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The Highs And Lows of Netflix’s Love Wedding Repeat

Apr 14 2020 by Romance.com.au writer

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The Highs And Lows of Netflix’s Love Wedding Repeat

While trying to ensure that his sister’s wedding day goes smoothly, Jack finds himself juggling an angry ex-girlfriend, an uninvited guest with a secret, a misplaced sleep sedative, and the girl that got away — as alternate versions of the same wedding unfold, Jack seeks his own happy ending with chance dictating his future.

Love Wedding Repeat is a time loop tale of a wedding gone wrong, as Sam Claflin’s character (Hot Single Brother) attempts to save his sister’s wedding by drugging his sister’s gate-crashing ex with a sedative. Yes really. The cast of characters is wonderfully cliched with the handsome (single) lead (Hot Single Brother™), his poor-decision making sister (Awful Sister), his totally mad friend (and the wedding’s Maid of Honour, Bryan), his bitchy ex girlfriend Amanda and her new beau (he’s a Chaz RIP him amiright?), a Funny Irish Girl (played by actual funny person Aisling Bea), that weird dude who had to be invited to the wedding even though no one really likes him (Kilt Man), and the ‘Gorgeous American’ (played by Olivia Munn) Hot Single Brother has had a crush on for years but has never able to profess his love to.

Except Hot Single Brother’s plans are thwarted when a group of children muck up the table setting and the poisoned glass ends up in the wrong hands…again and again (and again). Budget Groundhog Day meets Four Weddings and a Funeral.

THEORETICALLY this is a hilarious concept, Community did a similar thing in their lauded episode ‘Remedial Chaos Theory’ to great effect.

This was not that.

Eloise: Conceptually, loved this idea. At least. The conceit of chance and playing out every possible scenario is really fun, especially at a wedding where the drinks are flowing and emotions are high! But this movie was TRASH TRASH. And not in a ‘this is so bad it’s good’ way. In a ‘I literally fell asleep the first time I watched it’ way.

Courtney: When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I was SO excited. To the point where I had an actual dream about being in a wedding like this (quarantine insanity dreams, anyone?). Sometimes there’s nothing better than a good old romantic comedy based around a wedding. Lighthearted, funny, aesthetic on point… what more could a gal ask for?

A quality script and plot, apparently.

*** SPOILERS ABOUND. BEWARE. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. ***

High Points

Eloise: SAM CLAFLIN. Ok this was not his best movie ever. But it did remind me to go back and watch him be charming and loveable in Love Rosie, Hunger Games: Catching Fire and *sobs* Me Before You. Probably not a good sign for a movie that I was reminded of movies I’d rather be watching tho…

via GIPHY

More things I liked:

  • Do love a destination wedding
  • Also a wedding setting for a rom-com is a GREAT idea. Lots of mingling, drama, gorgeous outfits, chance for cake-related comedy.
  • OMG the wedding dress was SO PRETTY
  • Funny Irish Girl was actually funny.  Very Occasionally. For better jokes check out her stand-up routines on YouTube…
  • The music SLAPPED. It felt like I was watching a high-budget Italian movie. Possibly with spies. Or a film about a grand tragic love affair. Alas, this was not that.
  • Did love the jokes about Chaz being a magician/cabaret performer. Wearing a purple 3-piece suit to a wedding is a CHOICE.

Courtney: The highlight for me was that one quote from Bryan (via Vitelli), which was essentially about how lucky we are to even be born. If just one of our millions of ancestors hadn’t crossed paths, we wouldn’t exist. We wouldn’t have even lived a single day. Which means that really, everything comes down to chance. And life is about grabbing those chances when they come around. PURE POETRY. I love it. The one truly deep moment in the entire film. I also enjoyed:

  • Olivia Munn’s face when horrible Kilt-man was condescending to her war journalism career. “So that’s like fashion stuff?” And implying that she was wearing something that would make the Taliban kidnap her. Because obvs being kidnapped and having a gun held to her head would have been her fault if she was showing cleavage. “I’d kidnap you.” Oh, she would have eaten him alive if given the chance.
  • Roberto (the groom AKA Subdued Italian Man) actually seemed really sweet. Wish we had seen more of him!
  • The estate the wedding is in is STUNNING
  • The ending when Sam Clafin finally grows a spine and tells the interrupting man to GO AWAY.
  • ‘You’d be ‘amoron’ not to put him into one of your movies.’ LOL

** DEVASTATING**

Low Points

Eloise: Mostly this film aggravated me because it was a cool idea executed so so SO poorly. Why did we only see two iterations of the timeline? Which ‘ending’ are we supposed to believe- the one where everything goes wrong (and someone DIES OMG), or the one where literally everything goes right? Why couldn’t it have ended with Sam Claflin Hot Single Brother coming back to the moment before everyone drinks, and stopping ANYONE from drinking the wine thereby negating all the other timelines because they were actually just his mind playing out every possible horrible scenario that could eventuate? I know this is how [spoiler alert] the Community episode ends, and I’m basically just saying that I should have watched that instead.

via GIPHY

 

Eloise: Also Sam Claflin’s haircut was bad and I will never forgive them for that.

