Review:
"Marry Me"
Release Date: Feb. 11, 2022
Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 112 minutes If there are any lessons to be learned from the pop music fairy tale romance Marry Me, it is not to record a love duet with your equally hot fiancé/fiancée. And not to hold your wedding onstage during a sold-out concert that is live-streamed to 20 million people around the world. Especially if your fiancé/fiancée is the cheating kind. But pop stars are gonna pop star, and this is how Jennifer Lopez’s Kat Valdez ends being left red-faced at the altar. Under normal circumstances, the betrayed bride or groom would storm off in anger and embarrassment after learning about their partner’s infidelities seconds before exchanging vows. But not Kat. Instead, she marries the first fan in the crowd she sets eyes on. Well, Owen Wilson’s Charlie Gilbert is not really a fan. He’s just a divorced math teacher who takes his teenage daughter Lou (My Spy’s Chloe Coleman) to the concert by Kat and her heartthrob fiancé Bastian (Maluma, making for a charming cad). Heck, Charlie’s never even heard Kat and Bastian’s smash hit “Marry Me,” the song that comes remains ubiquitous presence throughout this romcom. But Charlie goes along with Kat’s plan to remain married for several months as part of a well-coordinated publicity stunt. Directed with the lightest of touches by TV sitcom veteran Kat Coiro, Marry Me is a keenly aware classic “opposites attract” romantic comedy that efficiently and effectively positions itself as the Notting Hill of the age of social media. Kat records almost every minute of her life, either to stream to her adoring fans or for posterity. The inconspicuous Charlie steers clear of Instagram and Twitter, preferring to expend his time and energy on his daughter or his cherished math students. “This is a manic response to an insane situation,” Kat’s manager declares of her decision to remain hitched to Charlie. Which is true. But this effusive adaptation of the graphic novel by Bobby Crosby also makes it clear that Kat is not just living in the moment—one that she may come to regret—but desperately wants to reclaim both her agency and her love life. “How about this? We pick the guy, keep our name, and let him earn the right to stay,” Kat counters. And so Marry Me decisively unfolds on the terms set by the pop star who has everything she wants and needs—except for the soulmate she longs for to share her life. Feeding off Wilson’s trademark laid-back onscreen persona, Charlie goes with the flow because he does not expect the marriage to last. Bearing this in mind, Marry Me benefits from the lack of pressure it places on its mismatched couple and its refusal to force them into becoming romantically involved. Kat and Charlie are simply allowed to get to know each other. Of course, there are some challenges Kat and Charlie must overcome, but it is more of their making than from outside forces. It is unclear how much, if at all, Kat is based on Jennifer Lopez and her experience as a multi hyphenate. Kat may be all glitz and glamor but Lopez immediately presents as her affable, down to earth, and low-maintenance. Celebrity are just like us! Which obviously works in Marry Me’s favor because this results in Kat and Charlie being equals all sorts in terms of personality and demeanor. If Kat is a superstar easy to identify with once you get to know her, Charlie is the unassuming everyman who is perfect marriage material—if he wasn’t too damn hard of himself. Exuding a warm sensitivity and a rare empathy that makes you feel better about yourself, Wilson markets Charlie as such an appealing walking advertisement for the hard-working Average Joe that he will instill you with the strong if misguided belief that you, too, have a shot with an American idol. More important, Kat and Charlie make such a likable couple that you can’t help but root for them to overcome their status in life. And Marry Me does a fine job of bridging their two worlds, although there it does have the tendency to play down the cutthroat business of the music industry. Marry Me allows Lopez the rare opportunity to show off her second career as a pop singer, with the title song proving itself to be as catchy as any Top 40 hit. Most notably, Lopez brings her music and dance moves to her beau’s classroom with lively results. Marry Me also remains committed to employing classroom skills to reflect the state of Kat and Charlie’s informal courtship. “It’s like math,” Kat tells Charlie. “When you get a problem wrong, you just don’t give up in it. You keep trying until you get it right.” And Marry Me gives us every reason to believe Kat and Charlie will get it right. Robert Sims Aired: Feb. 10, 2022 Web sites: https://www.marryme.movie/ https://www.facebook.com/MarryMeMovie |
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