An explosive marriage, the review: Jennifer Lopez and an all too frivolous action comedy

The review of An explosive marriage: pirates, love and a comedy that refers to the lightness of the beginning of the Millennium. That’s enough? Of course not. But that’s not all to forget. Starring, Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel. Stream on Prime Video.

To pull the spider out of the hole, there would be at least a couple of situations that could save the bizarre comedy-adventure movie operation that is An explosive marriage, directed by Jason Moore and written by Mark Hammer. Because then, films like these, in their shameless and deliberate innocence, must be considered and analyzed according to the audience they choose to entertain. A slice of the public – probably the most numerous – that declines cinema (via streaming) as an intermezzo, as a relaxation, as a simple pastime. Who are we to say that this could be a misguided view of the most accessible and popular art of all? And then, what would it mean to choose the wrong film to watch at home, on the sofa, perhaps dreaming of an exotic destination (as in this case) and a love story? Precisely.

An explosive marriage, in its being objectively inconclusive, can work in relation to a relaxed vision, without too many pretensions, in line with such a disarming simplicity that it chooses to reveal the events almost never leaving the benefit of the doubt. Better to say, the comedy license plate Prime Video it’s a linear journey that begins, continues and ends – right away – in exactly the way we predict. So, no effort is required, no effort, zero emotional turmoil. The adventure set up by Moore, which returns to the cinema from the time of The perfect sistersreleased way back in 2015, should be taken for what it is: listless entertainment that relies on the nostalgia of the legendary comedies of the early millennium, when everything was more understandable, perhaps banal, or simply more accessible.

Till death do Us part…

Throwing us directly into the fray of a wedding in preparation, Jason Moore’s comedy, as widely suggested by the title, has a marriage with crackling and unexpected turns as its setting. The protagonists, Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel) are about to get married, and for the occasion they bring their families together who, like any classic family in any classic comedy, are ready to issue judgments disguised as advice. Not only that, stress, and a certain static couple, seems to shake the love between Darcy and Tom, also because Darcy, unlike the future groom, would like a more intimate ceremony.

While the preparations enter the most convulsive phase, in a large six-star resort on an island in the Philippines, which is the setting for the film, Sean (Lenny Kravitz), Darcy’s mysterious and fascinating ex, also lands among the guests. Yet, Sean is not the only unwelcome wedding guest: the island is in fact prey to the terrible pirates, who will end up taking the guests hostage demanding a large ransom. Darcy and Tom, having escaped capture, will have the task of freeing them, bringing the concept of to another level “Till death do Us part”.

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Not enough J.Lo

Introduced by the notes of Love by Nat King Cole, to continue with the much less attractive sounds of bullets (let alone during a wedding!), An explosive marriage tries to swap the cards on the table of the purest comedy, adding we repeat a track in full style adventure movie. Tom and Darcy become the heroes-by-chance of a film in which action (standard) replaces love, creating a climax that correlates the two elements. And you will have understood it, the emotional shock suffered by the two future spouses (perhaps) will (perhaps) fill the misunderstandings and the routine that are denting the passion and complicity. A slaughter of mercenaries that reflects the impossible situation experienced by the couple, while Moore’s film continually tries to offer a distraction that remains limited, net of his goliardic and good-natured spirit.

The ideas of greatest interest, or at least those to be grasped if one is looking for something more (duty for the record), are, as mentioned at the beginning of our review, traceable in the central presence of Jennifer Lopezwhich returns to its turn-of-the-century habitat, when it was the undisputed queen of light-hearted and proudly frivolous cinema, and in the presence of Lenny Kravitz, exploited properly by the screenplay by Mark Hammer. Ah, we forgot: in the cast there is also an irrepressible Jennifer Coolidge, now on the road to a real cinematic second life. A little bit, you might say, but maybe enough to save a action comedy designed and studied for an audience that would just like to have fun without dwelling too much on the details.