The Way Things Used 2 B
2025 · 17m
Directed by Ciara Naughton, Kurstin Moser
Genres: comedy, coming-of-age, romance
Tones: humorous, tender, whimsical
A former popular girl turned college dropout reluctantly takes the only job available: working for Darren, a boy she once dismissed at school. In the language of mix tapes, bedazzled diaries, and boomboxes, their friends-to-lovers arc unfolds through teasing, yearning, and growing camaraderie.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
It's a soft-focus nostalgia play dressed up as subversion—girl-humbles-herself-for-boy is the oldest story in the book, and the mixtape aesthetics just paper over that fact. The whimsy feels safe, which is the opposite of what makes a premise say 'wait, WHAT?'
Naughton and Moser construct a genuinely considered romance that understands its own lineage in teen comedy-drama—the mixtape conceit works as both narrative device and formal choice, situating the film within a specific cultural memory. It's the kind of precise, affectionate period-consciousness that rewards close viewing.
The decision to let the entire emotional arc live in the language of those three formats—mix tapes, diaries, boomboxes—rather than spelling it out in dialogue is the whole film, and it works; that constraint forces both directors and actors into specificity that makes a small story feel inevitable.
Reviews
Jenny and Darren make for a cute pair—Romankov and Keinan carry their characters with gusto—opposites attracting in a cloud of yearning, teasing, and developing camaraderie. The Way Things Used 2 B is a good bit of nostalgic fun for those who remember and an archaeological/anthropological study for those who came too late.