Meet Cute

When Sheila (Kaley Cuoco) picks up Gary (Pete Davidson) at a bar, the hint of impatience in her tone suggests this is not the usual "meet cute": that moment in a movie when a chance encounter leads to romance. Indeed, Sheila is a time traveller who has played out this scene many times before, unbeknownst to Gary, because she cannot face tomorrow. A refreshingly unsentimental love story, Meet Cute has some chuckles despite its sombre tone, and Alex Lehmann plays the time-loop element with a knowing wink. He also cleverly packs all the beats of a long-term relationship into versions of the same night, and canny editing ensures that while the film is repetitive by nature, the story never grows stale. Cuoco and Davidson are charismatic as the time-stuck couple, with Cuoco effectively exploring the pain underlying Sheila's desperation to cling to a moment of happiness.