Given the number of romantic comedies I have lately seen, I am beginning to believe it is my favorite film genre.  As I finished watching Set It Up (2018), realizing that I had enjoyed it and the aforementioned thought arose, a question also arose: why?  I have long prayed and thought about my vocation.  Does God want me to remain focused on that which inspired me from a young age, to be married?  Or shall I persist with my current single status, finding fulfillment in my work?  What my spiritual director always reminds me of when I start to disappear down the rabbit hole of discernment is that I only have need of one thing: relationship with Him.  God loves me and all else shall flow from that fact.  As strange as it might seem, especially if you watch it, these themes are present in today’s film.  Hopefully, if you are a Catholic like me, you will take some solace in knowing that there are struggles to which you can connect in culture, even if they do not completely align with your beliefs.

The high paced world of business in New York City is on display in the opening montage of Set It Up, warts and all. Those warts seem to bring down Harper Moore (Zoey Deutch) and Charlie Young (Glen Powell).  They work as assistants in the same building, respectively to famed sports journalist Kirsten Stevens (Lucy Liu) and venture capitalist Rick Otis (Taye Diggs).  Kirsten and Rick do not treat Harper and Charlie well, forcing them to stay at the office for the long hours the bosses also work.  This means that Charlie and Harper have no lives outside of their jobs.  Charlie struggles to remain on good terms with his girlfriend, Suze (Joan Smalls), while Harper is only slightly envious of her roommate’s, Becca (Meredith Hagner), engagement to her boyfriend, Mike (Jon Rudnitsky).  Charlie and Harper dream of ways they can find more free time for other pursuits in the random moments they encounter one another at the office.  In those chance encounters, they realize how similar are their bosses.  With Rick going through a divorce and Kirsten looking for a strong and successful man, Charlie and Harper decide they need to do what the title suggests.  Their first idea is to get Kirsten and Rick stuck together in an elevator.  Since Harper knows the building maintenance man, Creepy Tim (Tituss Burgess), they are able to arrange for Kirsten and Rick to get stuck in the same conveyance.  The situation is ruined when a large United Parcel Service (UPS) man (Leonard Ouzts) is in the car with him.  The delivery person is claustrophobic and begins stripping, finishing it off with relieving himself.  In other words, not the best, er, set up for love.  Plan B is to get Kirsten and Rick together at a Yankees game.  This goes better, particularly when Harper is able to convince the communications director at Yankee Stadium to put Kirsten and Rick on the “kiss cam.”  Thus, Kirsten and Rick begin dating and Charlie and Harper have the long sought after time for other aspects of their lives.  Charlie is able to give Suze the attention she demands while Harper goes out a few times with somebody she terms as “Golf Guy” (Jake Robinson) because they do putt-putt.  However, just as Charlie and Harper are learning to enjoy their newfound freedom, their bosses’ interactions turn sour.  This leads to a return to their previous hecticness until Charlie gives Rick some advice that works in smoothing over any problems with Kirsten.  Unfortunately, it looks like Golf Guy has cooled on Harper, which frees her to go to an event with Charlie and his roommate, Duncan (Pete Davidson).  At this soiree is Suze, but she basically ignores Charlie.  Harper notices this and takes Charlie with her to Becca’s engagement party.  I think you can see where this is going.  Still, while they share a more intimate moment than any they had previously experienced, they end the night at pizza.  The next morning, they come to work and Charlie is called into Kirsten’s office.  There, Charlie finds Rick, and Kirsten and Rick announce to their assistants that the couple are going to get married.  On top of this, Kirsten expresses interest in Harper’s writing, and Rick informs Charlie that the younger man is going to be promoted.  In other words, their dreams are about to come true.  As so often happens in life, and for which many sadly blame God, this is that instant at which everything falls apart.  Charlie learns from Rick that the investor had only proposed to Kirsten in order to get back at his ex-wife.  Charlie keeps this to himself, though, more concerned about his promised promotion.  Harper learns of Rick’s lack of commitment when she overhears him flirting with his ex-wife on the phone.  Charlie tries to brush aside Harper’s concerns, but she decides to reveal everything to Kirsten.  Upon doing so, Kirsten immediately fires Harper.  What brings Charlie around is taking Suze to a fancy dinner and realizing none of this is what he wants.  Instead, he makes his way to the airport where Kirsten and Rick are about to leave for their wedding, and reinforces everything Harper had admitted to Kirsten.  Charlie also quits, but agrees to later meet Kirsten outside of their building.  As for Harper, after finishing an article long imagined, she returns to her former place of employment to collect her things.  There, she finds an apologetic Kirsten waiting, offering to take Harper back as an assistant.  Instead, Harper talks her way into a position as a writer.  She then walks out of the building and sees Charlie standing there, also sorry for his mistakes.  They make up and the film ends.

To return more specifically to the theme drawn out in the introduction, Set It Up underscores that what we plan for our lives, God has His own way of guiding us.  He may lead us in a roundabout way to what we always wanted like Harper, or take us in a completely different direction as with Charlie.  Further, things happen according to His timing, not ours.  Had you asked me twenty years ago if I would still be single by the time I reached forty-four, I would have scoffed.  This applies to Charlie and Harper, who have an imagined clock in their heads that if they are still assistants by twenty-eight, then they are doing something wrong.  The film is about learning to accept the opportunities and signs God brings you, without actually putting it in spiritual terms.  The one place they seem to fall short of a purely Christian perspective on their lives, other than not caring about things like pre-marital sex, is in being ungrateful for their blessings.  What a privilege it is to have jobs that allow them to make money and provide for themselves.  Of course, their work conditions are terrible, but they are taken to an absurd degree for the sake of comedy.  Having not labored in such an office setting, I am unable to speak to whether there are bosses out there like Kirsten and Rick.  I hope they do not exist.  At the same time, it is a good thing to thank God for whatever gainful employment He brings you.  To carry on cheerfully, even in the face of impossible conditions, is a form of martyrdom not to be taken lightly.  Of the two of them, Harper most exemplifies this ideal, and Kirsten turns out to be the least tyrannical supervisor.  The point is to focus on what you have in front of you, to be grateful for God’s gifts, and to let the future take care of itself.  Finally, when God shows you a different path, take it.  This last bit is where Charlie and Harper land, and there is something to be said for their taking advantage of it.

Set It Up is not the most innovative of romantic comedies.  I am not sure it is even that funny.  Further, I could do without the raunchy language.  There are worse films out there, but there are also better.  I have no specific objection to the movie other than this, so make of this what you will in terms of a recommendation.