It Had to Be You(2016)

R
1h 25m

Release Date: Oct 21, 2016 | Limited

Sonia, a neurotic and charming jingle writer, dreams of having an exciting life. The sudden marriage proposal from her boyfriend forces Sonia to confront whether she wants to join the ranks of her married friends or pursue her fantasies.

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Director & Top Cast

Sasha Gordon
Director

Renée Taylor
Actor

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

Sonia Friedman (Cristin Milioti), a thirty-something young woman, panics when live-in boyfriend Chris Jensen (Dan Soder) proposes marriage. Her refusal hurts him and he walks out. Her friends Nora (Halley Feiffer), Lee (Kate Simses), and Anna (Erica Sweany) arrive to console her, and in flashbacks we're told by Sonia's narration that Lee and Anna are married and that Nora is engaged to Mark (Mark Gessner). It's through Mark that Sonia met his friend Chris six months before the engagement. In another flashback, we see Chris teaching Sonia to dance to the song "It Had to Be You." Back in the present the next morning, Chris explains they've been in a relationship for over a year, and even though she mocked the idea of marriage back then he thought the past year of seeing her friends married should have helped her change her mind. She apologizes and they agree that she can have some time to think about it.Alone again, Sonia narrates an inner dialogue and through flashbacks and animation reveals three reasons she's afraid to marry Chris: 1) her fear that they are incompatible; 2) her fear that their sex life is inadequate; and 3) her belief that she is not yet "a woman." In that last, she fantasizes about a woman with whom she regularly commutes, and pictures the woman's "perfect" life. Waking from her revelry, she leaves the subway and introduces her workplace. Logging on to her computer she sees her personal website and recalls how Chris had created it for her, and how she'd rebuffed his invitation to have a coffee because she was having sex with her boss Zach (Nick Mennell). Nonetheless, she goes out with Chris to see a movie for which she'd composed the soundtrack, and ends up inviting Chris back to her place where they had sex for the first time.Once again in the present, Sonia and Chris travel with Nora and Mark to their new home; they bought it because Nora's expecting a child after the wedding. Mark advises Chris to force Sonia into a decision and he confronts her to set a deadline for when she'll decide whether to marry him or not. She demurs and he tells her that even though he loves her and wants to spend the rest of their lives together he cannot remain in limbo forever, and suggests they put their relationship on hold until she makes up her mind.While shopping Sonia encounters Lara (Rachel York), the fellow commuter from the subway, and they meet. They accidentally exchange shopping bags and Sonia finds Lara's blue thong and tries it on. Feeling sexy in the thong, when Anna suggests that a brief vacation might help Sonia clear her thoughts, she decides to fly to Rome to look up Fabrizio (Danny Deferrari) on whom she'd had a crush in college. In Rome, she meets Fabrizio and he and his brother Dezi (Nico Grelli) get her drunk and have her model as an "'ipster" for an ad campaign. Afterwards they go back to Dezi's apartment where despite Dezi's presence, she allows Fabrizio to shave her pudenda and then goes to bed with him. When she wakes in the morning, she finds a note from Fabrizio explaining that he's married and his wife is expecting their child so he hopes she won't mind that he "borrowed" all of her cash and her cellphone.Back in New York, Nora reveals that Chris has been living with her and Mark since he moved out of Sonia's apartment. She invites Sonia to come to them for supper so that she can casually meet with Chris again but forgets to make sure that Chris will be there. Zach dumps some last-minute work on Sonia delaying her arrival at the dinner, and when she finally arrives Nora and Mark are fighting because Nora chose Gary (Kyle Mooney), a male midwife, to help with the birth. Chris leaves for supper elsewhere to avoid spending time with Sonia.At Mark and Nora's wedding three weeks after the failed proposal, Sonia begs Mark to be allowed to sit next to him and he agrees "if I don't have to speak to you." Nonetheless, they dance and Chris admits that he still loves her. The next morning, they're back together in Sonia's apartment when he gets a call from Google offering him a job in San Francisco. While Chris is torn about what to do, Sonia encourages him to take the job; he understands she wants to return to their non-committal relationship and he decides to take the job but break up with Sonia.Lee tells Sonia that she too is pregnant, and after a discussion with Zach, Sonia decides to propose to Chris. She prepares a DVD with photos of them together set to the song "It Has to Be You" and prepares to fly to San Francisco, but Mark tells her that Chris is in Pennsylvania visiting family. She gets on a bus to see him and encounters Lara who's traveling there for work, and she realizes that Lara's life is far from the perfect fantasy she'd imagined it to be. In the meantime, Nora is giving birth, and Sonia finds out that Mark has traveled from Pennsylvania to New York to be at the birth. She begs the bus driver to let her off, then races back to the hospital to see Gary, the midwife, presenting newborn Eli Bing (Baby LUCAS) to his parents. Chris is uncomfortable in her presence and prepares to leave the hospital room but Sonia begs him to watch the video first. Unfortunately, the sound doesn't work and Sonia hesitantly sings "It Has to Be You." The rest of the people in the room start singing along with her and as the words "WILL YOU MARRY ME?" flash on the screen she gets down on her knees and asks him. "Of course I will" he says, and they kiss.

Storyline

Sonia is a neurotic jingle writer who's always dreamt of a big and exciting life. Surprised by a sudden proposal and subsequent ultimatum from her easy-going boyfriend, Chris, Sonia has to decide whether she'll join the ranks of her married friends or take a leap and pursue her fantasies. A whimsical romantic comedy that's raunchy and yet gentle, 'It Had To Be You' explores the choices women face today while satirizing cultural expectations of gender and romance.