The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Livestreaming: Remarrying for laughs
Gimmick of ‘Love Wedding Repeat’ not toast-worthy, but Netflix rom-com finds funny moments
Gimmick of ‘Love Wedding Repeat’ not toast-worthy, but Netflix rom-com finds funny moments.
For about the first hour of its 100-minute runtime,”Love Wedding Repeat” is a pleasant, if ordinary, romantic comedy, one that, as the title suggests, revolves around a wedding. ¶ However, that title also hints at the Netflix film’s gimmick, a mechanism not employed until about 60 minutes into the affair. If you recall that the excellent 2014 time-loop science fiction film “Edge of Tomorrow” was rebranded “Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow,” you’ll get an idea of the trick up this movie’s sleeve. ¶ This isn’t a traditional time-loop affair, though. With about a third of the movie to go, writer-director Dean Craig (“A Few Best Men”) gives us some alternate versions of the events we’ve just seen. Thus, a better reference point would be the delightfully clever mystery-comedy “Clue,” the 1985 film inspired by the board game of the same name. At the end of “Clue,” we get an ending — and then two more, just for kicks. ¶ Unfortunately, there are fewer kicks to be had after “Love Wedding Repeat” goes down the alternateroad road. Still, thanks to an appealing cast and some nice gags, you’ll be glad to attend the affair.
“Love Wedding Repeat” actually begins three years before the big day, with Londoner Jack (Sam Claflin) having met and spent a wonderful weekend with a smart and beautiful American, Dina (Olivia Munn of “XMen: Apocalypse”), in Rome. After psyching himself into kissing her before they must part ways, fate intervenes and Jack isn’t able to tell her how he feels. The jump ahead in time brings us to the wedding day of Jack’s sister, Hayley (Eleanor Tomlinson), who’s set to marry an Italian gentleman, Roberto (Tiziano Capuo).
While Jack is frustrated to learn he will be seated at the same table as his annoying ex, Amanda (Freida Pinto of “Slumdog Millionaire”), he’s thrilled to learn Dina — an acquaintance of his sister — not only will attend but has recently broken up with her boyfriend. Although he’s generally lacking in confidence, he plans to make up for his previous missed opportunity. Of course, myriad moving parts at this wedding threaten not just Jack’s shot at romance but also Hayley’s happily ever after. To the latter point, an old flame, the cocaine-fueled Marc (Jack Farthing), shows up to convince Hayley they’re meant to be together. This understandably concerns her, especially considering she believes Robert’s family already isn’t crazy about her. She gives Jack the sedative she uses to sleep and instructs her very-reluctant brother to slip some into Marc’s glass. Can you guess how well that goes? Jack also must deal with Amanda, who is putting off answering the proposal of her insecure boyfriend, Chaz (Allan Mustafa). Chaz, meanwhile, becomes obsessed with how he stacks up with Jack in a certain area. Other characters include maid of honor Bryan (Joel Fry, “Yesterday”) — Hayley won’t let him go by “man of honor” simply because he’s male — an actor who badly wants to impress an Italian film director in attendance; Rebecca (Aisling Bea), who has a thing for Bryan; and Sydney (Tim Key), who comes to the wedding in a kilt despite not being Scottish and who would rather hear himself talk about his work in car insurance than listen to Dina talk about her experience as a war correspondent. This is a fine list of wedding-comedy ingredients, and the various plot strands culminate in an ending. And then we quickly experience different versions of the wedding a few times — the driver of the plot variations being who ends up with the spiked champagne — and different endings, before Craig, in his directorial debut, settles on the one with which he wants to leave us. You’d need a different title and even more craziness, but an arguably better variation of this story would have been one simply taking us from beginning to end. Once. As for the cast, the prolific Claflin’s been better — including in 2016 movies “Me Before You” and “Their Finest” — but he’s likeable as the semi-awkward Jack. No one truly stands out, but Bea, who’s also a standup comic, gets to flex some comedy muscles she didn’t need to use in the 2019 Netflix series “Living With Yourself.” It’s hilarious when she mistakes the flashily dressed Chaz as a member of a cabaret act. But everyone’s enjoyable, even Key’s Sydney as he drones on about a couple of guys in his office who probably don’t even like him. It has its little irritations, but consider saying “I do” to “Love Wedding Repeat.” Despite the title, this isn’t a “til death do us part” commitment.