LOVE, GUARANTEED – A Review by Cynthia Flores
Calling all hardcore, cry-at-Hallmark-commercials and has-seen-everything-Katherine-Heigl-has-ever-been-in rom-com fanatics. This new film from Netflix Love, Guaranteed is just for you.
The film is set in beautiful Seattle. In fact, see if you can spot the deliberate nod from the filmmakers to the iconic autumn walk among the trees ala When Harry Met Sally. Against this lush backdrop, we meet earnest lawyer Susan (Rachael Leigh Cook). She has taken one too many pro bono cases. Her loyal office team has her back; they consist of the gay office manager Roberto (Sean Amsing) and the quirky and fast-talking assistant Denise (Lisa Durupt). Together they help Susan make a difference. They also loudly tell her they need to take this new high-paying, high-profile case from the charming Nick (Damon Wayans Jr.). He wants to hire Susan to sue a dating website due to his lack of finding love as guaranteed on the site. The fine print guarantees you will find love after one thousand dates from their site. They figure no one will ever date that many people.
Well, after nine hundred and eighty-six dates Nick is upset and wants justice. He has taken note of all of the dates and gives them cute titles such as “Girl that ate paper.” Since he does three dates a day, one for breakfast, one for lunch, and one for dinner, he knows he will soon hit the thousand mark. Susan is more than wary of his so-called ‘bad’ experiences online. But in typical rom-com fashion, things start to heat up between the two as the case becomes more complicated.
The company they are suing is owned by obnoxious Buddha-quoting corporate hipster Tamara Taylor (Heather Graham). She uses her team of lawyers led by her nasty lead litigator Bill Jones (Jed Rees) to fight the suit and possibly keep the lovers from getting together.
The lead actress, Rachael Leigh Cook, is also a producer for the film. She said that the film’s idea was inspired by a man who successfully sued Coors for their beer, not actually being made with Rocky Mountain water. When director Mark Steven Johnson was asked why he chose Love, Guaranteed, as his next project, was very precise about his reasons. “These are strange days we’re living in. I wake up and read the news, and I go from anxious to apoplectic. I think we all need a break. I made Love, Guaranteed because I want to put a little lightness and fun into the universe. Everything seems so divisive and so binary these days. But in the end, we all want the same thing: to love and to be loved. Everything else is everything else. If Love, Guaranteed can give people an escape for 90 minutes, then I feel that we’ve done our job!”
Love, Guaranteed makes all the rom-com genre moves as it adds an updated twist to the mix by tackling online dating. The fact that almost everyone is on a dating app now makes most of the humor very relatable. Even though the film does not have that magic-in-a-bottle to make it a new rom-com classic, it still is a sweet addition to the mix.
I give Love, Guaranteed a 3-star rating. www.netflix.com/LoveGuaranteed
Directed by: Mark Steven Johnson
Written by: Hilary Galanoy, Elizabeth Hackett
Rated NR
Selig Rating 3 Stars
Running Time: 1hr 30min
Rom-Com
Release: September 3rd Netflix and VOD
Starring: Rachael Leigh Cook, Heather Graham, Damon Wayans Jr.
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
4 Stars – Good movie
3 Stars – OK movie
2 Stars – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
1 Star – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn’t paid for it.
