Marry Me

Directed by Kat Coiro, Marry Me follows superstar singer Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez) as she impulsively agrees to marry a schoolteacher (Owen Wilson’s Charlie Gilbert) after breaking up with her boyfriend (Maluma’s Bastian). It’s an appealing, romcom-friendly premise that’s employed to periodically watchable yet mostly underwhelming effect by Coiro, as the filmmaker, working from John Rogers, Tami Sagher, and Harper Dill’s screenplay, delivers an often excessively familiar narrative that’s rarely as compelling or engrossing as one might’ve anticipated (and hoped) – with the arms-length atmosphere compounded by a meandering storyline and palpably overlong running time. There’s little doubt, at least, that Marry Me benefits from the affable efforts of its two stars and their genuine chemistry together, as both Lopez and Wilson turn in charming work that goes a long way towards initially compensating for a tepid, far-from spellbinding plot – although it’s equally clear that decidedly lackluster (and hopelessly padded-out) third act, which is weighed down by a needlessly protracted fake breakup, ensures the movie fizzles out rather dramatically. The end result is an almost passable romantic comedy that absolutely should’ve topped out at 90 minutes, which is a shame, certainly, given the potential afforded by the seemingly foolproof setup and magnetic performances.

** out of ****