Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Kat Coiro
Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, Chloe Coleman, Sarah Silverman, John Bradley, Jimmy Fallon, Michelle Buteau, Khalil Middleton.
I went into this one with low expectations thinking Marry Me was going to be yet another bland and formulaic romcom. But despite its rather unbelievable premise this feel-good romantic comedy was surprisingly entertaining.
Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez, a veteran of some forgettable and fluffy romantic comedies) is a popular singer whose love live is a bit of a mess. Her duet Marry Me, with Bastian (Colombian pop singer Maluma), has been a massive hit, and now the pair plan to make the title come true when they marry on stage before a televised audience of some 200 million fans. But just before the nuptials Kat learns, via social media, that Bastian has been cheating on her with her assistant. To avoid a PR disaster, Kat steps out on stage and plucks a stranger out of the audience.
The stranger just happens to be Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson), a divorced and somewhat nerdy, mild-mannered middle school maths teacher who has only attended the concert to please his daughter Lou (Chloe Coleman, from the Dave Bautista vehicle My Spy, etc), a precocious maths prodigy, and Parker Debbs (Sarah Silverman), the school’s counsellor. Charlie was holding up Parker’s sign that says “Marry Me.” On the spur of the moment Kat brings him onto the stage and holds an impromptu wedding. Charlie suddenly finds himself the centre of a media frenzy as the paparazzi want to know more about this complete stranger who has married one of the world’s best-known celebrities.
Charlie is initially bemused and fazed by the attention. Kat thinks that she may be able to keep up the façade for a few months and then move on, but unexpectedly Charlie and Kat soon find a spark that slowly grows into something more. The main subplot here has Charlie trying to prepare Lou and his specialist class of maths students for an upcoming competition.
The script comes from a trio of writers better known for their television work including first time feature writer Harper Dill, John Rogers (the awful Catwoman, etc) and Tami Sagher (30 Rock, Inside Amy Schumer, etc), and is based on the graphic novel written by Bobby Grosby. The script is inoffensive and pleasant enough. While the premise may have been inspired by the trashy tv show Married At First Sight, Marry Me actually shares some similarities with the 1999 romcom Notting Hill, which paired Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant to good effect. While the film embraces the cliches of this popular genre, the writers also manage to work in some sly digs at the price of celebrity and the pervasive presence of social media.
Marry Me benefits enormously from the strong chemistry between Lopez and Wilson, who somehow make their mismatched odd couple pairing work and make the audience actually care about them. Wilson’s usual awkward mannerisms and perennially nice guy persona are a perfect fit for the conservative Charlie, while Lopez has confidence and exudes charm in a role not too far removed from her real-life persona. And she gets to belt out a couple of catchy tunes written especially for the movie that echo its themes of love lost and found. John Bradley, who was so good in the recent Moonfall, is given little to work with here as Kat’s sympathetic manager. Coleman has a precocious charm that works well while Silverman brings plenty of sass and wisecracks to her role. Maluma, who voiced a character in the recent Encanto makes his feature film acting debut here, is a good fit for the sleazy and womanising Bastian. And a game Jimmy Fallon contributes a brief appearance.
Director Kat Coiro (the tv series She-Hulk) breathes life into the formulaic material and keeps things moving along nicely.
Music is an important part of the film, and the songs here are very good and the integration of social media is cleverly handled. Lopez also gets to wear plenty of gorgeous costumes designed by Caroline Duncan and Diras Guillart.
Marry Me is the perfect date movie for Valentine’s Day.
★★★☆
