NinaDobrev – Credits Rolling

I don’t think I’ve ever given a movie one heart before, but I guess there’s a first time for everything.

The Outlaws, Netflix’s newest comedy/thriller offering, follows Owen Browning (Adam Devine), a straight-laced banker who is getting ready to marry the love of his life Piper (Nina Dobrev). It’s all going according to plan when his bank is held up by the infamous Ghost Bandits. Putting two and two together, Owen starts to believe it may be his future in laws (Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin) who just so happened to arrive in town for the wedding.

I wanted so badly to like this film. It boasts an incredible cast and the trailer looked funny though I should have known better. How many times have I been duped before by big names just to get traction? The only shining lights for me here were Brosnan and Barkin who, while I still don’t have a clue why they’d star in something like this, did what they could to carry things along. In addition, Richard Kind and Julie Hagerty, who starred as Owen’s parents, had some great one liners and managed to steal the scenes they were in.

Devine, on the other hand, was so incredibly annoying that I had to force myself not to mute him. The high pitched screams and his mannerisms were way too over the top that it simply did not work. I can’t help but wonder if the film would have been better without him in it. And I wish I could say that Dobrev was a saving grace too, but she was kind of sidelined throughout. Even with the likes of Michael Rooker as Agent Oldham and Poorna Jagannathan as fellow bad guy Rehan, it was a lost cause.

In addition to the mismatched cast and over the top shenanigans, the movie itself was just not funny. A few of the so called jokes may have got me to chuckle, but only halfheartedly. As for the thriller element? There was none. Right from the get go you know what’s going to happen. Sometimes that’s a good thing though it wasn’t the case here.

I truly feel like The Outlaws is one of the worst movies that I have ever seen. It wasn’t funny, it was way too predictable and the cast made no sense whatsoever. Although I kept it on in hopes that it’d get better, I should have listened to my gut instinct and either switched it off halfway through or never given it a shot in the first place. I know that Netflix are notorious for the questionable quality they put out sometimes – I’m starting to think they should make some better decisions.

Rating: ♥️

Natalie (Nina Dobrev) is a hopeless romantic journalist from LA who has been on countless dates over the years. When she matches with handsome Tag (Darren Barnet) who lives on the East Coast, Natalie thinks that her luck is finally changing. The two spend a couple of blissful weeks talking non-stop until Tag suggests she visits him for the holidays. Taking a leap of faith, Natalie is completely surprised when she discovers that she has been catfished by Tag’s childhood friend Josh (Jimmy O. Yang). To get her to stay, Josh says he’ll help Natalie land Tag if she pretends to be his girlfriend in front of his family (James Saito, Rebecca Staab, Althea Kaye, Harry Shum Jr. and Mikaela Hoover) he tries so hard to impress.

I actually wasn’t going to review Love Hard at first. I thought it would be just another Netflix movie that would be forgettable right after I finished it. Well, I was totally wrong. While it wasn’t a masterpiece of any sort, I loved absolutely every single minute of it and figured that there was no way that I couldn’t not write about it!

There was never a question as to whether or not I’d watch the movie. The cast, in particular, reeled me in. I’ve been a fan of Nina Dobrev’s since her Vampire Diaries days. I hadn’t seen her in much lately which is a shame because she’s such a likeable person. Darren Barnet of Never Have I Ever fame is a rising star. Mark my words, he will be in a lot more projects for years to come. His looks don’t hurt either. It was also a treat having Harry Shum Jr. in this as Josh’s overbearing, perfectionist brother.

What I liked most about this film was the moral it wanted to share. Never judge a book by it’s cover. I feel like this is so important, especially today where social media has such a strong influence. It’s so easy to pretend to be somebody else, but it is important to be yourself regardless. While some say that the outcome of the story was not entirely believable, I think it worked perfectly for the tone.

Love Hard officially marked my first Christmas movie of 2021. I swear I’m starting earlier and earlier, though I can’t lie and say that I really mind. Not only was it adorable, it had me laughing multiple times and swooning at others. It was a perfect light, feel good movie that instantly put a smile on my face right when I needed it.

Rating: ♥♥♥.5