MOVIE REVIEW: MARRY ME

 

Pop superstar Kat Valdez is about to get married before an audience of her loyal fans. However, seconds before the ceremony, she learns about her fiance's cheating ways and has a meltdown on stage. In a moment of inspired insanity, Kat locks eyes with a total stranger in the crowd and marries him on the spot. As forces conspire to separate the unlikely newlyweds, they must soon decide if two people from such different worlds can find true love together.

Director: Kat Coiro

Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, John Bradley, Sarah Silverman, Chloe Coleman

Release Date: February 11, 2022 

Genre: Comedy, Music, Romance

Rated PG-13 for some language and suggestive material

Runtime: 1h 52m

Review:

Marry Me is a preposterous rom-com that takes the general idea of Notting Hill and updates it with a modern spin.  Kat Coiro's film doesn't break any new ground but it's a breezy surprisingly likeable rom-com.  There's honestly no good reason for this film to be as watchable as it is almost in spite of itself.  Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson do most of the heavy lifting with both turning in charming and likable turns as the two leads.  There is a bit of real life synergy with some elements of the script veering close to some of Lopez's past relationships which makes her performance feel more grounded and authentic.  Wilson is his usual likable self with him and Lopez having a good rapport together even if they don't quite sizzle with romantic chemistry.  The film suffers from structural issues which are ingrained into the genre with the situations getting more and more ridiculous as the film heads into it's finale.  Marry Me doesn't change the genre but it doesn't really try to instead it just has fun with it's ludicrous conceit and runs with it.  

B-

Cindy Prascik's Review of My Spy

With reopened cinemas having nothing new to show for their trouble, this weekend I again relied on the kindness of streaming for something to watch and write about.

On the docket, the family comedy My Spy. Desperate times and all.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

Already on thin ice over a botched mission, a government agent becomes entangled with the family he's meant to be observing.

My dear reader(s), way back when we had new movies in cinemas and a person sitting directly behind me could happily spit popcorn into my hair for a couple hours, trailers for My Spy ran before pretty much everything I saw. It's the kind of dopey comedy I'd never spend money to see at a cinema (unless Gary Oldman were in it), but that I will unashamedly enjoy the minute it crosses my path for free. I may be damning with faint praise when I say this movie did not disappoint.

My Spy leans heavily on the likability of its cast. The adorable Chloe Coleman steals the show from her adult costars, while Dave Bautista's talents aren't stretched too much as the not-as-dumb-as-he-looks titular spy. Parisa Fitz-Henley, Ken Jeong, and Kristen Schaal nicely round out the principals. Action sequences are fun and mild enough for younger viewers, and the humor is cute and obvious, nothing too off-color. It's the sort of predictable picture that will never set the world on fire, but it's perfect for when you just want to be entertained and not challenged. (There's that faint praise again!)

My Spy runs a quick 99 minutes and is rated PG13 for "action/violence and language."

There's nothing clever or cutting edge about My Spy, but when the world's as terrifying as it is right now, its brand of benign escapism may be just what the doctor ordered.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, My Spy gets six.

Until next time...