A tough team
“Shotgun Wedding”: Action Comedy Starring Jennifer Lopez
A Wedding With Obstacles: Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel). photo
© Ana Carballosa/Lionsgate/dpa
“Shotgun Wedding” follows Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel as a couple planning to tie the knot on a deserted island – only to encounter a series of obstacles. For example pirates.
When a film starring Jennifer Lopez comes out, it’s usually about marriage. This is also the case in their new action-romantic comedy “Shotgun Wedding – Ein knallhartes Team”. This time, Jennifer Lopez aka Darcy is drawn to the Philippines with her fiancé Tom (Josh Duhamel), where they want to tie the knot with their families on a deserted island in a luxury resort.
The film received advance attention because of its cast. Superstar Jennifer Lopez is making a name for herself everywhere. With a Netflix deal, several major film roles and a new album 2023 – the first for a long time, which is also supposed to be about the love comeback with Ben Affleck.
There were discussions about her partner on the screen as part of “Shotgun Wedding”. Armie Hammer was initially set to play the role, but he left the project due to abuse allegations against him. Then there was Ryan Reynolds, who was reportedly unable to land the role due to scheduling issues. So now Duhamel.
Lenny Kravitz is the ex
He and Lopez play a couple from very different family backgrounds in Shotgun Wedding. Two worlds collide on the island – and the stress is inevitable. Darcy’s parents, as wealthy entrepreneurs and bourgeois, can only turn up their noses at Tom’s casual proletarian parents. Then Darcy’s actually so much cooler ex Sean (Lenny Kravitz) shows up at the party at the invitation of the bride’s father.
So there’s plenty of explosive material, but the film only really gets going when the wedding party is stormed by pirates – and it’s up to the bridal couple to save their guests, who are all being held hostage in the pool.
Darcy and Tom prove to be a good and resourceful team when it comes to eliminating their enemies. For a comedy, there is a surprising number of deaths – and a lot of blood, which makes Darcy (almost) always faint and creates situational comedy.
Action and gags
The dialogues, in which the bridal couple fights each other or protests their love, are often funny, but sometimes seem flat and interchangeable, so that the gags don’t always ignite. The action scenes with chases in golf carts, through the jungle, over a zip line or by boat and parachute are also seen a hundred times. And even if Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel do a good job – they don’t come across as very convincing as a super strong pair of lovers.
Nevertheless, sometimes it’s the exaggerated dialogues and scenes that make you laugh. Who about platitudes like “I’m a seasoned woman, I have everything. Except for a vacuum robot!” can laugh will surely have fun with “Shotgun Wedding”. And at the end there is a finale that is insane even by American film standards – with cheesy dialogues and crazy action scenes to make you laugh.
Shotgun Wedding – A Tough Team USA 2022 100 Minutes R12+ by Jason Moore Starring Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel and Lenny Kravitz