Free Guy, the Ryan Reynolds-starring tale of a sentient non-player character, offers a smorgasbord of nerdy references, explosive action and tributes to gaming culture. That's not all it is, though: there's a surprisingly sweet love story happening alongside all the jokes and action scenes, and --spoiler alert -- the two true romantic leads aren't necessarily the characters one might expect.
By Free Guy's end, it's clear that the romance plot is a bigger part of the film's story than the posters and trailers may lead audiences to believe. Here's a quick rundown of some of the classic romantic comedy tropes that appear in this movie.
Guy Experiences Love at First Sight
When Guy sees Millie's player character walking past the coffee shop, singing his favorite song under her breath, he's instantly smitten. His journey kicks off at this moment, as his fixation on Molotov Girl leads him to step further and further outside the lines of his strictly defined daily life. There's even a slow-motion moment as they pass each other and he can't help but stop and turn to stare at her, jaw-dropping open in confused fascination and unstoppable longing.
Free Guy Delivers an Amnesiac Lover Trope
Soonami Games' evil head developer Antwan forces his underling Mouser to reset the Free City game at one point, causing Guy's memories to be erased and returning him to his former unenlightened state. A desperate Millie tries everything she can to bring him back, but it's only when she seizes him and gives him a kiss that he snaps back to his real, evolved self, recovering all his memories of leveling up.
Millie Is Casually Oblivious to Love
Throughout Free Guy, the audience is given hints both subtle and not-so-subtle that Keys is very into Millie. He even tells her he designed Guy's dream girl specifically around her. This is the reason Guy is immediately drawn to Millie when he sees her walking down the street, singing his favorite tune, Mariah Carey's "Fantasy." Yet Millie, busy with the unfolding mystery of Guy's burgeoning sentience and the implications this has for her career, never quite picks up on these signals. It's not till the final scene that she understands where Keys' heart has been the whole time, finally seeing him with new eyes.
Millie and Keys Embark on the Friends to Lovers Cliché
Millie and Keys have known each other for years, but in all that time, neither of them has made a move. It never seems to occur to Millie that there could be something more between them, but it's clearly established that Keys has held a torch for her for quite some time. The strength of their professional and personal partnership is evident, as shown by their success in creating truly sentient AI, though they aren't aware of it for a while thanks to Antwan's manipulations.
Once they reconcile partway through Free Guy, their friendship is still strong, and they're able to work through Millie's feelings of hurt due to Keys' decision to work at Soonami. Finally, at the movie's conclusion, they take the next step into a romantic relationship together.
Dramatic Running Becomes a Free Guy Staple
At the end of Free Guy, Millie realizes that Keys has had feelings for her this whole time and that the real person behind Guy's programming is none other than her longtime dev partner. Everything she's found lovable in Guy, every sweet gesture he's made and everything they have in common, is there because Keys coded it in. As Guy explains, his very existence is in actuality a sort of love letter from Keys to Millie.
Though Guy is his own person who has brought romance and excitement into Millie's life, the truth remains that he's a digital being who can't physically touch her or interact with her. When Millie realizes that Keys is the one she should be with, she takes off running to find him at the coffee shop. The movie ends with them smiling at each other from across the street.
Free Guy Wouldn't Be a Rom-com Without a Love Triangle
Free Guy has a rather different take on the love triangle trope, considering two of the three participants are, in a way, the same person. Or rather, one of the rivals (Guy) is actually an extremely sophisticated love letter from his supposed opponent (Keys) to their mutual object of affection (Millie).
Poor Keys has to endure Millie's obliviousness, as when she tells him about kissing Guy -- though of course, it's their digital avatars who locked lips in the game world, so perhaps Keys' jealousy isn't as pronounced as it might normally be. Guy doesn't hold any ill will towards his rival/creator, either -- in fact, he's the one who spells out to Millie that Keys has feelings for her and that there's something real there to pursue that Guy could never give her.