Love Again, 2023.
Directed by Jim Strouse.
Starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sam Heughan, and Céline Dion.
SYNOPSIS:
A young woman tries to ease the pain of her fiancé’s death by sending romantic texts to his old cell phone number and forms a connection with the man the number has been reassigned to.
If you think Love Again follows a predictable plot with cheesy clichés that go hand in hand with most rom-coms, then you’d be correct with your assessment. This, however, is not meant to be a dig, as the formulaic overused approach resonates with viewers and is what makes the genre so loved by many.
And though Jim Strouse’s modern-day You’ve Got Mail wannabe attempts to create an inevitable meet-cute over a more technologically advanced medium — seeing as using email to find the love of your life is now considered a bit dated — Love Again is so outlandish that it creates an instant disconnect that no other aspects of the film can make up for.
Mira (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) works on her latest children’s book illustration in a local café. She is later joined by her boyfriend, John (Arinze Kene), who stops by for a quick interaction with the love of his life. After leaving the establishment, he is struck and killed by a drunk driver, though the audience doesn’t witness the tragedy. Instead, an awkward camera close-up captures Mira’s detached reaction to the event as she watches through the window without so much as flinching.
A two-year flashforward reveals that the heroine still struggles with her loss. She has moved back to her parent’s home in the suburbs, fleeing from the apartment she shared with her sister in the city, as remaining in the location where her former lover passed away is too painful.
To battle her grief, she texts sentimental messages to John’s old phone number to bring herself comfort. However, his digits have been reassigned to Rob (Sam Heughan), a New York movie critic jaded after his ex-fiancé left him at the altar. Even though he is not the intended text recipient, his curiosity surrounding the woman at the other end of the one-way conversation consumes him.
Though the circumstances in which Rob and Mira meet are unrealistic, one could hope that Love Again would provide compelling performances and dynamic characters that might make viewers more forgiving of the material. Regrettably, we aren’t given either of those things, and the pair’s romance is watered down further by a lack of chemistry between Heughan and Chopra Jonas.
While Heughan certainly looks the part, Rob’s personality is about as thrilling as watching paint dry, and you can’t help but wonder why Mira is drawn to someone so inept of depth in the first place. Considering Rob is the male lead, his role is uninspiring and feels more like an afterthought than a point of focus. Chopra Jonas brings some relatability to Mira through her sorrow. However, the character is bland and forgettable, unlike other captivating female leads of the same genre.
Even when Mira and Rob are introduced, their first interaction is an awkward, anticlimactic snooze fest. But, ironically, their best-acted scenes are those that do not involve each other. Instead, Chopra Jonas excels in portraying a grief-stricken woman who has lost her way after John’s devastating demise, and Heughan is at his best when acting alongside Céline Dion. Yes, that Céline Dion.
As it turns out, the iconic Canadian singer plays herself in the film and becomes Rob’s romantic confidant after he is recruited to interview her for an upcoming tour. Of course, you can’t help but wonder if her casting is a plug, as it’s one of the most disjointed decisions in the history of cinema. Though if you’re a fan of hers, the film’s highlights are the moments she reminisces about her relationship with her late husband, René Angélil, and hearing her hits play in real-time.
Perhaps Dion’s casting was an attempt to mask Love Again’s nonsensical storyline and unstimulating romance, which is so far removed from reality that you’re left scratching your head as you attempt to decipher how it originated in the first place. And unfortunately, not even the magic of ‘All by Myself’ nor ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me Now’ can distract us from it.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Emma Vine
