Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Jennifer Lopez’s 2024 musical ‘This Is Me… Now’ currently sits at 4.1/10 on IMDb. After watching ‘Office Romance’, I’m starting to think we may have been too harsh on it…
Directed by Ol Parker (‘Ticket to Paradise’, ‘Mamma Mia!’), ‘Office Romance’ follows American Airlines CEO Jackie Cruz (Jennifer Lopez), who finds herself locked in a frivolous lawsuit by a competitor. Her firm’s new British lawyer, Daniel Blanchflower (Brett Goldstein), impresses her by taking charge of the case. Despite a strict “no office romance” policy, Jackie and Daniel find it impossible to ignore the sparks between them. Can the pair resist their growing attraction when getting caught could jeopardize both of their careers?
‘Office Romance’ does have a few genuinely funny moments. One of the best comes when Jackie’s workaholic, heavily pregnant assistant Sidney Bloom (Betty Gilpin) warns her against pursuing Daniel, arguing that he’s so far beneath her league that it would be like “Helen of Troy having sex with Mr. Bean.” It’s a hilarious line, and Gilpin steals every scene she’s in. Hopefully, Gilpin’s character’s refusal to slow down (she comes back to work the next day after delivery) despite Jackie repeatedly urging her to take maternity leave, is meant as a satirical dig at the unfair pressures women face in the workplace.
Unfortunately, the romance itself is far less convincing. Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein never generate the kind of spark needed to sell the relationship at the film’s center. In fact, Lopez had far more chemistry with the awkward Owen Wilson in ‘Marry Me’ than she does with the supposedly irresistible British lawyer here. Jennifer Lopez is very entertaining and likable in her part, let’s be clear, but the writing (and maybe even the direction) fails her when it comes to love story.
‘Office Romance’ generously uses familiar rom-com clichés. Jackie is constantly challenged by her board because she’s the founder’s daughter (Edward James Olmos plays her father in a small cameo), while the men around her seem determined to undermine her at every turn. Naturally, Daniel Blanchflower emerges as the one man who truly respects her and sees her true worth, provided you overlook the scene where he gets a boner from shaking her hand for the first time. Then again, the film is rated R for a reason.
I did enjoy some of the ideas in ‘Office Romance’. For one, Jennifer Lopez’s Jackie isn’t just the CEO of an airline, she’s also a pilot. It was refreshing to watch the female romantic lead take her love interest for a spin in her private plane, rather than sitting through yet another story where a billionaire hero whisks a doe-eyed heroine away on a surprise trip across the world. The film is also undeniably glossy, with plenty of sleek offices, luxury locations, and attractive people to keep things visually engaging.
Unfortunately, those small touches aren’t enough to save the film from its more conventional instincts. By the time the climax rolls around, ‘Office Romance’ abandons any chance of surprising the audience and falls back on tired rom-com clichés, complete with the obligatory grand public gesture designed to secure a happy ending for its leads.
Maybe my expectations were just a little higher because Jennifer Lopez has made some surprisingly fun rom-coms over the years. Heck, I even enjoyed the gloriously silly ‘Shotgun Wedding’. But here, I was struggling to finish the film and ended up watching it in two parts. You might still want to give ‘Office Romance’ a shot if you’re a fan of both actors and don’t particularly care whether the romance itself works, as long as there are some funny moments here and there.
Watch ‘Office Romance’ on Netflix.
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