FilmSnobReviews

Title: The Lovebirds
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Michael Showalter
Starring: Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani, Anna Camp
Runtime: 1 hr 26 mins

What It Is: When a couple, Leilani (Rae) and Jibran (Nanjiani) have their car stolen by a “police officer” he hits a bike messenger, killing him. Now the two are on the run. Mayhem and mania are ensuing as the two of them run as far away from the situation as possible. But like anything it continues to get worse and worse as the night continues. Now that “police officer” is chasing them down to assure that whatever they saw doesn’t get seen.

What We Think: Director Michael Showalter is known for making really unique projects. Both The Baxter and The Big Sick are really interesting takes on the romantic comedy. While Hello, My Name is Doris features interesting characters, like the aforementioned two films. That’s where both this film and Showalter shine. Sadly there are not too many other redeeming qualities. Nanjiani and Issa Rae are hilarious and show great chemistry even as the script’s logic continues to let them down. While I found myself laughing at certain moments the bombast of the ridiculousness supersedes whatever goals the film initially set out to accomplish. The dynamic between our leads and their relationship issues is lost in the sea of crazy they deal without throughout.

Our Grade: C+, I can still definitely give this a positive review. Despite the rushed nature and the mania ensuing all over this title, there remains intact the screwball elements of romcoms past. Just enough of those seeps in to make the overall watch a positive one. Even if every joke doesn’t hit enough of them do, and rather hard. This is an easy watch and since it’s available on Netflix you can easily push a button and enter the whacky world this piece puts together.