The long weekend was just that. Long.
And once you had filled up on chocolate eggs, eaten yourself silly with an iso-meal fit for a quarantined King and had a nap, it’s likely you turned Netflix on for a brand new rom-com. I sure did, and that’s when I discovered Love Wedding Repeat.
Netflix newest offering had all the makings of a fun, spirited film — it has an all-star cast (hello, Sam Claflin), a perfect setting (Italy, just to rub in the fact that travel is off the cards) and a fun storyline. Sort of.
As the story goes, at his sister Hayley’s (Eleanor Tomlinson, Poldark) wedding in Italy, Jack (Claflin, Me Before You) reconnects with former love Dina (Olivia Munn, The Rook). Yet his romantic aspirations are complicated by an unwanted interloper (Jack Farthing, Poldark), a dopey ‘man’ of honour (Joel Fry, Yesterday), his angry ex (Freida Pinto, Only) and a sleeping potion as different versions of the same day unfold.
Essentially, it’s like Four Weddings and a Funeral meets Sliding Doors with a rewind button — only, I hate to say it, not as clever.
Of course, it’s a bumbling British romantic-comedy, so it will do just fine if you’re looking for something to keep your eyes sometimes busy while scrolling through your phone, but other than that, it’s a silly awkward mess.
I for one actually like a silly awkward mess, especially when it comes to my dating life, but a part of this just fell flat — there was definitely a certain “something” missing.
You know you can’t be too focused on what is going on when the hero of the entire film is Munn’s stunning green dress and picture-perfect hair (oh, how I miss getting all dolled up with somewhere to go) and even Claflin’s goofy smile can’t save this one. There’s no Hugh Grant in Four Weddings about him nor any other Grant film of the genre, but he is, of course, likeable enough.
Oddly though, if you actually asked me what I thought of this film, I’d probably tell you that I loved it. It was fun! The wedding decor was amazing! I want to get married in Italy… blah blah, however, it wasn’t the actual movie itself that I adored.
It was the getting out of my apartment for the first time in weeks, transporting myself into an Italian wedding wonderland and getting caught up in a whimsy romance of missed opportunity and two hearts beating for one another across the pond.
Sold? I knew you would be.
If you’re into a film that ticks a few boxes, gives you a few laughs and a few lovely moments, then Love Wedding Repeat is perfect for you.
Otherwise, have it on in the background as you scroll endlessly on your phone watching people relive their lives of yonder through throwback pics and bin isolation outings and of course, the most important content. Tik Tok…
Love Wedding Repeat is streaming on Netflix now.
WATCH: The official trailer for Love Wedding Repeat.