Newest 2024 Romcom With Abysmal 13% Tomatometer Blows Up Netflix's Top 10

Summary

• A romantic comedy from the director of Mean Girls has been released on Netflix.
• The new movie received incredibly poor reviews from critics and audiences.
• However, that didn't stop it from becoming one of the Top 10 most watched movies on Netflix worldwide.

Every month, Netflix releases new shows and movies, both original and licensed, many of which are well worth your time. That's the beauty of Netflix as a source of content: while the projects that the streaming service invests millions in marketing and PR will undoubtedly make it onto the most-watched lists, they are unexpectedly joined by movies and shows that no one would have ever heard of had they not been added to Netflix.

Movies are notable in this context because the streaming format itself gives many of them a chance to gain popularity. After all, in the age of streaming, many people would rather watch a passable romcom at home than take a ticket to the theater specifically for that purpose. Speaking of romantic movies, a recent Netflix release has indeed become one of the most watched, hitting the Global Top 10 almost immediately upon release. And that's with a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 13%!

What's the New Netflix Romcom About?

Fans of romantic comedies and teen dramas will recognize the director's name, as he's the man behind iconic comedies like The House of Yes, Freaky Friday and, of course, Mean Girls.

And now, on May 9, his new romantic comedy Mother of the Bride, starring Brooke Shields, Miranda Cosgrove, Sean Teale, Chad Michael Murray, Rachael Harris and Benjamin Bratt, has arrived on Netflix.

The plot follows Lana (Shields), who is suddenly faced with shocking news: her daughter Emma (Cosgrove), who hasn't been home in a year, suddenly announces an upcoming wedding in Phuket, Thailand. To the protagonist's horror, Emma's future husband is the son of Lana's ex, Will (Benjamin Bratt), who broke her heart years ago.

Embarrassing Scores on Review Aggregators

Unfortunately, the director of Mean Girls failed to impress critics with his new movie. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film's critics score was a measly 13%. Audiences were not very impressed either, leaving a score of just 14%.

Many noted that Mother of the Bride could theoretically be a good option for Mother's Day viewing, full of great jokes and family dynamics, including mother-daughter relationships, as well as impeccable acting from Brooke Shields and Benjamin Bratt.

And while the talent of the cast is undeniable, everything else is really only in the 'theoretical' realm, as in practice we got a half-baked movie with a poorly written and forgettable script, cringe-worthy gags, underdeveloped storylines and annoying clichés.

On IMDb the score is not much higher, only 4.9 out of 10. Users of this platform also criticized the script and the low quality of the production.

Despite the Reviews, the Film Is a Netflix Hit

The ratings, meanwhile, suggest that however undercooked Mother of the Bride may be, it is at least a good option to play in the background. In fact, the new romantic comedy was the highest-rated movie of all time the week of its release!

According to Netflix, Mother of the Bride topped the Global Top 10 for the week of May 6-12 (the movie was released on May 9, 2024), racking up an impressive 40 million hours of viewing.

What's on Netflix stats show that the new movie gained even more momentum in the following week, continuing to dominate the global chart and leading many regional Top 10s, including the US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and more. At the time of writing, Mother of the Bride remains the absolute leader in both the Global Top 10 and holds high positions in many regional Top 10s.