Marry Me – A Cute Star Power Romantic Comedy (Early Review)

Romantic comedies as a genre have become stale compared to their arguable heyday in the 1990s. Films are more than just sticking two people together, they have to have some chemistry in order for them to work. Meanwhile, putting them in an at least somewhat believable situation doesn’t exactly hurt either. Marry Me is the latest romantic comedy benefiting from the star power of its stars, Jenifer Lopez and Owen Wilson who are each no stranger to the genre. Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Bobby Crosby, the film certainly retcons back to that 1990s heyday of romantic comedies with an admittedly corny story that is just so cute in spite of that. It may be silly on paper and predictable but most audiences are sure to lost past this as they will be taken on a journey full of a surprising amount of feels. Nevertheless, the escapism factor is undeniable as Lopez and Wilson bring plenty of charm in selling a dynamic that will take them back to a simpler time.

The trailers pretty much provide the gist of the story as essentially, Marry Me follows a worldwide superstar singer named Kat Valdez (Lopez) who was set to publicly marry her equally famous fiance and fellow singer named Bastian (Maluma) during a concert in New York City streamed for their millions of fans. Her plan would be cut short upon learning about the latter’s infidelity. In the spur of the moment and wanting something different, Kat decided to marry someone else, a complete stranger in the crowd. Charlie (Wilson) was there by chance but those circumstances made it clear that this was fate. Not even a fan of her and her music, the divorced father and math teacher could not have been any more different than her. Playing on a stark contrast between characters isn’t a new concept by any means, however, this only made Charlie, an almost unbelievably nice and ordinary guy, that much more charming.

Born out of a spur of the moment decision, Kat and Charlie’s marriage was treated a such and not considered something serious. Basically a PR hurdle, the two put on a show in front of the cameras as he played along for her sake. That being said, as they started to get to know each other, things started to change. When it came to Kat, that different perspective was a breath of fresh air and a nice change of pace compared to her current life while opening her eyes to a simpler life. In the end, she still found herself in between two worlds as her career and the Bastian cloud still loomed over it all. As Kat and Charlie were getting closer, their relationship became something more serious and so did the spotlight on each of them which Charlie certainly was not used to but luckily he had his friend and wingman Parker (Sarah Silverman) to guide him along. He still had motivations of his own in keeping things going with the primary one being lifting his daughter Lou (Chloe Coleman). Despite some unsurprising ups and downs along the way, the only real question was whether or not these two people from two different worlds can make it.

Ultimately, the best part of Marry Me was the aforementioned great performances from Lopez and Wilson and their dynamite chemistry as Kat and Charlie. Sure, the film was incredibly corny but they brought so much charm and heart that it will be easy to overlook that. They each shine as believable people from two different worlds coming together, though it may not perhaps be much of a stretch for them, and forming an unlikely union. Though the Kat side of things got silly at times, Lopez and Wilson were so fun to watch together because of that chemistry. Finally, Silverman was of course a scene-stealer as Parker, bringing just the right amount of energy while Coleman’s chemistry with Wilson rounded out Charlie and their father-daughter dynamic nicely. Maluma as Bastian was pretty much a cameo as his impact was minimal at best. The character was for the most part a plot device more than anything else.

Definitely a nice surprise, one can’t go wrong with Marry Me, a film that should easily find an audience be it theatrically or streaming (if you happen to live in the United States and own Peacock).

still courtesy of Universal Pictures

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.