Parents' Guide to Nobody Wants This

The premise reads dumb on paper, but Kristen Bell and Adam Brody have crackling, sparkling chemistry and breathe charming life into the hackneyed setup. Brody inhabits Noah with wit and an easy appeal; he's cute and he knows it, and he's straightforward about his attraction to Joanne right away in a manner that's guaranteed to melt the hearts of Nobody Wants This viewers. Bell, meanwhile, has a spikier energy; she's world- and dating-weary and not expecting to get swept away by love, particularly not from a professional clergyman. It's a treat to watch her fall swiftly for Noah, for him to ardently second that emotion, and for them to (spoiler alert!) power through all the problems their relationship brings with it, buoyed up by their intense connection.

Speaking of those problems, Tovah Feldshuh is also a delight as Bina, Noah's disapproving mother, who pronounces Joanne a "shiksa" from the first moment she lays eyes on her and peppers her son with questions: "Who was that? And why were you standing so close to her?" When told that she's an old friend, and that Bina doesn't know all of Noah's friends, she hisses portentously: "Yesss, I do." The interfering Jewish mom is, of course, a trope, and Nobody Wants This will remind fans of (admittedly clichéd) romances like Moonstruck and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. But somehow the fine actors make it work, resulting in a bingeable treat that's oh so easy to love.