Netflix has put a lot of muscle behind Your Place or Mine. Its new romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher has enjoyed a strong marketing push, and it seems all this press has paid off for the streamer. The new movie has just rocketed straight to the No.1 spot in the Netflix most-watched list.
Your Place or Mine has managed to dislodge You People, which had held the top spot for more than a week (and has now dropped to No. 4). This rom-com not only ranks ahead of the Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill fronted comedy, but it’s also outpacing Minions The Rise of Gru and Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, which have to settle for the second and third spots respectively.
Just because Your Place or Mine is drawing plenty of interest from Netflix subscribers, doesn't necessarily mean it’s worth adding to your watchlist. For starters, its critical reception has been less than stellar. So, we’re here to help determine whether you should skip or stream Your Place or Mine on Netflix.
What is Your Place or Mine about?
Your Place or Mine focuses on the relationship between Debbie (Reese Witherspoon) and Peter (Ashton Kutcher). After initially spending the night together in their youth, the pair have now been best friends for more than two decades — and you can probably already tell where this one is going.
Peter lives a carefree life in New York, refusing to commit in the long term both romantically and professionally. Whereas Debbie is a single mom in Los Angeles, struggling to juggle parenting with her career ambitions. When Debbie is given the opportunity to pursue a long-life dream in NYC, the friends agree to effectively swap lives and housesit for each other.
Now in LA looking after Debbie’s son, Peter begins to learn the ropes of being a responsible grown-up. While Debbie enjoys living large in NYC. But soon enough this life swap makes the pair reevaluate their long-standing relationship, and they realize their forgotten fling may have been more than just a one-night stand.
Your Place or Mine reviews: what do critics say?
Unfortunately, despite its two big-name stars and its bubbly tone, Your Place or Mine has failed to impress the critics. It currently holds a poor 38% score on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. And its audience score isn’t much better at a very underwhelming 42% — at least this is a rare occasion where critics and viewers seem to agree.
The chemistry between Witherspoon and Kutcher has become a fiercely debated aspect of the movie. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times claims the A-list pair "show terrific chemistry,” but Kevin Maher of The Times of London argues the opposite, saying “you can fake almost everything on camera except palpable chemistry.”
Meanwhile, Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair was less than impressed with the rom-com, saying: “Your Place or Mine occasionally gives off a glimmer of something interesting, but all too quickly snaps back to the featureless drudgery that has, sadly, come to define its genre.” And CNN’s Brain Lowry couldn’t give the movie a positive write-up even when “grading on a rom-com curve.”
However, there have been a small handful of slightly more positive takes, such as from Lovia Gyarkye of the Hollywood Reporter, who writes “for the most part it doesn’t want to surprise or be more clever than the viewer; it aims to please, and in doing so helps re-energize the romantic comedy.”
Should you stream Your Place or Mine on Netflix?
Netflix is clearly positioning Your Place or Mine as its big new movie for Valentine’s Day this year. And if you’re looking for something light and breezy to watch with your partner, then this rom-com will probably get the job done. It’s unlikely to be an especially memorable watch, but it’s got plenty of heart, even if it’s lacking much in the way of originality.
Of course, if you’re looking to watch something that will really stay with you, you’d be better choosing one of the highest-rated Netflix movies instead. These are much more likely to leave a lasting impression. It seems, just like many of the streamer’s original movies, Your Place or Mine is the very definition of a forgettable flick.
