(L-R) Jennifer Lopez as Jackie Cruz and Brett Goldstein as Daniel Blanchflower in ‘Office Romance’
| Photo Credit: Netflix
When you see the first rushes or even the stills of a rom-com like Office Romance, reasonable expectations are set. Easy-breezy rom-coms are few and far between. So, the prospect of JLo starring as a bosswoman AND romancing Brett Goldstein aka grumpy Roy Kent? Sign me up… or so I thought. The R-rated workplace rom-com kicks off with considerable promise. Jackie Cruz (a radiant Jennifer Lopez), the CEO of commercial airline AirCruz finds herself on the receiving end of a ludicrous, yet high-stakes lawsuit from competitor Falcon airlines. When the head of her legal team is hospitalised after choking very inconveniently on a breakfast burrito, Daniel Blanchflower (Brett Goldstein) steps in. The attraction is fast and furious, and feels especially challenging to sustain in an organisation that heavily comes down on even the whimper of a workplace romance. Jackie’s best friend, a heavily pregnant Sydney Bloom (Betty Gilpin), is also constantly on vigil. While Jackie is a self-proclaimed workaholic who comes with considerable baggage, Daniel has his own secrets; a sister stashed away in prison. Office Romance (English)Director: Ol ParkerCast: Jennifer Lopez, Brett Goldstein, Betty Gilpin, Bradley WhitfordRuntime: 115 minutesStoryline: A CEO and her company’s legal head navigate workplace challenges and embark on a romance that takes over their livesA workplace setting offers up so much potential in a rom-com (remember Set It Up?), especially when it features shifting power dynamics like in this one. In the initial stretches of the film, it’s a true pleasure witnessing Daniel being the bumbling, far-from-charming romance hero, who is rendered unable to even form a coherent sentence in the presence of Jackie. Once you settle in for the sparks to fly however, all of this is short-lived. Amidst all the prolonged eye contact at boardroom meetings, occasional workplace banter, try-hard crude jokes and an ongoing legal tussle, Office Romance never really lands. It doesn’t quite embraces its breezy and cute side, nor does it go full throttle with the R-rated jokes or gags. The result? A middling muddle of cliches that feel flat, and far from entertaining.
