FilmSnobReviews

Title: Love, Guaranteed
MPAA Rating: TV-PG
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Starring: Rachael Leigh Cook, Damon Wayans Jr., Heather Graham
Runtime: 1 hr 30 mins

What It Is: Susan Whitaker (Cook) is a somewhat down on her luck lawyer who’s very good at finding justice for those that need it. For providing a voice for the voiceless. When former major leaguer Nick (Wayans Jr.) wants to sue dating app Love, Guaranteed for false advertisement. You see he’s been through almost 1,000 dates. Susan, being the skeptic she is is suspicious of Nick’s motives and does a little digging into his dates. What she finds might change her opinion of Nick and of the case itself.

What We Think: Netflix continues its streak of romantic comedies in 2020. This one is fairly straightforward and relies solely on the backbones of the genre and the charisma and chemistry of its leads. What I mean by the former point is often the female romantic lead will have friends (in recent years one of them will be LGBTQ+) who are the comic relief of sorts. We get that here and they perform rather admirably. That said this was a bit of a surprise. Mark Steven Johnson has a rather…suspect track record when it comes to much larger budgeted films. Here, with a mid-budget romcom, he’s able to just let the actors and script guide. While the script isn’t inventive it’s fun enough for a large audience.

Our Grade: C+, Accessible and fun is the most I can say about this particular film. Honestly, when you look at this it’s a film in which you understand completely what they’re trying to. What they’re doing but you don’t really care. You’re there for the ride. It’s enjoyable and most will find a film that lacks much depth or imagination but that simultaneously brings the laughs and wraps it all up in an expected way.