Movie Review: ‘Marry Me’

Review by Lauryn Angel

Rom-coms often have unrealistic premises – strangers who meet in another city/on a plane/whatever and have a one-night stand end up working together; people who can’t stand each other face-to-face fall in love through reading each other’s words; insert alternate unrealistic scenario of your choice here. But Marry Me has the most ridiculous set-up I’ve seen yet.

Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez) is a music superstar, who has the world’s eyes on her as she is set to marry her beau, Bastian (Maluma) as part of her latest concert. But as the couple is on the verge of saying their vows, video hits social media of Bastian cheating on Kat with her assistant. With the world’s eyes on her, Kat looks out into the audience and spots a man holding a sign saying “Marry Me,” and decides “Why not?”

That man is math teacher Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson), who was dragged to the concert by his guidance counselor friend Parker (Sarah Silverman) and his daughter Lou (Chloe Coleman). As unbelievable as the premise is already, Charlie agrees, and the two are married on stage – and they decide to stay married!

If you can suspend your disbelief enough to accept this ridiculousness, the story is actually pretty sweet, as Charlie teaches Kat that she doesn’t need to be on social media or to be surrounded by people in order to be successful. Kat, in turn, helps Charlie earn street cred with his tween daughter and his team of Mathletes and regain some of the confidence he lost when his first wife divorced him.

Once the novelty of the premise wears off, the movie settles into a predictable rom-com formula, which is a shame, because there are more interesting avenues it could have taken, given the stars are a bit older than the typical rom-com couple. There also could have been some good commentary about how difficult it is for a woman to age in the glare of the spotlight. But Marry Me stays in the comfort zone, offering few surprises. It’s a fluffy confection, perfect for a Valentine’s Day date, but ultimately forgettable, unless you are a fan of Lopez or Wilson.