'I Want You Back' Stars Jenny Slate, Charlie Day Talk Recreating 'Throwback' Magic for Amazon Prime's New Rom-Com (Exclusive)

After Nora Ephron set the bar for romantic comedies in the late '80s and early '90s with her layered and witty films, the genre hasn't seen anything as close to such realistic offerings until now. Releasing exclusively on Amazon Prime Video just ahead of Valentine's Day on Feb. 11, the streaming platform's newest rom-com I Want You Back plays to the old-school magic of romantic comedies — something the film's stars Jenny Slate and Charlie Day tell PopCulture.com exclusively they were most excited about.

"To me, it felt like a throwback to the romcoms that I really, really loved that had really good acting in them. And it was exciting to see something real like this," Slate told PopCulture of the Amazon Studios original film, directed by Jason Orley that finds two total strangers Emma (Slate) and Peter (Day) bonding after being unexpectedly dumped by their partners played by Scott Eastwood and Gina Rodriguez, respectively. Terrified they've lost their shot at a happily ever after and horrified to start over, the broken-hearted pair plot to win their exes back with each other's help, no matter the cost.

Echoing his co-star Slate's sentiments, Day admits reading the script from This Is Us producers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger was one that really piqued his interest thanks to the story being so complete with realistic characters. "This a movie about actual people and every character from our characters to Clark Backo's character were these well-rounded characters," he said. "Manny [Jacinto]'s character — when I first started reading it, [he] sort of felt like a stereotypical jerk has an arc [but] has a vulnerability. At the end of the movie [we] realize, 'Oh no, no, he's a person who's struggling as well.'"

The 45-year-old Day credits the "sheer humanity" of the script for an admirable totality that plays to the film's charm and appeal. But it was the humor Day was equally attracted to without the writing being too syrupy or cliché. "The fact that it was also so wildly funny, to me, I thought, 'Okay, this is one of the better scripts I've had the opportunity to be in.'"

In addition to the film working so well thanks to the writing, Day and Slate magnify I Want You Back's charm thanks to their on-screen chemistry. "It is such a dream to do scenes with Charlie. He's such a good actor. He's really funny and incredibly kind and it is just one of the most favorite experiences of my career, for sure," Slate said to which Day also agreed for his experience with Slate.

Slate adds because of that underlying adoration the pair have for each other as co-stars and peers, the script levels up. "When you're in a scene with someone and you really, really respect them and something is truly just entering into existence between you in just the vibe and the chemistry, it adds that realness to the rest of the movie and it adds dimension," she said. "It's like these aren't two weird weirdos who are just doing something kind of bad, but actually they are people who are unsure, but feel a hunger to be understood and to move past loneliness."

The 39-year-old adds how that "live feeling" of the dialogue between Peter and Emma creates a "realness" rarely seen in romantic comedies today. "I think that realness allows the premise to be accepted."

With the film out Feb. 11 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, Day hopes audiences will not only be "amused" by the relationship with Emma and Peter but find their characters and the experiences they endure much more "real and heartwarming" than expected. "Look for me, it felt very real. I think the words are so well written, and I really like [Jenny Slate] so much, and Gina [Rodriguez] as well, that it all just felt very natural and real for me," he said. "I hope audiences get out of it what I got out of it just getting to do it."

I Want You Back releases Feb. 11 on Amazon Prime Video. For more with Jenny Slate, Charlie Day and the cast of I Want You Back, stick to the latest from PopCulture.com.