Marry Me review: The Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson vehicle is pure rom-com escapism

Marry Me is officially the first comic adaptation to hit theatres in 2022. And while the Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson rom-com vehicle has seemingly little in common with the superhero properties that rule the box office these days, Marry Me is often just as fantastical as any Marvel or DC outing.

Marry Me stars Jennifer Lopez as Kat Valdez, a pop-star engaged to a fellow top-charter named Bastian (Maluma). A celebrity couple in the Kardashian vein, Kat and Bastian are meant to tie the knot during a live upcoming concert, televised to millions of fans worldwide.

However, just before Kat is set to take the stage, she receives word that Bastian has been caught cheating with her assistant. Dazed by the news, Kat takes the stage while her fevered fans wait for her to kick into her smash single “Marry Me,” a duet between her and Bastian. Instead, Kat looks into the crowd and spots Charlie (Owen Wilson), a middle-aged schoolteacher there with his teen daughter Lou (Chloe Coleman), and his very excited friend Parker (Sarah Silverman). Charlie is sporting a giant “Marry Me” sign, and Kat decides to do just that, singling Charlie out from the crowd and suddenly marrying him on-stage while a furious Bastian watches from the sidelines.

Initially, Kat and Owen each play off the wedding surprise as a spontaneous event that they simply got swept up in. Kat’s people try to get her to leverage the moment as a useful press opportunity, while Charlie is more concerned with maintaining a normal life for his daughter and keeping up with his students.

Rom-com vets can probably see where all this is heading, and there are actually very few surprises or speed bumps along the way as the odd-couple quickly begin falling for each other. In fact, there is almost no conflict at all in Marry Me; Bastian always remains just out of frame as a potential threat to their new relationship, but even that thread is hardly played for much real drama.

Instead, Marry Me is basically an effervescent rom-com fantasy as Kat learns about “real life” from Charlie, Lou, and even Charlie’s charismatic students (Charlie, on the other hand, only seems to learn that he’s attracted to a woman as beautiful as Jennifer Lopez).

Based on a graphic novel by Bobby Crosby, Marry Me is inoffensive and fairly over-the-top, but it’s hard to argue that Lopez and Wilson don’t have a certain charm together. You don’t exactly feel sparks flying off the screen (if anything, Kat seems to have a deeper chemistry with her ex-lover Bastian) but they do radiate a warmth that carries the film through its many unlikely turns.

Directed by Kat Coiro, best known for her work on sitcoms like the underrated The Mick and Shameless, Marry Me has an aspect of sitcom DNA in its structure. It’s a comforting watch with a few laughs and some life lessons thrown in, but you won’t remember much by the time the credits roll (except for the irresistible title track by J Lo and Maluma, good luck getting that earworm out of your head anytime soon).

Marry Me is in theatres and streaming on NBC’s Peacock service now.