There’s a certain style of comedy that can be done well in certain circumstances but for the most part is completely insufferable. This would be the narrative loosely composed of random comedic set pieces that are mostly just an excuse for whoever stars in these films to do a bunch of extended riffing in sequences that often feel like they go on forever. In recent history Booksmart, Bridesmaids and the Jump Street films have used this structure to good effect. That said these examples are dwarfed by the list of film that implement this approach in a way that becomes quickly insufferable. Despite the talents of Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjjani The Lovebirds represents one of the very worst examples of this. The stars may produce a begrudging chuckle over the mercifully short 85-minute runtime They play a warring couple who have to band together after events take a very dark turn and they get involved in a series of excruciatingly unfunny comedic shenanigans. The writers never seemed sure if the extended sequences of the two leads bickering are meant to be funny or serious and once the series of comedic set pieces substituting for a plot start off things get excruciatingly unfunny very fast. Despite making the best film of 2017 with The Big Sick director Michael Showalter offers nothing that can utilise his two stars effectively. Unless you are really bored during lockdown would not recommend this film to even their biggest fans. No wonder paramount cast the film off and let it get lost in the shuffle of endless streaming releases.
2/10
A Little Bit Of Everything 