this imbalance that so heavily favors Anna’s work at the art gallery, it throws the rom-com pacing off quite jarringly, and things feel over before they’ve ever really begun.

‘Upgraded’ Is Worth a Watch – Just Temper Your Romantic Expectations

None of this is to suggest, however, that Upgraded is not worth the watch. It absolutely is. Mendes is carving out a wonderful little post-Riverdale niche for herself, and expertly plays the role of a woman who knows just how qualified she is for her job. She is well aware of the cartoonish abuse she suffers at the hands of her colleagues, but always keeps her eye on the bigger picture. As a coming-of-age, coming into your own power story, Upgraded succeeds magnificently. Her journey of finding ways to succeed and work, and maneuver her way into her boss’s good graces is far more fairytale-like than the romantic plot, which arguably would have been stronger as a subplot, and not the element half the story hinged on. Renaux, too, is wonderful as Will and has surprisingly good comedic timing. For the romance side of things, I would be interested to see what else Mendes and Renaux do along those lines in the future, as this one didn’t live up to either the promises of the genre or even its own marketing. However, Upgraded is still worth the watch for the couture, the comedy, and the Devil Wears Prada-esque journey of self-discovery.

Upgraded REVIEWUpgraded is a romantic comedy that features great performances but underdelivers on the actual romance. ProsCamila Mendes, Archie Renaux, Marisa Tomei and the rest of the cast turn in wonderful performances. Anna’s professional story is engaging and relatable. ConsThe romance is very underdeveloped and feels like an afterthought. The imbalance of comedy over romance throws off the pacing.

Upgraded premieres on Prime Video on February 9.