So, this movie happened. First of all, Jennifer Lopez is amazing and can do no wrong and despite her and Owen Wilson giving us good performances, this film fell flat on basically all accounts.
We all know what this film's about, Wilson's Charlie Gilbert feels sorry for Kat Valdez (Lopez) and agrees to marry and stay married to her while they get to know each other and there are some good moments, because it is basically boy meets girl, with an impulsive marriage thrown in the mix. Oh, yes, and her musical ex, Bastian (Maluma) is also hovering dangerously on the edge, wanting Kat back, but unable to shake his cheating ways. You don't fully understand why Kat fell for him in the first place.
Still, it is impossible to not root for Charlie, with his flip phone, and Kat who is constantly live-streamed to her millions of fans, to forego their differences and fall in love, which they do, only the good moments are painfully short-lived, as the supporting characters keep jutting in at the least opportune moment. And then there is the improbability of Hollywood rom-coms so everything works out and the character chances and is willing to take a chance on love (if this happens in real life, it's never happened to me) so they end up together, thank goodness.
However, this film was a missed opportunity to truly delve into life post-divorce and how difficult single parenthood is, not to mention aging in an industry that loathes aging and what it's truly like to have your face plastered everything and have people clinging to your every word and every action as it is all various forms of social media. But instead, they focus on the fluffy rom-com staples, which dilute the good parts, which is most unfortunate. Fortunately, this is far from the worst rom-com I've seen, though it isn't even close to the best. Grade: B-
Side Notes:
-I have to say it, some of Jennifer Lopez's outfits show far too much skin for my liking (though I don't wish to slut shame her) and I can't believe that the song 'Marry Me' was nominated for a fake Grammy.
-The supporting cast is solid, though some appear on screen for, well, next to no time: Sarah Silverman, John Bradley, Michelle Buteau and Utkarsh Ambudkar. Chloe Coleman is delightful as Charlie's young daughter.
-It is also unrealistic how quickly, and without any stumbles, Kat writes up the lyrics to 'On My Way', a song written for Charlie, not Bastian, which is what everyone thinks.
-Those nun costumes in the beginning are borderline disturbing and something that you would never find in church.
-The only truly funny part is when Sarah Silverman's Parker blows a fire extinguisher at the press so Charlie could get to work without incident.
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