Marry Me: Film Review
I love a Jennifer Lopez romantic comedy and I was absolutely thrilled to see her back in her domain with the far-fetched but charming Marry Me.
The film follows Kat Valdez (Lopez), a pop superstar who is gearing up to tie the knot with her singer boyfriend Bastian (Maluma) after they perform their new duet Marry Me during their concert in New York. Just before she’s about to step out on stage in her wedding dress, she learns that Bastian has been having an affair. Upset and not thinking clearly, she agrees to marry maths teacher Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson), who is holding a “Marry Me” sign in the audience. To save herself from a PR disaster, Kat decides to stay married to Charlie and get to know him better.
Yes, the premise is outrageous and would literally never ever happen but if you just go along with it, you will have the best time. Marry Me may be predictable and cheesy, but it is also such a comforting, feel-good ride that I would happily watch again and again. It left me with a big smile on my face and the original soundtrack put me in the mood to dance.
The reason the film gets away with being so contrived is because of Lopez and Wilson. They worked well together and brought so much charm to it. Although you can predict the ending from miles away, I still loved the journey to get there – watching them getting to know each other and finding some common ground between global superstar and regular person was super cute. They are very, very different people, how could they ever make it work? But in romcom land, miracles really do come true!
Who could be more perfect for the role of Kat Valdez than JLo? She looks gorgeous and gets to show off her singing, dancing and acting talents. We only see Kat as her glitzy and polished public persona at first but we slowly get to see her vulnerable, hopelessly romantic side. Kat has been married three times before Charlie and is worried about being a laughing stock, something Lopez can perhaps relate to in real-life.
Lopez throws herself fully into the part and brings more to the table than Wilson. His acting is exactly what you’d expect but his schtick is right for the wholesome and kinda boring teacher. Colombian singer Maluma isn’t the best actor but the role required him to be a hot music sensation and he delivered on that. Elsewhere, Chloe Coleman is adorable as Charlie’s daughter Lou and Sarah Silverman steals all of her scenes as his hilariously ballsy friend Parker. Game of Thrones star John Bradley didn’t seem like the right fit for Kat’s manager Collin at first but I ended up liking him very much.
Marry Me is ridiculous but heartwarming stuff. I got fully swept up in the ride and enjoyed it very much.
In cinemas from Friday 11th February