Drew Starkey has been receiving well-deserved praise for his performance inLuca Guadagnino's romantic dramaQueer alongside Daniel Craig, and just last year Starkey proved his abilities as a charming romantic lead in the romantic comedy The Other Zoey. In this winter rom-com, Josephine Langford (of the After series) plays Zoey, a cynical college student who doesn’t believe in romantic love, who winds up falling for soccer star Zach (Starkey). Inspired by films like Pride and Prejudice and While You Were Sleeping, Zach gets amnesia after Zoey inadvertently causes him to get hit by a car and then mistakenly believes Zoey to be his girlfriend. Any amnesia-based rom-com requires some suspension of disbelief, but Starkey turns on the charm as Zach in The Other Zoey, managing to play off the memory loss afflicting his character in a way that isn’t overly cartoonish and making him a compelling love interest.
What Is 'The Other Zoey' About?
Zoey Miller does not believe in love. A college junior looking forward to pursuing a career in computer science, Zoey sees Valentine’s Day as a hollow creation of capitalism and invents an app to match people based on compatibility and similar interests. When soccer star Zach MacLaren accidentally hits Zoey in the head with a soccer ball, he runs over to apologize. The following day, Zach shows up at the bookstore where Zoey works and orders a book but accidentally leaves his credit card behind.He takes off on his bike, and Zoey chases him down to give it back, but just as she catches his attention, a car reverses into him and throws him off his bike, knocking him unconscious. As Zach starts to come to, he hears Zoey say her name, and he confuses her with his girlfriend, who's also named Zoey and looks somewhat like her.
Zach asks Zoey to accompany him to the hospital, where she meets his parents, who invite her over for dinner to get to know their son’s new girlfriend. Zach is diagnosed with amnesia, and just as Zoey is getting ready to come clean about her identity, the doctor advises her not to say anything that will upset Zach, as it may worsen his condition. Worried the truth might scramble his brain even further, Zoey pretends to be Zach’s girlfriend and agrees to tag along on his family ski vacation after getting to know his cousin Miles (Archie Renaux), with whom she is far more compatible. When she finds out Miles has a girlfriend, her idea of romantic compatibility is tested as she bonds with Zach, who couldn’t be more different.
Drew Starkey Is a Charming Romantic Lead in 'The Other Zoey'
The Other Zoey is hardly the next great rom-com of the 2020s, but Langford and Starkey make a solid romantic duo, and Starkey is easily the standout performance. Comparing The Other Zoey to While You Were Sleeping, another amnesia-based rom-com the film clearly draws from, Langford and Starkey’s chemistry may not be as strong as that of Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman, but Starkey is effortlessly charming as Zach, the soccer player with a sensitive side. Overly jaded about love and romance, Zoey initially writes him off as a dumb athlete and is much more drawn to Miles, his more intellectual cousin, who is much more compatible with her on paper. But after her connection with Miles falls apart, she decides to give Zach a chance and starts developing feelings for him.
Something is always going down in the Outer Banks.
Zoey keeps her distance from Zach throughout most of the trip because of her preconceived notions about him, her compatibility with Miles, and the fact that Zach already has a girlfriend, but once they spend the day alone together, Zach seems like the obvious choice, thanks in large part to Starkey’s performance. In contrast with Archie Renaux, who plays Miles, Starkey makes a far more compelling love interest. Given the film’s wacky premise, Starkey isn’t taking himself too seriously and brings undeniable charisma and a strong screen presence that’s often hard to find in male romantic leads these days. He’s light on his feet with great comedic timing, and the sensitivity he brings to a pretty one-dimensional role makes him one of the most entertaining parts of such a standard rom-com.
Starkey’s character in Queer is afforded far more complexity than his character in The Other Zoey, but considering his other most notable role was in Outer Banks, in which he plays one of the main antagonists, this 2023 rom-comallows Starkey to show off his versatility. If, before Queer, you were used to seeing him as the deranged Rafe Cameron in Outer Banks, with The Other Zoey, Starkey proves he’s just as equipped to take on a romantic comedy as he is a teen drama or period romance, and that Guadagnino was smart to have him star alongside Daniel Craig in his latest film.
The Other Zoey is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
Image via Brainstorm Media
English (US) ·