Set It Up (2018)
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Two overworked assistants in New York City team up to orchestrate a romance between their demanding bosses to win back their own personal lives.
The story
Harper Moore and Charlie Young are overworked assistants working in the same New York City building for two demanding bosses: Kirsten Stevens and Rick Otis. After meeting one night while dealing with their bosses' dinner needs, the two realize they have no time for their personal lives. Harper proposes a plan to set Kirsten and Rick up with each other, reasoning that if the bosses were dating, they would have less time to overwork them. Charlie agrees to help, and the two begin orchestrating various 'meet cute' scenarios to force their employers into a relationship.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Harper and Charlie begin orchestrating a 'meet cute' by stalling an elevator, but the plan goes awry when a claustrophobic delivery man interferes. They pivot to a baseball game, bribing a kiss-cam operator to pressure Rick and Kirsten into a kiss. The plan initially works, giving Harper and Charlie more free time. However, as the relationship becomes bumpy, the assistants continue to manipulate the couple with secret dates, gifts, and a weekend vacation. While on vacation, Charlie is ignored by his girlfriend Suze. Upon returning, Rick and Kirsten reveal they are engaged. Harper discovers Rick is still sleeping with his ex-wife, Kiki, and is only marrying Kirsten to spite her. Harper confronts Kirsten, who fires her. Charlie breaks up with Suze and tells Kirsten the truth about Rick's intentions, causing Kirsten to leave him. Harper faces a crisis with her writing but eventually focuses on her own career. Later, Kirsten tries to hire Harper back, but Harper declines to focus on her writing. In a final meeting, Kirsten attempts to set up Harper and Charlie, who confess their feelings for each other and kiss.
- First release year
- 2018
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Claire Scanlon
- Writers
- Katie Silberman · writer; Katie Silberman · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Zoey Deutch · Harper Moore; Glen Powell · Charlie Young; Lucy Liu · Kirsten Stevens; Taye Diggs · Rick Otis; Joan Smalls · Suze; Meredith Hagner · Becca; Pete Davidson · Duncan; Jon Rudnitsky · Mike
- Genres
- romantic comedy
- Themes
- work-life balance; manipulation; romance
- Tone and mood
- romantic; comedic
- Premise and plot tags
- romantic comedy; office comedy; fake dating
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has been called "a modern day classic."
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 62 · scale: 100 · review count: 14
- Production trivia
- Netflix released a compilation video of bloopers from the film on March 8, 2023.; The director, Claire Scanlon, has ideas for a possible sequel.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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