Courtney: Almost every character in this movie was absolutely ridiculous. Funny Irish Girl needs to learn how to NOT SPEAK EVERY WORD THAT COMES INTO HER MIND and Kilt-man needs to learn how to NOT SPEAK EVER. Coked up ex-boyfriend/lover thinks he has the right to ruin a VERY expensive wedding… where do men get this kind of audacity? Honestly the best thing that Sam Claflin was to lock that idiot in a closet. I also spent the entire movie being shocked again and again at how pathetic the Chaz character is. Almost too pathetic to mock (but not quite). Basically I hated everyone except Olivia Munn.

via GIPHY

 

WTF Moments

Eloise: The Oracle? I love a Wise Old British Lady but why was there a necessity for moments in the film to be narrated? Was this actually some kind of fairy tale being read to a sick child (The Princess Bride) or was she the voice inside Sam Claflin Hot Single Brother‘s head (Inside Out)? Is she God? Or a Fate as per Greek Mythology? Am I thinking too much into a gimmicky plot device used purely for lazy exposition? Probably.

Courtney: Oh my god I didn’t realise the narrator was actually called ‘The Oracle’. BRB screaming.

Eloise: Also bad dick jokes.

Courtney: Honestly, yes. Enough of the crotch references. Ridiculous. Who funded this script?! More WTF moments include:

  • The insta-love between Bryan and Rebecca. Wholesome, but stupid.
  • The groom almost (?) dying. Again, stupid. Actually, that would have made a much more interesting plot than everything else that came afterwards.

Eloise: Ok deep-cut BUT the movie begins with a scene where Hot Single Brother and his Awful Sister are getting ready for the wedding in a palatial baroque Italian room. However, then they arrive at the gorgeous honey-coloured mansion for the wedding IN A CAR. Did they have 2 different mansions for this wedding, one for getting ready in and one for the wedding? OR (my fave theory), did they get ready in the same mansion where the wedding was, sneak out the back into the car, and drive round to the front door? Is this a normal wedding thing???

Courtney: Hmm usually people do not sleep in places with giant wedding function rooms. Likely they were staying in a separate house on the estate. The wedding mansion area would be reserved for functions only (probably). ALSO Kilt-man makes reference to ‘going back to the hotel’ to change out of his rash-creating outfit. Yes, you may hire me for my detective services.

Eloise: Ok because Awful Sister was awful, can I please marry Subdued Italian man who is clearly LOADED to be able to afford this INSANE Italian estate wedding?

** We agree Netflix, this movie is definitely a 4/10 **

Missed Opportunities

Eloise: MORE TIMELINES. The quick montage of alternative realities was tbh the funniest moment in the movie. Why couldn’t we have seen the timeline where Sam Claflin Hot Single Brother hooks up with Funny Irish Girl? Or the one where an old lady kicks Bryan?

Courtney: Perhaps maybe a few more men that aren’t complete wastes of space? Is that too much to ask? More Roberto (Subdued Italian Man) time please. Why should I care about a wedding when I do not care about their relationship?

Eloise: Adding funny dick jokes

Courtney: Honestly I didn’t even find Kilt-man funny. Just disgusting. I would squish him like a bug.

Eloise: Replace Kilt Man with a more entertaining rom-com trope. Or just that old lady who shows up so much in the montage. I bet she’d be hilarious.

Lingering Questions

Courtney: A question I repeatedly asked myself throughout: What even is this movie?!

Eloise: Where did they get Olivia Munn’s dress? I want it.

Courtney: What happened to Hot Single Brother & Awful Sister’s parents? Are they orphans?

Eloise: How much would it cost to have a fancy wedding at a villa in Italy? Do I need to marry an Italian millionaire? Conspiracy theory: Awful Sister was purely marrying Subdued Italian Man for his cash dollars….

Eloise: OK I Googled the Olivia Munn dress and it was custom-made for the movie WAH. However, PopSugar did this list of similar dresses so you can get all styled and fancy for your next movie night at home!

Courtney: Why have both Sam Claflin and Olivia Munn stooped so low? Netflix, your standards are all over the place. Fix them, please and thank you.

 

In conclusion

Love Wedding Repeat is not a great movie. It’s not even a good movie. But it has some fun moments, a gorgeous setting, amazing costumes and just a little bit of heart. If you want a mindless hour and a half that will definitely distract you from the world of COVID-19 this will do the job (probably because you’ll be yelling at the TV). Pair it with a glass of Prosecco and a bowl of popcorn and you’ve got an entertaining night ahead!

Or you could just re-watch Community, also on Netflix!

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