Finding Emily review warm-hearted gen Z campus romcom is impossible to hate

A warm, light romantic comedy set in Manchester centers on Owen, an indie singer-songwriter, who meets Emily at a student union. A digit is missed when she enters her number, leading Owen to believe it was an error. He searches for her by posting flyers and later waits outside a lecture hall, where he meets another Emily who agrees to help. Owen emails every Emily enrolled at the university, accidentally creating a group of Emilies with varied reactions. His appearance on a college YouTube channel and the resulting social-media commentary drive the humor. A psychology student Emily helps with a hidden goal of using him as a thesis case study about love.

"In the end I found it impossible to hate, though one or two performances felt a bit lacking in comic flair. It's set in Manchester, where indie singer-songwriter Owen (Spike Fearn) meets undergraduate Emily (Sadie Soverall) at the student union. They click, but when Emily taps her number into his phone, she misses out a digit. Is it a drunken error, or has she wrong-numbered him? Owen is convinced it's a mistake and sticks up posters around campus to find her."

"After a tipoff, he waits outside a lecture hall for psychology student Emily (Angourie Rice). She's American, and not his Emily, but she offers to help, suggesting Owen emails every Emily enrolled at the university all 318 of them. Owen accidentally sends the email to all rather than BCCing, creating an email group of Emilies who are divided in their reactions. Is he some kind of creepy virgin incel? Or a diehard romantic? Owen becomes a meme: email guy."

"Some of the funniest scenes are the reactions on social media after Owen appears on a college YouTube channel with a guitar playing a song he wrote for Emily. It's like Ed Sheeran on Crimewatch, someone writes. Another coins the hashtag #ratboysummer. This is a very gentle, light-touch send-up of campus culture wars and social media pile-ons. In fact, psychology student Emily has an ulterior motive for helping Owen: she wants to use him as a case study for her thesis that being in love is temporary insanity."

"But, like in Curtis's films, the supporting characters are the most fun. Prasanna Puwanarajah is very funny as Emily's professor, a ce"

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