Brief Story Line
Darcy (Jennifer Lopez - Hustlers, The Wedding Planner etc) and Tom (Josh Duhamel - Jupiter's Legacy TV series, Life as We Know It etc) were getting married in the tropical island in Philippines together with their whole family. But they had to face some challenges, like Darcy's separated parents Renata (Sônia Braga - Kiss of the Spider Woman, Fatima etc) and her ex husband Robert (Cheech Marin - The War with Grandpa etc) with his new girlfriend Harriet (D'Arcy Carden - The Good Place TV series etc) who were at each other's throats. Or Tom's passionate parents Carol (Jennifer Coolidge - The Watcher mini series, Legally Blonde etc) and Larry (Steve Coulter - The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It etc) who sometimes overwhelmed Darcy and Tom.
It became more awkward for them when Darcy's ex boyfriend Sean (singer Lenny Kravitz - The Hunger Games etc) somehow came to the wedding. But the worst part was when some pirates crashed to the party and endangered everyone in it.
So what would happen to them all? You can find out in this movie.
End of Brief Story Line
I said above that I wanted to give this movie a try as it looked like fun. And the premise certainly seemed to promise this especially as it is supported by some stars experienced in comedic roles like Jennifer Lopez and in particular Jennifer Coolidge. When the movie started and the characters were introduced, there were few scenes that made us chuckled even if some were rather cringe. The funny part was usually related to the relationship among the two families and the behavior of Carol.
Anyway, this film was categorized as action rom-com which meant it would have some elements of action, romance and comedy. The earlier stage focused more on the comedy side but once the pirates appeared, there was a bit more intensity although they were not so suspenseful that it would put you at the edge of your seats. There were some actions that were comedic in nature but surprisingly few were pretty violent. Meanwhile we were also shown the romance between Tom and Darcy whose relationship was really tested before the wedding and when their lives were in danger.
The movie seemed to be relying heavily on the stardom of Jennifer Lopez who had vast experience in playing rom-com movies and my wife also felt she was quite suitable in this kind of role, plus obviously Jennifer Coolidge to provide the comedy. During the closing credits, there was the name of Ryan Reynolds as executive producer and after some digging, I found out that he was supposed to be playing Tom but was ultimately replaced by Josh Duhamel. Not that we have anything against Duhamel as he was also quite experienced in playing rom-com, but both of us agreed that if Reynolds was the one portraying Tom, the film likely would have been more entertaining as he seemed to be the more suitable playing this kind of character.
Despite having some well known cast and an interesting enough premise, I felt there were few shortcomings like the chemistry between Darcy and Tom that sometimes did not seem convincing enough, or as I said the cringe humor. There was also a twist which I did not think but my wife had guessed earlier. The movie itself was directed by Jason Moore who was the director of the hit movie Pitch Perfect and it was written by Mark Hammer.
Overall this was a movie that I think would displease film critics. My wife and I who are less critical could still enjoy this one, even though it was definitely not the best action comedy that we have seen (it was quite pale in comparison to the one we saw early last year starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum). But if you just want to have a bit of fun without overthinking you could give this a try. It's currently playing only in one cinema chain in Indonesia, or you could always wait till it's released on Prime Video as the rights was acquired by Amazon Studios.
Mike's movie moments rating: 3 out of 5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment