Movie Review: Marry Me

So we all know the trope about a world famous star falling for the normal person, getting married and living happily ever after, right? It’s a plot that plenty of movies revolve around in some variation or another. Well, ‘Marry Me’ does the story a little differently and with a few popstar moments and epic stage outfits for J.Lo thrown in for good measure. Let’s watch the trailer and then dive into the review of ‘Marry Me’ that’s not spoiler free but if you know your rom coms you know where it’s going!

Marry Me is a rom com directed by Kat Coiro and based on the graphic novel of the same name by Bobby Crosby, starring Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, Maluma, John Bradley and Sarah Silverman. Pop star Kat Valdez (Lopez) finds out the man she’s about to marry in front of a sold out show and live stream audience of millions, fellow pop star, Bastian (Maluma), has been having an affair. In a spur of the moment decision, she decides to marry Charlie Gilbert (Wilson) who showed up to the concert and was left holding a sign that says ‘Marry Me.’ Is it all for the publicity or is there actually something between Kat and Charlie?

So ‘Marry Me’ is cheesy without a doubt but, if you love your rom coms, it is definitely one to watch. It bucks the typical meet, falling love, live happily ever after thing and, in this instance, there is a real sense of a strong independent female lead. Kat really seems like the boss in her busy environment and it’s Charlie who genuinely seems intimidated by the pace of her world. [SPOILER ALERT!!!!] She even proposes to him at the end of the movie. To top it all off, Charlie is a divorced dad and teacher so incorporating a child into an already awkward relationship is one of the hurdles that has to be faced by Charlie and Kat in their new relationship.

Is the plot a masterpiece? No. But you aren’t exactly watching this movie to be thrilled and wowed by the new and exciting concepts it explores or the massive unexpected plot twists. The movie is your typical, cheesy rom com with some oddities within. Where usually the couple follow the path of falling in love, getting married and living happily ever after this romantic pairing skip a few steps and work backwards. There are fun side characters that don’t over shadow the central plot but also don’t become obsolete as the plot moves forward and are great comic relief in the more serious moments. Sarah Silverman plays the role of supportive best friend, captain of her bestie’s new ship (very much like someone I know) and agony aunt very well. Are the songs the most lyrically inspired masterpieces you’ve ever heard? No. But, and I have to remind myself of this, they’re not the focal point of the movie but I really felt like there could have been a little more effort made to make the music a bit more original and unique. These songs were meant to be the work of an artist who was striving for the recognition of the likes of the Grammys while singing songs like Church on stage. Hmmmm no I can see why she never got the nominations she wanted. There were a grand total of two songs on the soundtrack that didn’t repeat the title of the song over and over and weren’t there to fill the run time of the scene at the concert but it’s a small detail and it ensures that the two most important songs in the movie are the most memorable.

With ‘Marry Me’ you can see the usual rom com ending coming a mile away but the plot gets there using in a slightly less conventional way. Overall, ‘Marry Me’ doesn’t shock and amaze but it is a wonderful take on the man meets woman and falls in love in the strangest way possible: dancing to solve maths equations.