Marry Me. Quick Review.

When her fiancé (reggaeton star Maluma) is discovered cheating just as they are about to get married on stage a celebrity musician ( Jennifer Lopez( decides to complete the stunt with a random single father ( Owen Wilson) instead. Things play out exactly as you would expect from there. Given the garish premise and trailer, this writer’s expectations for an increasingly rare theatrically released rom-com were pretty much rock bottom. Colour this author somewhat surprised that Marry Me is not an atrocious endurance test. The final product comes across much gentler and more quietly effective than the marketing suggests. This generic plot is carried by the quiet charisma of the two leads. They can execute the series of cliches expected from this genre in an effectively solid manner. Sarah Silverman turns up playing the same role she did in School of Rock 18 years ago. Weirdly, this casting choice is symptomatic of what the film is trying to achieve. It’s a perfectly pleasant and surprisingly likeable throwback to the romantic films of the 90s and 2000 ( some of which the two main stars were in.) When watching one of the performance sequences and seeing several gyrating nuns congregate around Lopez this author first thought was “ this is immediately going to get clipped out and branded the worst thing ever as a viral internet clip.” That said the audience for films like marry me won’t care what Twiter thinks of their film. They just want to rom-com that is potentially swoon-worthy. Much as this author might be loath to admit it Marry Me delivers effectively on that very basic audience expectation.
6.5/10