Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel’s romantic-action comedy has a tantalizing flavor of simple humor, meaty one-liners, an over-the-top premise, engaging characters and some really clever action sequences with a standard Hollywood light-hearted flick that adds some There is charm to the otherwise harsh story.
Shotgun Wedding is the perfect kind of movie tailor-made for you or your friends to sit back and enjoy on an uneventful weekend night. Even if it lacks originality, Shotgun Wedding pays homage to well-known iconic comedies of the early 2000s and mid-2010s such as Jerry Maguire, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Princess Bride, and the like.
The Jason Moore directorial follows a pretty straightforward story. Tom (played by Josh Duhamel) and Darcy (played by Jennifer Lopez) are a happy couple about to get married in the most extravagant of ways. While the duo’s eccentric families convene on a luxurious tropical island in the Philippines for a memorable destination wedding, the lead couple somehow find themselves faced with a series of bizarre circumstances. For example, they are joined by an unexpected guest, Darcy’s ex-boyfriend Sean (played by Lenny Kravitz), who is there at the behest of Darcy’s wealthy father.
The evening turns out well for friends and family (with a few comical hiccups of course) and the night goes on. That’s when we get to know how unprepared the soon-to-be bride and groom are for their upcoming wedding. But the real story unfolds the next day when Tom and Darcy get into a fight over a trivial matter and their guests waiting at the wedding venue are attacked by some rogue pirates. The pair are faced with the challenge of rescuing all the hostages while trying to negotiate their feelings for each other in the process. Will they end up together by the end of the movie?
Shotgun Wedding follows the age-old formula of classic rom-com tropes, but with the extra vagaries of streamlined action thrown into the equation. It has everything you’d expect from a decent laid-back watch such as wafer-thin character sketches derived from the characters’ overused stockpile. For example, a disaffected and condescending woman who downplays her daughter’s choices, a hot and foxy sister who resonates with JLo, a dumb but charming token guy to balance the charts and a few other characters character we’ve probably seen before in countless other movies. The lack of imagination becomes even more apparent when the ‘so-called’ plot twists don’t hook you because you probably predicted them.
But in its defense, Shotgun Wedding feels like a tub of ice cream that you want to dig into more and more of as it hits your subconscious urges for guilty pleasures. Perhaps it is the whimsical and illogical evolution that fascinates us. Or the rush of dopamine and sense of familiarity when we watch Josh and Darcy argue in the midst of a life-threatening situation and yet selflessly profess their love for each other. Their palpable chemistry will leave you with never-ending hope and expectations. With a few hit and miss jokes scattered here and there, some dorky and heartwarming moments of companionship shared between our heroes and the screenplay bleeding through, Shotgun Wedding is quite entertaining and enjoyable as you try to make every little detail. Don’t scrutinize the little things. Statement relating to the unreasonableness of the treatment. It is an easy and unfussy film to be reckoned with and should be seen in that context.
Leaving aside the comedy and romantic parts, Shotgun Wedding surprisingly makes for a great action film, if that was the standalone genre the filmmakers were particularly fond of. The film features an abundance of neatly choreographed stunts, mainly the high-octane sequence towards the climax involving a helicopter hovering over the ocean and a paragliding mid-air struggle, flaming gunfights and grenade-throwing moves and hand-to-hand combat. There are some views of the hand. The competition is definitely thrilling. Jennifer Lopez as Darcy is arguably good for most parts, except when she’s trying too hard to act cute and adorable. That’s when his whole character becomes annoying and unbelievable. This undermines the continuity of her on-screen synthesis with Josh Duhamel. Meanwhile, Josh is very likable and has great comic timing.
Jennifer Coolidge is brilliant but she lacks proper screen-time. Sonia Bragas is equally impressive. Lenny Kravitz was a pleasant surprise after a long nine years and he still knows his craft. Some other good performances included Cheech Marin, D’Arcy Varden, Selena Tan, Desmin Borges, and Alex Mallari Jr. Pinar Toprak’s music is icing on the cake.
If you want to relax this weekend and you want something light-hearted and funny to take you out of your workday blues, then Shotgun Wedding would be the perfect movie for you.
Shotgun Wedding is now streaming on Lionsgate Play.
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