I've Waited for 'My Oxford Year', and It Betrayed Every Single One of My Expectations
Who doesn't love teen melodramas? With settings on university campuses and touching first love, they're hard to resist. But My Oxford Year is impossible to fall in love with.
My Oxford Year was one of my most anticipated movies of 2025, but it turned into a major disappointment. It's a pale and faceless copy of other similar works, such as The Fault in Our Stars and A Walk to Remember, and it doesn't deserve the attention of even the most devoted fans of the genre.
Warning: The following text contains minor spoilers for My Oxford Year.
What Is 'My Oxford Year' About?
Anna, an American student, goes on a year-long internship at Oxford to study English literature.
There, she meets Jamie, a student who becomes her mentor. The awkward circumstances of their meeting, as well as Jamie's reputation as a local womanizer, give Anna a negative impression of him.
Their squabbles quickly turn into a romance. However, everything changes when Anna learns a terrible secret that prevents Jamie from being in a long-term relationship.
'My Oxford Year' Is a Mediocre Melodrama With a Predictable Plot Twist
Starting out as a faceless melodrama about a good American girl and a bad English guy, My Oxford Year takes a completely wrong turn in the second half.
Despite their noticeable differences in cultural background and social status, the relationship between the two develops perfectly. In the absence of internal conflicts the movie turns to external ones and offers a plot twist in the spirit of A Walk to Remember.
A Walk to Remember was released more than 20 years ago, and its plot twist was shocking at the time. But, I don't believe there's anyone living in 2025 who couldn't have predicted such a turn of events from the beginning.
You're Better off Watching a Nicholas Sparks Adaptation Than 'My Oxford Year'
Remember the numerous screen adaptations of Nicholas Sparks novels? Even those films, which are not dramatic masterpieces, offer viewers more than My Oxford Year. It is a flat, emotionless flick devoid of any fire or ambition.
If you miss emotional, even tragic, melodramas, it's better to revisit classics like Me Before You or The Notebook. Because while promising a gripping, bittersweet love story, My Oxford Year delivers neither.
What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'My Oxford Year'?
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My Oxford Year has 29% from critics and 44% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.
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On IMDb, the melodrama has a score of 6.1/10.
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On Letterboxd, My Oxford Year has 2.5/5.
Where to Watch 'My Oxford Year'?
My Oxford Year is available to stream on Netflix.
