Shotgun Wedding
Director: Jason Moore
Writer: Mark Hammer
Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel, Lenny Kravitz, Jennifer Coolidge, Sonia Braga, Cheech Marin, Steve Coulter, D’Arcy Carden
Seen on: 1.2.2023

Plot:
Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel) are about to marry in an island paradise, surrounded by their families. And, surprisingly, Darcy’s gorgeous, rich and philantropic ex Sean (Lenny Kravitz). But that is the least of their problems when pirates take the entire wedding party hostage. By sheer luck and the fact that they were fighting away from everybody else, Darcy and Tom are not captured – and will have to save everybody else. As well as, hopefully, their relationship.

Shotgun Wedding is a fun ride that makes very little sense taken at face value – but has enough emotional truth that this doesn’t matter one bit.

The events in Shotgun Wedding are completely out there and should never be questioned about their probability. And that’s not just considering the big things like that the pirates show up in the first place and how things play out there. It’s the smaller things much more. Whether it’s Darcy’s magical dress that gets better with every piece that is ripped off of it, or the bread cutter that absolutely shreds a veil. Whether it’s Darcy ripping off a piece of her dress to take care of Tom’s wound right next to a first aid kit she just used, or the absolutely wonderful masks the pirates wear that suggests some kind of mask-making craft circle that I would have liked to see in the film.

In short, there is a lot going on and you better never, ever start thinking about such petty things as likelihood. Instead you should just strap in and let yourself fall into the shenanigans of the film. If you do, you will get some excellent laughs and have a good time.

And it is not that difficult to do that. For one, the film never makes any claims on realism. And secondly, it gives us enough truth to hold onto with the relationship of Tom and Darcy. Their love, but especially their problems with each other ground the film and keep it from spiraling completely out of control. Lopez and Duhamel have fine chemistry with each other and are funny enough to make both the outrageous action and the more realistic relationship work.

They are supported by an amazing cast, especially their respective parents (Sonia Braga, Cheech Marin, Jennifer Coolidgem Steve Coulter) and, of course, Lenny Kravitz’ apparently perfect ex. This makes it even easier to fall into the groove of the film and have a good time. And I did.

Summarizing: fun.