Marry Me knows what it is, and gives you what you want. Jennifer Lopez. Owen Wilson. Cute, adorable, courting one another. Marry Me doubles down on the rom in the romcom, which helps make the movie breeze by, hopefully while you’re on some lovely date night with the one you love.
Showing her range, JLo plays Kat Valdez a pop music and social media icon. She’s madly in love with Bastian (Maluma), a fellow singer and social media legend. Their relationship entirely exists in the public eye, all building towards their very public wedding in front of millions of people. Right before they take their vows, Kat discovers Bastian has been unfaithful to him. Panicked, she picks a random guy from the crowd to take Bastian’s place and marry her. That man is Charlie (Owen Wilson), a middle school math teacher who just happened to be at the show with his daughter Lou (Chloe Coleman) and his friend Parker (Sarah Silverman). Instead of immediately annulling the wedding like her publicist (John Bradley) pleads she do, Kat instead stays “married” to Charlie for a few months, to let the media firestorm die down.
And off we go! What you see is what you get with Marry Me. Thankfully, Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson are up to the task, selling the hell out of this ridiculous premise. JLo continues to defy time and normal body function, looking as amazing as she did 20-30 years ago. But more than that, Kat basically IS her, so all the personal/private life issues Kat brings up and expresses ring true. Most importantly, JLo isn’t just saddled with emotional baggage; the movie smartly lets her be herself, and use that dynamite personality to crack some jokes and give people sh*t, getting a few laughs along the way. Her counterpart Owen Wilson is a nice, languid balance. Wilson’s optimism and manner of speech have this way of coming across confident and earnest, ok to be vulnerable or the butt of a joke. The pair together pop, clearly having a blast, selling the hell out of their star crossed romance, which the movie really wants you to believe in. Sarah Silverman has a blast as the romcom supporting character, as does Stephen Wallem with his 5 minutes of screentime.
Marry Me is harmless, plucky fun, accompanied with a kickass soundtrack. And beautiful people and places. And a cute dog. And a math competition. I mean, what other movie can you Netflix and Chill with JLo yoga poses and circles inscribed inside ellipses? Working out your body…and your mind at the same time!