Personal assistants are all too experienced in swallowing their pride and performing thankless miracles, but when your boss is asking you to wake them up from a nap with a lullaby — and not just any rendition, but one where you gradually increase the volume so as not to startle them — you know it’s time for a change.
A trailer has landed for Claire Scanlon’s “Set It Up,” a new romantic comedy that sees Zoey Deutch playing Harper, a personal assistant to a powerful and demanding boss (Lucy Liu). She and another overworked, underappreciated personal assistant in the office, Charlie (Glen Powell), hatch a plan: they team up to make their bosses fall in love.
The pair hopes that the romance will make their own lives more bearable. To use Harper’s words, “When they’re boning, we’re free.” She explains, “We know everything about them. What they like, what they don’t like. We are the men behind the curtain.” And they use that knowledge and expertise to their advantage when they stage run-ins between their bosses. All this scheming brings Harper and Charlie together, and it’s clear that there’s chemistry between the pals.
Katie Silberman (“Booksmart”) penned the script for “Set It Up.” The pic marks Scanlon’s feature debut. She’s helmed episodes of shows such as “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Black-ish,” “GLOW,” “The Mindy Project,” and “The Office.”
Deutch has spoken out about the kinds of roles available to women in the industry. “I have played one-dimensional female characters in male-driven comedies,” she’s acknowledged. “I have to say, it is the hardest thing as an actor that I have yet to do.” “Before I Fall,” “Why Him?” and “Everybody Wants Some!!” are among her previous credits. She was last seen in “Flower,” a dark comedy that opened in theaters in March.
“Set It Up” hits Netflix June 15. Taye Diggs co-stars.