Love, Guaranteed | Film Review

 Hey Guys x

This is a Netflix rom-com that had an interesting plot. Of course, all rom-coms follow a similar formula in one way or another, but this one felt a bit more unique than they usually do, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Nick (Damon Wayans Jr.) signs up for a dating site that guarantees love. When he doesn't find love after 1000 dates, he decides to sue the company with the help of lawyer, Susan (Rachel Leigh Cook). However, when the pair meet and start working together, they discover that maybe love isn't hard to find after all.

I didn't love this film, even knowing from the start that it would be a generic rom-com.

The first thing I noticed about it was the score. Now, while the score was beautiful, for me it did too much. It tells the audience exactly how the characters are feeling, rather than accompanying their feelings, and at times was a bit overpowering.

The storyline is unique, if a bit far-fetched. However, because rom-coms have become such a saturated market, I am completely fine with unrealistic rom-coms in order to find some originality. But even with the unique premise, it still follows the usual formula.

Nick and Susan have a weird chemistry. While you can see why they would get together, to me it didn't feel like their relationship would work in the long-term, and it never really felt like full-on love, rather than a friendship and definite attraction. Maybe if we had been given more time with these characters outside of the court case, then this would have been different.

Speaking of the court case, I found that it was such a huge focus of the movie that it made the majority of the film a bit boring. In a rom-com, everyone knows that the audience is watching for the romance. The preparation for the court case wasn't what I wanted to see so much of. Though I do have to say that when the court case actually comes around, it ends up being the most interesting part of the film. 

Like most rom-coms, the main cause of the conflict is communication, and unfortunately that's the case here too. But because of the fact that these two are working so closely together, the fact that they're not communicating is even more frustrating than normal.  

And then there's the ending, which for me wasn't great. It was cute and predictable, but it didn't make sense in terms of everything that these characters, particularly Nick, were trying to do in the first place.

Overall, the film was fine, but there are many other rom-coms to choose from if you're looking for something light and fluffy to watch. Personally I'd give this one a miss.

4.5/10

Lou