Oh boy, here we go. Kaylee and I went and saw Marry Me opening night. Awkwardly enough, I think she wanted to see J-Lo and I was riding the Owen Wilson-hype train heading into the film. To me, this feels like a “what your expectations are will define how you feel” movie. Was it cliché from beginning to end? Pretty much. Was it made to sell half-baked songs and capitalize on current music/film mashup trends? Unequivocally yes. Did we still have a good time at theater? I would say yes. Yes we did.
I went into Marry Me knowing absolutely nothing about the film. If you go into it that way, you’re going to have a wild time. The plot throws you off about fifteen minutes in and you’re left picking up the bits of your brain that exploded when the two (*spoiler alert* I think) get married basically right away.
The film works best with these two at the center of it. J-Lo (Out of Sight, Hustlers) and Owen Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Midnight in Paris, Paint) both have their own personas that work perfectly with the characters they are supposed to portray. Lopez is an international hit singer fresh off a #1 single with her now ex-fiancé and Owen Wilson is a middle school teacher obsessed over winning this year’s Mathalon competition.
Marry Me is a bit wonky, specifically in its tone and overall message. It’s ending feels like a complete shift and misdirect from what the rest of the film is building up to. Character decisions don’t really make complete sense, and the storytelling feels off at certain points. With that being said, I was never completely pulled out of the film.
For me, this was a hangout film. There aren’t very many non-Wes Anderson, non-Cars-franchise Owen Wilson films, so I’ll take them when I can get them. It wasn’t buttoned up by any stretch of the imagination, but it worked for what I was expecting it to be.
Unfortunately, the most important part of the film that didn’t work, and really the elephant in the room, was the music. To quickly dive into my not-so-credible music criticism part of my Marry Me review, I thought the soundtrack felt like generic, up-beat pop mess. It uses the film medium as a way to sell underdeveloped music in a palatable fashion.
Marry Me is a Valentine’s Day hit-or-miss flick, depending on who you talk to. It pushes just enough of the right buttons to be wholesome and sweet, even if it doesn’t take your breath away.
EDIT: I just saw the trailer for this movie. I feel like I would’ve had a completely different response to the film. Man oh man, that trailer gives away quite a lot.
Score: 5/10
Watch Marry Me (2022) on Peacock and VOD
Reviews for Movies like Marry Me (2022)
Marry Me Movie Cast and Credits
Cast
Jennifer Lopez as Kat Valdez
Owen Wilson as Charlie Gilbert
John Bradley as Colin
Sarah Silverman as Parker Debbs
Chloe Coleman as Lou Gilbert
Michelle Buteau as Melissa
Crew
Director: Kat Coiro
Writers: John Rogers, Harper Dill, Tami Sagher
Cinematography: Florian Ballhaus
Editors: Michael Berenbaum, Peter Teschner
Composer: John Debney
New Reviews from Cinephile Corner
- Babygirl Review: Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson Give the Erotic Thriller Genre a Shot in the Arm
- The Brutalist Review: Brady Corbet’s 3+ Hour Epic Falls Short of Greatness
- A Complete Unknown Review: Timothée Chalamet’s Pinpoint Imitation of Bob Dylan Overshadows a Biopic With Messy Plotting
- The Seed of the Sacred Fig Review: Mohammad Rasoulof’s Tense Family Thriller Earns Its Runtime
- Small Things Like These Review: Cillian Murphy Stumbles Through Christmas in Small Town Ireland
- Carry-On Review: Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman Play Cat and Mouse in New Netflix Airport Action Thriller
- Nightbitch (2024)
- Flow Review: Latvian Animated Movie Uses Blender Graphics to Unique Effect
