One benefit of this season of self-isolation and sheltering
in place for me is that I have the opportunity to check out a lot of smaller
movies that I would not have otherwise noticed due to the larger flicks out at
the theaters. When my movie time is limited, I will admit that I overlook those
that don’t have the larger releases. All the streaming services have stepped
up, and I watched Always a Bridesmaid on Netflix.
This movie is a romantic comedy and again, that’s one genre
where I am okay with the movies being predictable and following the accepted
tropes to the letter. What makes for a ‘good’ rom-com is one that elevates the
material. There are two main ways that
can happen: exceptional writing or a fantastic cast. This one is a little more middle-of-the-road.
Corina James is a successful thirty-year-old woman working
at her father’s publishing company. She’s recently taken a job at a different
company, which her father is not taking well. Apparently, they have some issues
due to unresolved issues that came up when her mother passed. Corina has many friends and has been a
bridesmaid more times than she can count.
Through all these weddings, and some conversations with her pastor, she
begins to wonder if her emotional baggage will ever let her find love for
herself. At one wedding, she re-meets,
Mark, who first knew in college. Mark is
charming and beautiful in a perfect two-dimensional way. They start dating and Corina needs to
navigate her relationships, her job, and her friends while trying to discover
exactly what she wants.
This is movie is fine.
It’s not bad, but it’s also not great. You know what happens without me
explaining it because you’ve seen it many times before. The couple has a meet-cute, they begin a
great relationship, they fall apart, they get back together. The cast is all
capable, but none of them really stand out. The comedy is never as hilarious as
it should be, and the touching moments do not ever really land. The cast is okay but might have benefitted
from the addition of a few more improv-based comedians, who could have run with
the available dialogue and added a bit more.
Aside from the lead characters, no one else gets any development time resulting
in a shortchanged supporting cast.
Javicia Leslie plays Corina and certainly does a capable
job. She’s frustrated with her current status, but unsure how to change it. She plays Corina as hesitant and unaffected,
while also unsure why she is that way. It would have been nice to see her have
a notable breakthrough as she begins to understand her own issues, but instead it
is a bit of a mild notification.
Honestly, Jordan Calloway was the best part of this. He
seems a little more at ease than everyone else in the movie. Of course, I have
really enjoyed him on Black Lightning, so perhaps I am biased.
Yvette Nicole Brown originally wrote this movie years ago
with the idea of starring in it. Now, she has taken on the role of the pastor
who seems to imply that Corina (and anyone else) is worthless as a single
person and that dating – and marriage – are what everyone should be aiming for.
She starts out with a speech stating that Corina needs to choose, either to
date or not, and then be happy in that choice.
But all her other sentences very much suggest she needs to be dating
and in a relationship.
Michelle Mitchenor, Jasmin Brown, and Amber Chardae Robinson
all play Corina’s friends. If I told you
they were playing the best friends of the lead in a rom-com, you could probably
identify the tropes that are embodied.
Richard Lawson and Marcel Spears play Corina’s father and
brother. Her father seems to be upset that she is not choosing his business.
Luckily, they make up by the end of the movie. I am not sure how, I don’t
recall there being a scene like that.
Overall, the movie is just fine. You’re not going out to the
theater right now, so why not check out what Netflix has to offer, rom-com-wise?
Of course, I’ve said this before, and I will say it again – I hate when movies
indicate that there is something wrong with you if you are single. I understand
that the happy single person is not allowed to exist in the rom-com universe,
but just once, it would be nice to see.
5 out of 10 – perfectly average, certainly worth a watch.
As a bonus, if you're not up on Black Lightning, then you missed the scene this season where Khalil had to battle Painkiller - which is complicated, because they are the same person...
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