It's been a shocking week for movies on streaming services. Prime Video added a new version of War of the Worlds starring Ice Cube, which managed to receive precisely zero on Rotten Tomatoes. And Netflix's new rom-com My Oxford Year, added over the weekend, has been awarded just 27%.
Yep, 27% in a normal week would secure it the worst movie of the week title, but thanks to War of the Worlds, at least it's avoided that.
My Oxford Year appeared to have everything going for it. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Julia Whelan, it stars Sofia Carson as ambitious American Anna, who follows her childhood dream of studying at Oxford for a year-long graduate programme.
But when sparks fly between Anna and charming poetry professor Jamie (Corey Mylchreest), their relationship threatens the meticulous postgraduate life and career she planned for herself. It’s directed by Iain Morris, who wrote and created the hit British sitcom The Inbetweeners, so you'd think it would be really funny.
However, the critics have widely panned it, and audiences only gave it 44%. Leading the charge against My Oxford Year, Variety branded it a "disheartening weepie". Adding: "What should be a tender, feminist-minded story centered on a young woman rediscovering her dormant childhood dreamer turns into a middling melodrama about being with a cute guy in desperate need of her rescue.”
The New York Times called it "limp", while the Wall Street Journal complained that the attractive cast isn't given much to do.
There is the odd positive review, and maybe if you’re a big rom-com fan, you might want to dive in anyway. As The Guardian put it, "It's a frothy, throwaway fantasy about another American hoping to find herself in another country, think of Emily in Paris but Anna in Oxford". And so if you fancy something frothy, then actually My Oxford Year might be for you.
It certainly seems a better bet than War of the Worlds, although my colleague seemed to think that movie is moving into the it’s so bad it's good territory.
Or perhaps this might be the week to head to the cinema, with both The Naked Gun and Freakier Friday gaining largely positive reviews.
If you do want to stay at home, check out our best movies on Netflix guide for something decent to watch.
My Oxford Year is on Netflix now. And, if you’re feeling really brave, War of the Worlds is on Prime Video.
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