Netflix’s Lovebirds is the romantic-comedy, murder-mystery movie that I didn’t know I needed in my life.
I passed this movie up and down while scrolling through Netflix and finally decided to give it a chance. Ten minutes into the film I slapped myself for taking so long to watch it.
The film, which stars Hollywood “it girl”, Issa Rae and comedian/screenwriter, Kumail Nanjiani, had me laughing in a way I didn’t know was possible.
Rae and Nanjiani play an interracial couple on the brink of calling it quits. But, before they can do that, they find themselves caught in the middle of a hilarious murder.
After witnesses mistake them for the killers, the couple makes a run for it, trying to unravel this mystery in the process.
While on the run, their adventures see them dodging police, getting kidnapped and even getting a front row seat to a wild orgy.
What I truly appreciate about this movie is that it casts two people of colour in the lead roles. The chemistry between Rae and Kumail is believable, watchable, and incredibly likeable. I like this dynamic duo together.
Their romance never feels ill-paced. They truly act like a real couple with all of the drama one would expect in a relationship on the break of ruin.
I found myself rewinding certain parts of the movie because they truly made me laugh.
Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a 66% rating and Metacritic gave it 58%. The New York Times’ A.O. Scott called the movie a “turkey” and says the romantic comedy never “takes flight.”
I disagree wholeheartedly. Sometimes there’s simply no pleasing critics. This isn’t Hamlet. It’s an easygoing movie designed to make the audience laugh and fall in love with the characters. I fell in love with all of them – the good guys and the bad guys, and I certainly laughed. A lot.
Lovebirds was directed by Michael Showalter with a $16 million budget. It was initially supposed to be released in movie theatres, but Paramount, which distributed the film, released it on Netflix instead.
Lovebirds is the perfect date night film if you’re looking for some great laughs and amazing chemistry between the main characters.
I sincerely hope that this is not the last time that Rae and Nanjiani work together because it would truly be a shame.
XOXO,
This Bahamian Gyal
