The Rewind

For this solid second-chance rom-com, Scotch (Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing) reunites a college friend group at an on-campus wedding on New Year’s Eve, 1999. College sweethearts Frankie and Ezra broke up on graduation day and have maintained an icy silence in the 10 years since—until they’re brought back together by their mutual friend’s wedding. After a night of partying with the bride and groom-to-be, they’re horrified to wake up together in Ezra’s freshman dorm room on the wedding day. Worse, Frankie is inexplicably wearing Ezra’s grandmother’s ring, which he had been planning to use to propose to his current girlfriend. Working to piece together what happened the night before turns into working to understand what went wrong all those years ago. But the clock is ticking: they still cannot always endure being in the same room together and they only have a few hours to talk the situation out before the wedding ends and all go their separate ways. Scotch’s humor leans to the slapstick, which can butt up oddly against the characters’ angst and heartbreak. Still, this emotional outing delivers both laughs and poignancy. Fans of Emily Giffin, Katherine Center, and Christina Lauren should check this out. Agent: Elisabeth Weed, Book Group. (Nov.)