Love, Guaranteed Review: The Romcom Goes to Court

Why do people watch romantic comedies like Love, Guaranteed? By and large, it’s to pack a reliable dose of feel-good emotions into 1-2 hours of screen time with the kind of relationship that makes us believe in love whether we’re true romantics or working past a bout of bitterness.

The pessimistic way to frame this is that romantic comedies don’t need to be actively original in the way genres like sci-fi and fantasy do. There’s a formula we’ve come to expect, and most films stick to it with a few little quirks along the way.

The great thing about the romcom formula is that it’s perfectly fine to use over and over. Like Shakespeare adapting the plots of many other playwrights, the real test is whether it’s used well.

The verdict on Love, Guaranteed? A solid B+. The humor lands, the chemistry is infectious, the acting is great across the board, and there are even a few points that genuinely stand out from the genre’s standard, including the whole concept behind the story.

Most romcoms work to differentiate themselves with some kind of hook, but finding one that’s truly never been done before can be difficult. Then there are those movies that focus only on being as unique as possible, losing believability in the process.

Admittedly, the idea of a man going on 1000 dates to test the legal technicalities of a dating website’s claim does push that boundary. Love, Guaranteed helps jump this obstacle by making its leading lady as bewildered as it expects its audience to be.

Susan (Rachael Leigh Cook) is the lawyer who winds up with Nick’s case. Like any good (and potentially ambulance-chasing) lawyer, she believes in her obligation to set her own personal feelings aside and show up the court with the best possible case for her client.

That case is just what it sounds. Nick (Damon Wayans Jr.) isn’t secretly pursuing some deeper cause of justice; he really does just feel cheated out of love. Likewise, the dating site itself– despite a comically aloof CEO– isn’t guilty of much more than outlandish claims.

But, bad dater or not, Nick is a good person. More importantly, Susan is a good lawyer. Even though we don’t really care about the case itself (because, of course, it won’t matter in the end,) we do care about the people fighting for it. That’s why a good romcom works.

There are plenty of clichés along the way. Susan has chosen her job over her love life and pines for the happiness she sees in her sister’s family. She has gay/nerdy/sexually open assistants who provide at least half the required quota of banter.

For his part, Nick gets the kind of do-gooder job (physical rehabilitation therapist) that helps both our female protagonist and us overcome first impressions. He gets the “don’t you see you love her?” pep talk from the kind ex-girlfriend of an at least somewhat amicable former relationship.

Again, what matters is that all of this is believable and emotionally effective for the audience. Love, Guaranteed doesn’t have any huge surprises. It’s not really supposed to. It gives fans of the genre just what they expect and want.

The story arc of a romcom generally spends most of its time either in the setup of getting characters together or in complications for characters who make it official early on. Love, Guaranteed is it the first category, with just a quick bout of heartbreak as the case draws to a close.

There’s another bit of originality here: the tension comes from within the confines of the case itself, rather than from either lead character screwing up in the relationship department. It nice to skip that period of wanting to smack someone so close to the happy ending.

The only really issue is that it does feel rushed, all conflict packed into at most the last third of the movie. Since Love, Guaranteed clocks in at just over 90 minutes, the problem is heightened by the fact it could easily be more fleshed out without making for a final film that feels too long.

Then again, we remember what most people are watching for. We want the happy emotions, not the sad ones. If there are any tears, we want most of them to be tears of joy.

Love, Guaranteed isn’t gamne-changing. It slips effortlessly into the world established by movies that came before it. What it is is a lovely way to spend 90 minutes of your time, knowing full well that Susan and Nick will get their happy ending, and still being thrilled when they do.

 

What did you think of Love, Guaranteed? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Watch the Trailer for Netflix’s ‘Love, Guaranteed’