Little doubt Jennifer Lopez at present is queen of the failing rom-com style, a once-vibrant Hollywood staple that studios sadly relegated principally to streaming in current instances. In fact there have been exceptions that made a splash in theaters, notably sleeper hit Anybody however You in 2024. Usually, although, this isn’t the case, a minimum of for the basic romantic comedy template.
Lopez’s newest Netflix confection, Workplace Romance, should have been irresistible for the star since Ted Lasso vets Brett Goldstein and Joe Kelly wrote it particularly for her and stated they wouldn’t make it until she was in it. She jumped on the likelihood, virtually definitely as a result of her co-star Goldstein ogles her on this factor like she is a few type of goddess, even upon their first assembly, and getting visibly excited down there simply from the mere contact of her hand. Within the parlance of rom-coms that is named “assembly cute.” I describe that scene with a bit of extra decorum than is performed on this movie, which by no means misses an opportunity to go for outrageous R-rated raunch, quite the sort of sweetness in different Lopez rom-coms just like the criminally underrated Marry Me or Maid In Manhattan.
Lopez additionally will get a step up in societal and enterprise standing on this one as a workaholic CEO of an airline, Cruz Air. She is Jackie Cruz, daughter of the corporate’s founder, Jack Cruz (Edward James Olmos, her father in Selena) and seeking to make her personal mark within the workplace the place private relationships of the romantic type are expressly forbidden. In fact that offers this film its battle when newly employed lawyer Daniel Blanchflower (Goldstein) reveals as much as prep the boss on a deposition.
The movie opened with two separate scenes displaying every on a disastrous date, so we all know their single standing and it’s apparent immediately the place that is all going. That’s even after Jackie berates him for his efficiency throughout a deposition, however she later apologizes when it’s clear he is aware of what he’s doing. It’s only a matter of time earlier than these two workaholics discover extra in frequent and even take a romantic getaway to the Dominican Republic, however how do they maintain this new relationship beneath wraps within the workplace — particularly with Jackie’s deliberate growth of the airline into different cities beneath assault?
Ol Parker is the director right here, and he’s a filmmaker fully comfy on this style, having made top-of-the-line in recent times, the theatrical launch Ticket to Paradise with George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Now they had chemistry. The bonding right here between Jackie and Daniel simply doesn’t make me really feel it, and for a profitable rom-com, you have to really feel it. Lopez will get to put on the modern garments, she will get to speak the company discuss, and by the tip she has the “come to Jesus” second in entrance of all her staff we have now been ready for. Tremendous, however nothing we haven’t seen a lot. As for his or her chemistry right here, Lopez and Goldstein lack the magic method.
Additionally, Goldstein’s and Kelly’s script appears wrapped within the well-worn cliches of the style with out providing something new to the time-honored method. It’s virtually like they got down to make a romantic comedy beat for beat of what they’ve seen earlier than. Additionally they generally tend to actually go for the raunch on this one, and it appears misplaced. A scene towards the tip the place the pair find yourself delivering the very pregnant colleague, Sydney Bloom’s (Betty Gilpin) child is soooooo excessive (and needlessly graphic) that Netflix viewers could wish to swap the channel with out discovering out how this all ends.
Oh, however we know the way it will all finish, don’t we? That’s the issue with this all too predictable Workplace Romance. The fault actually isn’t within the stars. Each Lopez and Goldstein, two actors who’re all the time watchable in the fitting roles, do their factor however it appears one way or the other synthetic on this bundle. As for the remainder of the solid, Gilpin as colleague and confidante of Jackie simply actually is approach too dialed up, the being pregnant angle thrown in for laughs that simply don’t materialize. Bradley Whitford‘s boss, Peter Vance, additionally appears disconnected from actuality. Tony Hale has a one-dimensional function as head of HR however his finest moments are in the long run credit sequence which throws in a number of unused HR gags, a few of them funnier than something within the film that preceded them.
Producers are Aaron Ryder, Andrew Swett, Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina, Goldstein, and Kelly.
Title: Workplace Romance
Distributor: Netflix (streaming solely)
Launch date: June 5, 2026
Director: Ol Parker
Screenwriters: Brett Goldstein & Joe Kelly
Solid: Jennifer Lopez, Brett Goldstein, Betty Gilpin, Amy Sedaris, Tony Hale, Rick Hoffman, Jodie
Whittaker, Mary Wiseman, Bradley Whitford, Edward James Olmos,
Tony Plana, Roger Bart, Natalie Ortega, Jackie Sandler, Michelle Hurd, Mo Welch,
Donald Elise Watkins, Brian Gallivan, Ali Stroker, Scott Seiss, Lisa Gilroy, Will Sasso
Score: R
Working time: 1 hr, 53 minutes
