Shotgun Wedding

Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel) are all set to get married in a lavish wedding in The Philippines. The walk down the aisle won’t be an easy feat, however, with their ever clashing families and Darcy’s ex Sean (Lenny Kravitz) showing up unexpectedly. As the cold feet start to slowly seep in, the unbelievable happens just hours before they’re set to say I do – the entire wedding party is taken hostage by a group of pirates and it is up to Darcy and Tom to save them before its too late.

I’d been looking forward to checking out Shotgun Wedding. Lopez, hot off her success from last year’s Marry Me is back in another action adventure romantic comedy romp, though I should mention that I preferred the former. Still, this one wasn’t awful. Her chemistry with Duhamel worked surprisingly well (I can’t help but wonder how it would have been seeing Armie Hammer in that role instead) and they certainly got themselves into some crazy predicaments. Just when things would calm down, they would ramp right back up again.

The supporting cast had some standouts too. We had Cheech Marin as Darcy’s dad Robert and D’Arcy Carden as his girlfriend Harriet, both who made for some fun moments. But it was obviously the always charming Jennifer Coolidge who stole every scene she was in. She’s been having such a brilliant year and she one hundred percent deserves it.

With the beautiful and exotic beach location backdrop, Shotgun Wedding was the perfect escapism movie. It wasn’t amazing by any means, but there were some laughs here and there and a couple twists along the way that did actually pack a punch. Easy viewing at its finest.

Rating: ♥️♥️.5

Marry Me

Global superstar Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez) is set to marry fellow musician Bastian (Maluma) on stage in front of twenty million people during their tour. But when she finds out moments before they tie the knot that Bastian cheated on her with her assistant, Kat, seemingly having a breakdown, agrees to marry a complete stranger from the crowd who was holding up a ‘Marry Me’ sign instead. Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson), a divorced math teacher, is the complete opposite of Kat. The only reason he was at the concert was because he was dragged there by his friend and colleague Piper (Sarah Silverman) and his daughter Lou (Chloe Coleman). To the world, there is no way they can make their marriage work, but they are determined to give it their very best shot.

Sometimes we all need a little romance in our lives and what better a time to do so than on Valentine’s weekend? This movie sparked my interest from the very beginning which is surprising considering the fact that I am not the biggest fan of either leads. That being said, it had been a long time since I saw a romcom that ticked all the right boxes and so I dragged my husband to this on opening day.

Guys. I loved it. Every single second. I just had the biggest smile on my face, it was that cute. Is it entirely believable? No, not at all. I don’t think this would happen in real life, nor do I think Kat or Charlie would be able to make this work. But I didn’t care. What it did do was take me on a perfect escape where I was able to believe in fairy tales again. Not to mention, it totally had me laughing out loud and tapping my feet along to the catchy songs.

With it’s talented cast and surprising cameos sprinkled throughout, Marry Me is definitely one of the better romantic comedies I have seen in a long time. If you are looking for something to lift your spirits, as well as the perfect date night, make sure this one is on your radar.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