First, Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
I watched the movie Marry Me (2022) yesterday and believe me, it had nothing to do with February 14th but more to do with the main character, Jennifer Lopez! She's one of my Hollywood crushes. I love to watch her movies and this one is not an exception.
Marry Me (2022) is a romantic comedy directed by Kat Coiro and an adaptation of Bobby Crosby’s graphic novel of the same name.
Being a romantic comedy movie, every viewer is on the edge of their seats hoping to watch the same old story of a man meets a lady, they fall in love, he proposes and they end up together. Marry Me is a rom-com with a bit of difference.
Imagine being a pop star, having everything money can buy including a handsome, pop star fiance and on the wedding day discover the fiancé had cheated. This was the life of Kat Valdez, aka Jennifer Lopez.
In this movie, viewers are faced with the lifestyle that pop stars go through, especially when they are in a committed relationship and ready to settle down in marriage. In this movie, Kat Valdez did the unthinkable and I don't believe such a thing has ever happened —marrying a stranger on a live show.
I see that action as reckless, thoughtless and unrealistic. Who marries a stranger on a live show? Apparently this happens only in movies. This stranger is Owen Wilson who stars as Charlie Gilbert, a shy, awkward maths teacher and I did not see him as a good fit for J-lo in a rom-com but we watch what we are given, eh?
As I watched, I was engrossed with how J-lo, a wealthy, pop star would make her relationship with her maths teacher husband work. Then I remembered along the way, it's a rom-com but sadly, there was no comedy. Attempts by the filmmakers to inculcate some comedy was not obvious.
I like that the movie worked to change the narrative of the man pursuing the woman and proposing marriage. J-lo pursued her man and finally proposed marriage to him.
One issue I was unhappy with was that the filmmakers unnecessarily stretched the conflict (stardom) keeping the two lovebirds apart. This conflict could have been easily resolved with a straightforward conversation. Instead, they let viewers cringe and grit their teeth wondering, "What is wrong with you two?" That's what I did anyway and sighed when the two main characters resolved to be together and the movie finally ended.
This is not to say that the movie was boring but I will rate it 3.5 stars out of 5. The scenes, dialogues and character interactions are smooth and the acting was quite good. I love that the movie is packed with original songs by Jennifer Lopez and Latin music star, Maluma. It was refreshing watching J-lo perform without having to watch any of her music videos.
The message of the film is love is possible even between two very different people. So if you would like a Valentine movie recommendation, you can spice up your evening with Marry Me.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Movie poster from Imdb Other images are screenshots from movie
