The film industry is going through a genre resurgence, (a prime example being horror, which was once laughed at and only viewed at sleepovers is now a celebrated genre that explores human characteristics and complex storylines from the likes of Ari Aster and Jordan Peele). However, a genre that is in a need of a makeover is the rom-com, as they are often seen as guilty pleasures… and for actors who tackle this genre it is seen as a plummet in their career. Can “Love Again” be the resurrection of the beloved rom-com we need in 2023?
The film is a big screen adaption of the German novel “Text For You” by Sofie Cramer; and as the title suggests, the film lives up to its name and is a truly modern tale. The story centres around Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who plays Mira. (*spoilers*) She goes through the tragic death of her boyfriend in the beginning, which leads her to give up on love and live with her sister, who encourages her to date again. To move on and deal with he grief, she starts sending texts to her boyfriend’s number. This leads her to find new love, as his number now belongs to Rob — played by Sam Heughan — who is going through a breakup. The texts he receives send him on a quest to find this girl, which he does. However, he is hiding the real reason he found her, which causes trouble in this blooming relationship.
A Resurgence… for Celine Dion?
Another sub-plot is Rob’s job is a music critic, and he has been tasked with writing a comeback piece on Celine Dion, who is embarking on her first American tour in ten years. While Rob and Celine start to forge a professional relationship, she also teaches him about true love through the power of her songs but also through her relationship with the only love of her life, Renne. Even though Celine is not in many scenes, she is a primary draw as this movie marks the signer’s first feature film role (and she also is an Executive Producer). It shows, as the songs in the film are hers including five new ones, and Dion is responsible for a lot of the film’s comedy and charm.
Jonas and Heughan have decent chemistry ,and you do believe in their love story. However, sometimes the film’s cheesy dialogue lets the couple down, and the star power of Dion blinds the story to the point that you only want to see her in more scenes. That said, the story does conjure up emotion as the film is based around grief. It’s hard not to feel for Jonas in scenes where she is looking through her boyfriends belongings and reminiscing on memories together, or pouring two glasses of wine for her to speak to him when he’s not there. And it does offer a fun cameo with Jonas’s real life husband Nick Jonas who plays a subpar date that focuses more on weight training than romance.
Still, an Enjoyable Time at the Cinema
Overall, “Love Again” is an enjoyable time at the cinema with a group of friends, but it’s in no way groundbreaking. Unfortunately the rom-com genre has got a long way to go for it to have a resurgence. It’s a bit sad, as the genre is considered beloved and nostalgic; but as that alludes to, there are no new rom-coms that will stand the test of time… and “Love Again” is another reminder of this fact.
“Love, Again” is currently only showing in theaters.
