Aahana Swrup
‘Relationship Goal’ is a romantic comedy film centering around a duo whose fraught history makes their romantic reunion seem impossible. Leah Caldwell has a long laundry list of traits she wants in her dream partner. As a result, when the dating pool continues to disappoint, she has no qualms with shifting her energy toward her professional life and chasing after a coveted promotion. Nonetheless, right when she’s on the cusp of success, life throws a curveball at her in the form of Jarrett Roy, who turns out to be up for the same shorunner position as Leah. Worse yet, he’s her ex-boyfriend whom she has been avoiding for years on account of the messy end to their relationship. However, Jarrett claims to be a changed man who is no longer committed to the “Playboy” lifestyle. Even though Leah refuses to fall for his act, their workplace competition and collaboration on an upcoming Valentine’s Day segment inevitably push them into each other’s orbits. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Leah and Jarrett’s First Breakup was a Result of Infidelity
Leah and Jarrett share an extensive history that goes all the way back to their younger years, when they started their careers out in the same newsroom. Although the two had dated for a while, their relationship inevitably crashed and burned after Jarrett cheated on his girlfriend. In the aftermath, their paths diverged, never to be crossed again. Since they worked in the same industry, Leah took measures to ensure she would never have to see her ex-boyfriend again, especially within a professional capacity. As the years went by, the two moved on from their disastrous relationship. After one too many failed romance attempts, Leah threw herself into work, refusing to date anyone who didn’t meet the long-winded criteria she had made for her dream partner.
On the other hand, Jarrett progressed in his own career and also found an unexpected spiritual awakening. After picking up a book called “Relationship Goals” by a pastor, he developed a new perspective on dating. As a result, he decided to shed his promiscuous identity to date intentionally, with marriage in mind and a lifetime commitment as the end goal. As such, by the time life puts him back into his ex-girlfriend’s life, he’s a changed man. Nonetheless, Leah has no interest in giving the man a second chance. As far as she can tell, her ex is currently her biggest competition for the promotion she has been tirelessly chasing for years. Consequently, upon their unexpected reunion, their dynamic drastically shifts from simple ex-lovers to workplace nemeses.
The Michael Todd Segment Brings Leah and Jarrett Closer Together
Despite their complicated pasts, Leah and Jarrett’s equal consideration for the showrunner promotion means that they inevitably end up working together. Much to the former’s displeasure, the latter’s idea for the Valentine’s Day segment ends up winning out. Furthermore, the current showrunner, Dan, wants her to co-produce the project with her contender to prove her ability to be a team player. Predictably, this leads to further friction between the pair. Their opinions on Michael Todd’s work differ greatly. While Jarrett’s life has been changed seemingly for the better under the author’s advice, Leah has great distaste for his methods. She’s stubborn about her preferences and insists that being loveless is better than being disappointed by love.
Moreover, their unwillingness to work together causes most of their problems. Even though their ideas are complementary, they terrorize the editor when cutting up the episode simply to be contrarian. Nonetheless, they can only keep up the charade for so long. Soon enough, their inherent chemistry comes out and leads to unintentional camaraderie. As a result, once the segment airs and leads to raging success, the two decide to extend their partnership to one night and go out for dinner in celebration. Jarrett picks a romantic spot and spills his guts to the other. He has been falling back in love with her all this time, and he wants to pursue something real with her. In turn, Leah gets swept up in the moment and ends up confessing her own growing feelings. This results in a romantic night together, which Leah ends up regretting the next morning. In the daylight, she realizes she’s scared of trusting Jarrett with her heart yet again. Therefore, she ends up leaving.
Leah Chases Jarrett Down at an Airport
Although Leah’s reluctance to enter a real relationship with Jarrett stems from her own commitment issues, she insists that the real reason behind it is her career. She reverts to a competitive mindset, claiming that she doesn’t want him around because it would only end up costing her the promotion. As a result, in order to show her his sincere intentions, Jarrett ends up withdrawing from the running. He has always known his consideration was unfair and biased anyway. Therefore, he makes the selfless sacrifice in the name of his feelings for Leah. Initially, she attempts to remain indifferent to the gesture. Even so, his influence over her ends up staying with her.
In the coming days, Leah finds herself gravitating toward Todd’s book and absorbing its lessons about love, life, and faith. She begins to unpack her complicated feelings about her mother’s death, as well as years of heartbreak, which have compelled her to put up unscalable walls. As such, she realizes that she was unfair to Jarrett and that she is actually in love with him. At first, it seems like it might already be too late once she discovers that the other has accepted a job offer in LA. Nevertheless, her friends manage to convince her to chase him down at the airport. Thus, in the end, she does just that and sics the airport security guards on him to buy a moment alone with him. This time around, she’s entirely honest with him and reveals that she’s no longer afraid to commit to something real and genuine with him. Ultimately, their ability to be open and honest with each other pays off as they decide to enter a relationship.
Read More: Is Relationship Goals Based on a True Story?
