Love Hurts and So Does this Film!
Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.
By Luis Zonenberg
‘Tis the season for romance and love as Valentine’s Day approaches yet again! Since we’re still looking back at some of last year’s films, I decided to revisit one that might be fitting for the upcoming holiday. Nothing better fit the bill than Love Hurts, an action-packed romantic comedy starring Ariana DeBose and Ke Huy Quan. The film performed poorly at the box office, earning little love from critics and audiences. I figured it was worth rewatching to see if the film deserved all the hate.
The story focuses on retired hitman Marvin Gable (Ke Huy Quan), who’s settled into his new quiet life as a successful realtor. Things soon turn for the worse once his brother, Knuckles (Daniel Wu), puts a hit on him after discovering he failed to kill his former flame, Rose Carlisle (Ariana DeBose). With Rose reemerging in town, Marvin’s stable, under-the-radar lifestyle is now put in jeopardy as he finds himself confronting his brother once more.
The story is clearly inspired by the John Wick films, but unfortunately, it lacks the style or clever worldbuilding that those films had. This movie overcomplicates what should be a fairly simple premise, featuring a superficial romance that never showcases why the two would fall for one another. The story has about as much substance as a plain McDonald’s hamburger, with nothing of real value that’s worth venturing out to enjoy.
The movie was also billed as a romantic comedy, but ultimately fails at both romance and comedy. The romance between Marvin and Rose was structured as well as a Jenga Tower. The motivations for them are also unclear, especially since Rose is creating trouble for seemingly no reason except to coerce Marvin into helping her kill his brother. Marvin has no real obligation here, with no real loyalty to either Rose or Knuckles, which is why it’s difficult to understand why to root for him.
The comedic moments were equally hard to watch, with most of the jokes centered around typical odd-couple tropes or silly slapstick that makes the film more campy than it intends to be. The overt silliness tries to complement the action, similarly to the style of filmmaker Sam Raimi, but it fails to strike a balance between humor and drama, ultimately falling into the realms of self-parody. Similar to Thor: Love and Thunder, the movie has no real stakes and only reduces them with poorly executed jokes.
The cast does their best to make the material work;Ke Huy Quan deserves a medal for attempting to salvage the dialogue. He proves himself to be a capable lead, with his charming attitude and optimistic naiveté making him likable enough to root for. Sean Astin was definitely the real highlight of the film, though, having great chemistry with Quan and bringing some real depth into an otherwise bland mess. Other supporting stars like Ariana DeBose, Daniel Wu, and Rhys Darby try their best but ultimately fail to make any of the dialogue entertaining.
The cinematography, unfortunately, fell into the same bland mess as the other elements. At times, it does get a tad creative at action-packed moments, but ultimately it degenerates into a rather dull visual style that seems more suitable for a streaming movie than a cinematic blockbuster. Ultimately, the cinematography makes the film feel gimmicky and cheap.
The editing also falls victim to the film’s emphasis on style over substance, beautifully showcasing the raw intensity of the action and giving nothing more. The editing creates an uneven pace that makes the quieter moments feel repetitive and padded out compared to the brisk pacing of the excessively violent set pieces. This uneven pacing makes the film all the more frustrating to watch, especially since it needlessly drags out the film to reach a feature-length runtime.
Ultimately, the movie fails to successfully blend all its ingredients and makes an exceedingly frothy milkshake. It walks a tightrope, attempting to balance the comedy and romance, but unfortunately fumbles the act in the process. What should have been a fun, action-packed romantic outing instead degenerates into an extravagant cake that sugarcoats a whole lot of nothing at the center. The film shows that Love Hurts indeed, and so does watching uninteresting spectacles like this one.
Love Hurts is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
