There’s no meet-cute in “Office Romance,” however the best way its lovers meet is fairly cute simply the identical. Formidable airline CEO Jackie Cruz (Jennifer Lopez) summons her new firm lawyer Daniel Blanchflower (Brett Goldstein) to her workplace, and he walks in to see what, in cinematic phrases, we will time period the total J-Lo: She’s going through the window, bathed in an optimally angled shaft of afternoon daylight, and turns round to greet him with a wonderfully, effortlessly executed shampoo-commercial toss of her caramel-tinted mane. “Holy shit!” he says, and so will we, as a result of, effectively, that’s J-Lo. Or Jackie Cruz, should you choose, however Ol Parker’s easygoing romcom is wise sufficient to blur that divide: It sinks into its star energy as one would right into a heat tub, and if the appealingly scrappy Goldstein doesn’t match that voltage, that’s largely the purpose.
From the self-explanatory title downwards, no person has overthought “Office Romance.” It largely hits the beats you count on in the best way you count on it to, and that extends to its two leads taking part in enjoyably to kind: high-powered glamazon goddess and really odd British bloke, thrown collectively for no cause moreover the truth that they’re actually sizzling for one another. Does the chemistry between them sizzle? Sure and no. Parker’s movie is surprisingly express the place it chooses to be, however not sexually so, give or take one awkward hard-on gag: It doesn’t ask you to imagine that “Helen of Troy and Mr. Bean,” within the phrases of its personal script, would spectacularly do the nasty from the off. However you do purchase that, towards their very own higher instincts and self-estimations, they wish to, and that’s sufficient to maintain you invested.
For a star broadly seen as a queen of the style, Lopez has made few romantic comedies that may moderately be thought to be keepers: Most just lately, “Second Act,” “Marry Me” and “Shotgun Wedding” all had a tinny, televisual really feel to them, centering Lopez, however not treating her with any palpable care or affection. “Office Romance” could also be a direct-to-Netflix launch, modest in scope and approach, nevertheless it has among the tactile, burnished heat that we routinely noticed in Nineties star autos — thanks partially to gleaming cinematography (by Wes Anderson common Robert Yeoman) and manufacturing design (by trade vet Kristi Zea) that really feel each comfortingly lacquered and reality-adjacent — and is mirrored again on its star. Costume designer Caroline Duncan garments her in costly earth-toned knits and ivory pantsuits that drape like butter: It’s been some time since Lopez was this completely, lovingly sorted on display.
And because of Goldstein, who co-wrote “Office Romance” together with his “Ted Lasso” collaborator Joe Kelly, the movie has a recognizable comedian voice, if not one you’d instantly affiliate with Lopez. The language is bluer than is typical for a comfort-blanket romcom, with a key operating joke that hinges on the differing impression of a sure four-letter c-word in British and American tradition; a subplot that finally calls on an unrepentantly psychopathic assassin to be an encouraging voice of cause likewise stands out for its needle-scratch strangeness. A few of these prospers are jarringly humorous, others merely cease the movie momentarily in its tracks. However it doesn’t really feel nameless: In what’s no less than partially a culture-clash story, the swings of the writing are attentive to how its characters perceive one another, or don’t.
Jackie herself is a hackneyed style fixture: the career-obsessed high-flier with no area in her diary for a relationship. However slightly than pairing her along with her reverse quantity, “Office Romance” has the subtler thought of placing two buttoned-up professionals collectively and steadily forcing them to find time for one another. Having relocated to the U.S. for classy household causes, reserved Brit Daniel nonetheless struggles with American earnestness and over-sharing, and usually wouldn’t be more likely to violate the strict firm ban on office relationships. However as he’s drafted in to symbolize Jackie in a high-stakes authorized dispute with a rival airline, they’re each taken off guard by how a lot they like one another — and so they’re individually likable sufficient that we’re far much less stunned, even when they don’t make a ton of sense on paper.
From there, give or take the odd tonal fillip within the script, every part proceeds in response to the romcom playbook — third-act roadblocks, reconciliations and all. It’s steered with the easily unassuming, generously star-focused method that Parker delivered to “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” and the George Clooney-Julia Roberts car “Ticket to Paradise,” fittingly sufficient for a narrative that winds up a paean to sustaining professionalism with a human contact.
A welcome shot of acid, nonetheless, comes from invaluable supporting participant Betty Gilpin, as Jackie’s hawk-eyed, closely pregnant deputy Sydney, opposing the budding romance with vehement, borderline-irrational hostility. Spitting her strains out like needles, glowering by her scenes with constant, focus-pulling depth, she imbues a inventory best-friend half with such particular, vituperative warmth that you just marvel what sort of warped, electrical love story this might need been along with her reverse, effectively, both of the leads. Playful and cottony and simply peculiar sufficient to be memorable, “Office Romance” finally offers the folks what they need — but when there’s any hole available in the market for a discomfort-viewing romcom, we all know who to solid.
