'Marry Me' is bland, despite a glamourous lead in Jennifer Lopez

World renowned pop stars Kat Valdez (Jennifer) and Bastian (Maluma) are about to tie the knot in a live stream concert when Kat discovers that Bastian cheated on her with her assistant. Kat takes to the stage and spontaneously decides to marry a man in the audience holding a “Marry Me” sign. The man is Charlie (Owen Wilson), a single parent and Maths teacher, and given they’ve both been unlucky in love, Kat and Charlie strike a deal whereby they’re going to give their marriage a shot.

Her films ‘Maid in Manhattan’ and ‘The Wedding Planner’ may not be of the same calibre as ‘Pretty Woman’ or ‘When Harry Met Sally’, but Jennifer Lopez can undoubtedly be deemed a Rom Com Queen among the likes of Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan. ‘Marry Me’ is her latest effort and they’ve paired her with an absolute on-screen sweetheart in Owen Wilson. ‘Marry Me’ also leans into Lopez’s superstardom as a singer, and she performs a number of fresh, impressively catchy tunes for the soundtrack, paired with some excellent stage design, costumes and choreo.

Jennifer Lopez looks fantastic and pretty much carries the movie, drawing genuine sympathy from the audience with her hard working attitude and heart of gold. Owen Wilson’s slightly dorky character is also naturally likeable, taking an immediate protective stance towards Kat, though he can be insecure. In the supporting cast, John Bradley is a standout, and it’s great to see him at work following ‘Game of Thrones’.

As for the movie itself, ‘Marry Me’ is just too bland to get on board and plays it too safe for the outlandish, ridiculous premise. It’s got all those terrible rom com qualities like a cheesy dance routine that’s brought out at the most inopportune moments – there’s also a chase through the airport, a school dance, an ex who threatens the relationship, not to mention so very much opulence.

‘Marry Me’ is also overly long and not particularly romantic or funny. It’s predictable and forgettable. ‘Notting Hill’ did the storyline so much better and the utilisation of mobile phone footage and digital media becomes headache-inducing. Lopez and Wilson bring the charm but there was a better film to be made here.