Shotgun wedding movie by Jennifer Lopez failed to use comedian

Shotgun Wedding movie review:

Shotgun Wedding Movie Review: This destination wedding caper starring Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel is pretty simple. It fails to capitalize on the comedic talents of the supporting cast, especially scene-stealer Jennifer Coolidge.

Set on an island resort, Shotgun Wedding follows the marriage of a couple, Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel) that goes horribly wrong when they are kidnapped by pirates. To save their loved ones, they must outwit the pirates while trying to maintain their sanity before saying their vows. Lopez plays the worried bride who has to watch her divorced parents, played by Sonia Braga and Cheech Marin, make small talk with her father’s new girlfriend, Harriet (D’Arcy Varden). Meanwhile, Tom is in charge of planning the entire wedding at the Mahal Island Resort in the Philippines. Their parents, played by Steve Coulter and Jennifer Coolidge, are overjoyed, and yet the couple is a little jittery with the destination wedding.

It doesn’t help matters that Darcy’s quiet ex Sean (Lenny Kravitz) shows up to complicate matters. While they are trying to sort out their feelings before the ceremony, the pirates decide to make themselves unwanted guests and demand a ransom from the bride’s father. Tom and Darcy escape as the rest of the guests are taken hostage. They have to navigate through armed gunmen, a live grenade and danger to the lives of their loved ones to make it out on the other side. Nothing brings a couple closer together like the threat of death. Unexpectedly, the bride and groom hold their own against the pirates, despite being a little worse for wear. They do some plotting of their own and hatch a plan with the help of the resort’s managers. The comedy goes through all the predictable points, with some action sequences inserted for light laughs. The reveal of the main villain felt predictable and there was no real danger. Apart from laughs here and there, Shotgun Wedding has few moments of romance and lesser moments of comedy.

The film doesn’t make enough use of its supporting cast, giving them zingier material to work with. It’s never a good sign in a movie when a character utters the line, “I don’t know why, I just feel bad about this.” In fact, the film pretty much required Coolidge, who steals every scene he’s in. Casting her as Lopez’s mother-in-law was a smart decision, and they have little interaction. All the best bits have already been revealed in the trailer.

Lopez, who is also a producer on the project, tries to balance the comedy and emotion of her role. But it falls flat because there isn’t enough material to work with. Shotgun Wedding takes us to their rehearsal dinner and goes straight into their wedding, telling us very little about the couple and their romance. Ryan Reynolds, who is an executive producer on the film, wasoriginally attached to star in the rom-com.