Jennifer Lopez is very good at being very famous.
That might sound more like a circumstance and not a rarified skill, but that’s just because she’d never let you see the work behind it. The same goes for her competence as a romantic comedy heroine. She might not always get the best material, but her rom-com charm is undeniable and even underrated 25 years after her breakout in “Selena.” The only time we as a culture seem to consider a performance of hers especially noteworthy is when she’s in something more “serious” (see: “Out of Sight,” “Hustlers”).
It’s what makes “ Marry Me,” her new rom-com in theaters and on Peacock TV Friday, so inspired. It allows her to lean into her utterly singular experience as a very, very famous person within the construct of her best genre. Though it says something that she, as pop star Kat Valdez, is the most believable part of the whole endeavor, a glossy and better-than-average fantasy about the pros of arranged marriage.
Directed by Kat Coiro, who did the pilot for the brilliant “Girls5Eva,” and written by “Mindy Project” alum Harper Dill and “Catwoman” screenwriter John Rogers, “Marry Me” feels like an early aughts creation, right down to Kat’s corduroy newsboy caps, back when studios used to regularly spend more than $20 million on the genre. It breezes along thanks to its cast, including Sarah Silverman doing some heavy comedic lifting as Charlie’s co-worker; John Bradley, of “Game of Thrones” fame, who is a nice presence as Kat’s manager Collin; and Michelle Buteau as a very Hollywood assistant.
There’s some hilariously obvious product placement and also a few celebrity cameos, from Hoda Kotb to Jimmy Fallon (whose show is somehow always on in the background and whose alter-ego is noticeably meaner than his real life persona). How James Corden isn’t in this might be the biggest mystery of all.
But “Marry Me” hangs on Lopez who is as glowing and glamorous as ever. Lopez, as they say, understood the assignment.
“Marry Me,” a Universal Pictures and Peacock TV release, in theaters and streaming Friday, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for TK. Running time: 112 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
MPAA Definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
(Source AP News)
