The wedding planner meets a wedding crasher; it feels like the big studio romcom never went away. Here’s a film light on drama and heavy on beautiful people going for walks, attractively; one rich in catchy songs but limited in plot. Sometimes, that’s enough — though there are hints that this could have been sharper than it is.
Pop singer Kat (Jennifer Lopez) is planning a huge onstage wedding to her equally successful boyfriend Bastian (Maluma). Alas, he’s caught cheating, and in a moment of madness she spots a face in the crowd holding a “Marry me” sign and does just that. The fan turns out to be amiable teacher Charlie (Owen Wilson), a divorced father who’s clueless but sympathetic to her plight.
There’s no hiding the impulsiveness of the act, but Kat asks Charlie to spend time with her and act like they’re trying to make the relationship work. Naturally, sparks fly. Kat is funny and thoughtful beneath the glitz, while Charlie is so unfailingly admiring of her and so obviously good that he’s irresistible. All the rest you can predict.
Director Kat Coiro sometimes looks like she’s about to say something sharp about fame, or commerce, or loneliness, but the tale never quite gets there. The film’s been retooled from its comic-book origins (it is based on an ‘online graphic novel’ by Bobby Crosby) to more closely reflect Lopez’s own history and very public relationship history, which adds a nice degree of resonance, but again, there’s no nuance about her character’s work, just capers with cute kids and the simple assurance that there’s substance behind the style.
Still, even with that caveat and a dragging pace in the third act, this is likeable. It’s well shot, well cast and gently amusing in the way of most glossy romcoms. John Bradley is fun as Kat’s devoted manager, and the unconventional setting for the finale is a clever mirror-image of the start. With a catchy soundtrack and those two wildly charismatic leads, even in the film’s weakest moments you can just follow Charlie’s example, and stare slack-jawed at J.Lo as she kills it.