Larry Oliver Film Reviews

  Marry Me started life as a comic book, written by Bobby Crosby and illustrated by Remi ‘Eisu’ Mokhtar, that was spotted in 2008 by screenwriter John Rogers. 14 years later, it is Universal Studios’ big Valentine’s Day release, a vehicle for producer-star Jennifer Lopez, straight from her $100 million-grossing hit, Hustlers , and directed by Kat Coiro, who previously helmed the independent films, Life Happens and A Case of You . The premise of the comic book is ridiculously simple. An international pop star discovers that her husband-to-be has cheated on her and marries a fan instead. In the film, scripted by Rogers, Tami Sagher and Harper Dill, the substitute groom, maths teacher Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson) isn’t really a fan. He ends up going to the concert with his twelve-year-old, no longer daddy’s girl daughter, Lou (Chloe Coleman) to accompany a colleague, Parker Debbs (Sarah Silverman) after she had split from her girlfriend; gay best friends can be female as well as ...

  With movie theatres currently closed in both New York and California, it is a surprise, nay, a welcome token of faith, that any new Hollywood studio film is unveiled in cinemas. Credit to Sony Pictures for releasing the romantic comedy The Broken Hearts Gallery in many American states – and overseas territories – where cinemas have re-opened with protocols that require social distancing, unlike Republican Party rallies which do not - I guess Trump supporters think his saliva is holy water. This thoroughly mainstream film also boasts that rare credit ‘written and directed by’. Writers new to cinema – especially women – are not normally trusted by Hollywood to direct their own work. Journalist turned screenwriter Nora Ephron had to wait until after the success of When Harry Met Sally (director: Rob Reiner) before making her debut as director in 1992 with This Is My Life , which in turn led to the far more well-known Sleepless in Seattle . Like Ephron, Canadian-born, Los Angeles-...