Jennifer Lopez, has been an icon in Hollywood for as long as I can remember and has garnered success in both the music and movie industries. Her success in both categories made her a perfect candidate for Universal’s up and coming, romantic comedy, ‘Marry Me’, as a top-tier pop star about to face a life-changing event.

Director Kat Coris, with her first feature film in almost 10 years, had the challenging task of selling the adapted story of a web series of the same name. Marry Me, written by Bobby Crosby, has been adapted by John Rogers, Tami Sagher, and Harper Dill to tailor the story to fit Jennifer Lopez as a pop star, Kat Valdez. Owen Wilson, no stranger to a romantic comedy, steps into the shoes of Charlie Gilbert, who is watching the world leave him behind from the comfort of his desk as a Math teacher. Two people on very different paths, dramatically clash with a host of heartfelt moments and life lessons along the way.

As the story unfolds, the audience gets a peak behind the curtains of Kat as her new hit, Marry Me, a duet with her on-screen fiancé Bastion, is sweeping the nation. Everything is set in place for one of the grandest weddings to take place during a live show and a social media campaign is following her every step of the way. Meanwhile, Charlie is just as excited at the idea of his daughter finally being old enough to go to the same school he teaches at.

Sarah Silverman, plays comic relief best friend to Charlie and conveniently ropes him into accompanying her to Kat’s show. Drama ensues as the perfect night falls apart when a scandal breaks out during the performance leaving Kat standing alone at the alter in front of millions of people.

Through a mix of shock, determination, and a dash of recklessness, Kat plucks Charlie from the crowd in front of her to ensure she leaves with a husband. An absolutely wild concept that isn’t too uncommon of a fantasy either if we are all being honest with ourselves. What follows, however, was more than a zany set of circumstances for a few slap stick jokes here and there.

While Kat’s entourage was happy to zing a few jokes at Charlie’s expense, his caring nature continued to stay strong to help out his new wife with a mature moral support system she desperately needed in this moment. It wasn’t all without fault as there were a few pointed moments that felt like they were ticking the boxes of what makes a romantic comedy, yet it wasn’t without its own charm in doing so either.

With Jennifer’s background in music, the set pieces and musical performances were stand-out moments of the film and were able to cover the movie’s atmosphere at the same time. The glitz and glamour felt authentic and believable which paired well with her behind closed doors insecurity of never being nominated for the big awards being the initial driving force behind her mindset.

The moment-to-moment sections between the two never felt forced as they drew from each other and their characters both flourished through success and failure. There were subtle ways that tugged a smile out of the audience when you saw her music evolving into a more personal accomplishment while Charlie began to open up to the world again.

It was actually the friction that felt more unbelievable than the connection they began to share in an unlikely situation but was a necessary step for the mad dash in the finale to have its own payoff.

Marry me, an outlandish idea of a film with humble and sometimes profound narratives coming together in a feel-good movie. The colourful collection of characters complimented the journey in their own subtle way that made it easy to cheer for the idea of making it all work out in the end.

Written by: Shane Fletcher