JLo Steps back into Rom-Com Scene with Hit Movie Marry Me!

Korah Honig, Writer

A new rom-com Marry Me was released Feb. 14, just in time for Valentine’s Day, and fans couldn’t get enough.

Marry Me features Jenifer Lopez as famous music artist Kat Valdez who was going to get married to her fiance and fellow musician Bastian, who is played by Colombian singer Maluma. All of the plans seemed to overwhelm Kat as the ceremony became bigger and bigger with thousands of people going to be viewing it. 

Everything seems to go smoothly until right before the ceremony when she finds out that her fiance is cheating on her with her assistant. She has a meltdown on stage and locked eyes with a fan in the crowd holding a sign that said, “Marry Me.”  In a moment of spontaneity, she calls him to the stage and marries him on the spot. As the film unfolds, Kat and the stranger Charlie (played by Owen Wilson) get to know each other as newlyweds and bridge the gap between their worlds. This is done quite comedically, considering one is a celebrity, and one is a math teacher with a daughter. 

“It looks like a really interesting movie, especially because Owen Wilson is in it. I’m definitely sure that with its popularity, that it’s a great movie. I haven’t had the chance to watch it yet, but I can’t wait to see it,” said Junior Brooklyn Elsea. 

Allison Onstott enjoyed this movie, commenting, “It was a very fun concept and I think it was a cool new rom-com. It was interesting how much they included social media and influencer life.”

Fans hope that Marry Me is the start to the return of RomComs. The genre was popularized in the 90s and early 2000s, but recently the film industry has pushed it to the side to focus less on romance and more on action films with guaranteed profit. Fans of these romantic comedies remember the queen of the genre is Jenifer Lopez. She started her career off as a backup dancer and then came out with a few hit songs. It all changed when she became a triple threat when she joined the film industry. Her dreams of starring in a rom-com came true when she became the lead in the 2001 film, The Wedding Planner when she co-starred with Matthew McConaughey. The movie had a massive box office success with a $95 million grossed amount. Lopez’s other movies include Gigli, Jersey Girl, Monster-in-Law, and The Back-Up Plan.

Marry Me won’t be the only movie starring Lopez this year. She is co-starring in Shotgun Wedding, another rom-com, releasing June 29, with actor Josh Duhamel.