OnScreen Review: 'The Lovebirds'
Ryan Cannister, Contributing Critic
Looking for a fun film to stream during quarantine? Something with great performances, a short-runtime, and genuinely hilarious jokes that will make you laugh out loud? Look no further than Michael Showalter’s The Lovebirds, starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani, now on Netflix.
With no reopening in sight for public movie theaters, I can honestly say that The Lovebirds has been one of the most anticipated films on my watchlist for the past few weeks. My friends and I have been so eager for new movies that we had a Lovebirds watch party via our separate homes. But even before this film became one of the few viewing options for Spring 2020 I was still excited for it and would have gone out to see it in theaters. From the trailer alone I thought that the humor seemed very smart and quick, set alongside an interesting enough premise. I’ll also watch anything Kumail is in.
I think it was a great decision on the creative team’s end to move this film to Netflix rather than delay it until the Fall or even 2021. They know what the film is, it’s a fun comedy that audiences at home should be enjoying right now. It’s not some big buzzworthy Oscar contender that they need to delay for guaranteed award recognition or a big action blockbuster that needs to make hundreds of millions at the box-office. Though I hope it still gets recognition where deserved and does well financially! The film itself is not perfect but it will really bring a smile to your face and some laughter to your day which is something I’m sure we could all use more of in these times.
Now let’s get more in-depth about the film. I’ll start with the positives! The performances are fantastic Rae and Nanjiani really do carry this film, everything they do is funny and not in a way that becomes annoying or self-indulgent. These two are just funny people who have great chemistry and you can tell they must have had a great time making this film. Even in moments where the story doesn’t totally make sense, these two still sell it with their authentic and charming performances. Excited to see Nanijani bring his wit and charisma to the MCU in The Eternals and I will definitely tune in for Rae’s next film.
Another positive for me would be the jokes in the film. Both written and physical comedic moments. They just keep coming. While they don’t all land I’d say around 75% of the time they totally do and that’s good enough for me. A lot of them are super creative, have great delivery, and make some bizarre but hilarious pop-culture references.
Now let’s get into a few LIGHT criticisms because it’s the Lovebirds, I’m not looking for a life-changing film here! Overall the film weirdly drags a bit too much for its short 87-minute runtime. There are just some scenes that feel way too dialogue-heavy and could probably have been synthesized a bit to keep the action moving. However, speaking of action, there wasn’t that much. The overall story as to why the couple is on the run and has such a wild night just felt pretty small, generic, and low stakes when it should have been the exact opposite. I was just hoping for more of a complex mystery/adventure that our leads find themselves wrapped up in, but It’s pretty straightforward in a boring way. This is disappointing because the actors are so strong that I really think could have sold any situation that they got caught up in as believable. There are already so many bizarre moments already why not just go all-in? The final confrontation especially just feels so small.
Final thoughts. Is it a great film!? No. Is it a bad film!? No. Is it a fun film that will give you a few laughs and distract you from quarantine for 87 minutes!? Absolutely.
I will say the ending of this film has maybe one of my favorite joke payoffs of all time.
3/5 Stars