Three’s new rom-com puts a delightful local spin on a popular genre, writes Tara Ward.
“This is not a love story,” Rainn Wilson announces in the opening moments of Settling. It’s the summer of 2006 and two teenagers with strong side fringes are sitting together in an Auckland ice cream parlour, watching their mates pash uncomfortably. Already disillusioned with romance, the two teenagers vow to marry each other if they’re still single in 20 years. This is the story of boy meets girl, Wilson’s voiceover tells us, as the two teenagers shake hands to seal the deal. Who wants to die alone, when you can get hitched to your best mate?
So begins Settling, Three’s charming new romantic comedy created by and starring Pax Assadi and Hannah Marshall and directed by Ghazaleh Golbakhsh (Miles From Nowhere). Settling tells the story of Salman (Assadi) and Harriet (Marshall), two school friends who grow apart and reunite in their 30s and decide to honour an old promise and get married. Twenty years after their original pact, Sal is now a lonely, divorced dentist whose wife left him for TV presenter Matt Gibb (played by TV presenter Matt Gibb) and who can’t stop proposing to his girlfriends. “I miss having a person,” Sal says. “I miss sitting on the couch and watching The Chase and having no sex.”
Harry, meanwhile, is a writer for an online magazine who spent the past three years sleeping with her boss Danny (David de Lautour). When she finds out his wife is pregnant, a heartbroken Harry moves back in with her mother (Jennifer Ward-Lealand) and reluctantly agrees to attend her high school reunion with her sister Vanessa. “One drink, and we’ll go and bitch about how sad and fat and old everyone looks,” Vanessa pleads. “It will be amazing.”
Sal and Harriet arrive at the reunion as single as they were in 2006. Their friendship is reignited over a shared hatred of the school bully, and it’s not long before they remember the vow they made two decades ago. Getting hitched could be the perfect solution for them both – Sal’s mother can stop arranging a marriage for him, and having two household incomes will mean Harry can convince the bank that she’s no longer a financial liability and finally get a mortgage.
Harry and Sal get married in tracksuits. They agree that there’ll be no sex in this arrangement. They’re settling for the next best thing – or are they?
It’s not clear in episode one whether true, everlasting love does lie on the horizon for Harry and Sal, but rom-com fans will find lots to enjoy here. This is When Harry Met Sal, New Zealand style, and Marshall and Assadi have successfully put a local spin on a popular genre. Settling is full of New Zealand references, music and humour – ”ngā mihi,” Sal tells one girlfriend when she turns down his proposal, while Harry and Sal dance triumphantly at the school reunion to Dei Hamo’s ‘We Gon’ Ride’. Even their engagement ring is a Burger Ring.
It does feel a little unusual to have American star Rainn Wilson narrating what is a very New Zealand story, but Marshall and Assadi have an easy chemistry together, and bring Harry and Sal’s relationship to life in a way that makes their bonkers scheme seem quite believable. They’re supported by a solid ensemble cast of supporting characters, who are forced to grapple with Harry and Sal’s surprise take on modern marriage. Marshall’s writing is punchy and vibrant, and the story unfolds with great pace and energy.
It’s been a great week for New Zealand television, largely thanks to Marshall, whose crime caper series Ms X debuted on Monday. Settling makes it two hits from two. This light, upbeat rom-com is full of confidence and humour, and fans of Colin From Accounts or Homebound 3.0 should have a lovely time. Settling is the type of show that will leave you with a grin on your face and a wish that you could watch all six episodes at once – but it also proves that we’re as good at making romantic comedies as we are moody mysteries and gripping dramas.
Settling streams on ThreeNow and screens on Thursdays on Three at 8.30pm
