Shotgun Wedding
This “Shotgun” ain’t quite a blast and it’s a bit scattered, but it hits its target more often than not.
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Does gazing upon Jennifer Lopez’s most famous asset while attention is being deliberately paid to it appeal to you? Do you prefer Josh Duhamel to Armie Hammer? Have you ever wanted to see Jennifer Coolidge fire a machine gun in a movie? Have you ever wanted to see Cheech Marin play a yuppie? Do you dig grenades to the point where their prevalence makes them feel like supporting characters? If you’ve answered yes to even one of these questions then there’s a strong chance you’ll enjoy “Shotgun Wedding” (streaming on Amazon Prime Video beginning Friday, Jan. 27).
Darcy (Lopez) and Tom (Duhamel) are a couple throwing a destination wedding on a beautiful island in the Philippines. Tom, a former Minor League Baseball player, wants them to have the perfect wedding so they’ll have a perfect marriage much like his parents Carol (Coolidge) and Larry (Steve Coulter). Tom’s striving for perfection has driven a wedge between he and Darcy, prompted her mother Renata (Sônia Braga) to call him a “groomzilla” and weirded out her father Robert (Marin).
Further complicating their perfect wedding is the presence of Darcy’s ex-boyfriend and Robert’s business associate Sean (Lenny Kravitz) as well as Robert’s much younger yoga instructor girlfriend Harriet (D’Arcy Carden). Worse still the island’s invaded by pirates who take the wedding guests hostage. Darcy and Tom manage to escape and it’ll be up to them to rescue their friends and family … that is if they don’t kill each other first.
“Shotgun Wedding” as directed by Jason Moore (“Pitch Perfect”) and written by Mark Hammer isn’t an especially good movie, but it is a fun one. It’s the perfect sort of flick to while away a Saturday or Sunday afternoon on the couch with your partner or friends whether you’re hungover or not. (It’d also make a great plane movie.) It’s pretty people hanging out amid pretty scenery (the Dominican Republic subs in for the Philippines). It’s R-rated, but it’s a very mild R. Lopez and Duhamel have an easy, natural chemistry. Coolidge riffs expertly on her kooky screen persona.
I was often reminded of last year’s Sandra Bullock/Channing Tatum romantic action-comedy “The Lost City.” I don’t think “Shotgun Wedding” is as good as that movie, but it isn’t terribly far off … it’s entirely diverting yet utterly disposable. This “Shotgun” ain’t quite a blast and it’s a bit scattered, but it hits its target more often than not.