Reese Witherspoon’s latest Netflix romantic comedy, Your Place or Mine, was actually a success, although the reviews don’t reflect that. Reese Witherspoon’s career, which spans three decades, has included many different genres and even culminated in an Academy Award win for Best Actress for the biopic Walk the Line. However, some of her most iconic roles have been in romance films, such as Elle Woods in 2001’s Legally Blonde, and Witherspoon’s only movie role over the past two years finally brought her back to romantic comedies.
This year, Netflix has shared its first-ever data report, giving an in-depth look at what viewers watched in the first part of 2023, following the months between January and June. It also proved that Reese Witherspoon’s return to romantic comedies in 2023 was considered a success, although Your Place or Mine wasn’t a big hit with the critics. Lately, Witherspoon has primarily focused on TV roles, starring in two series adaptations, Big Little Lies and Little Fires Everywhere, as well as the broadcasting drama The Morning Show. However, the fact that her return to movie rom-coms did well on Netflix could mean more such roles in the future.
Reese Witherspoon’s Your Place Or Mine Was A Streaming Success
The film followed a classic romance trope about friends-to-lovers
Reese Witherspoon’s only movie role in two years was Your Place or Mine, and the film can be considered a streaming success. The film premiered on February 10, 2023, and, according to Netflix’s data called “What We Watched,” it did very well. The streaming service’s details show the Netflix original film Your Place or Mine was 2023’s sixth-most-watched movie, with a total of 163 million viewing hours (via Netflix), putting the rom-com just behind Witherspoon’s The Morning Show co-star Jennifer Aniston’s Murder Mystery 2 (173.6 million hours), and just above the highly anticipated Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (142.9 million hours).
There are multiple factors behind why Your Place or Mine pulled such strong numbers, and Witherspoon is just one of them. The Netflix original premiered just a few days before Valentine’s Day, which made it a great movie date contender. Your Place or Mine‘s cast also starred Ashton Kutcher, telling the compelling story of Debbie and Peter, who had been friends for over two decades after a brief one-night stand. Friends-to-lovers is a successful, yet underrated romance trope, and since both Witherspoon and Kutcher had been in beloved rom-coms before, their first film together could be another reason why Your Place or Mine became a streaming success.
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Why Reese Witherspoon’s Your Place Or Mine Reviews Weren’t Good
The film wasn’t popular with the critics and the audience
Reese Witherspoon’s Your Place or Mine might have convinced viewers to watch it, but the movie’s reviews weren’t too promising, with a 30% critics rating and an abysmal 35% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film has a predictable story that partly works, with Your Place or Mine including an interesting ending twist, but most of the reviews noted the lack of chemistry between Witherspoon and Kutcher. Most critics agree that Witherspoon is natural in the role but Kutcher may not have been the best fit, and since there isn’t any buildup to their reunion, they’re better left off as friends. Despite being a streaming success, Your Place or Mine took few risks to differentiate from other movies with a similar premise.
Sources: Netflix, Rotten Tomatoes
Your Place or Mine
- Release Date
- February 10, 2023
- Director
- Aline Brosh McKenna
- Cast
- Reese Witherspoon , Ashton Kutcher , Jesse Williams , Zoe Chao , Wesley Kimmel , Tig Notaro , Steve Zahn
- Genres
- Comedy , Romance
