When Tom Fowler (Josh Duhamel) and Darcy Rivera (Jennifer Lopez) are about to get married surrounded by friends and family (including Tom’s embarrassing mother Carol (Jennifer Coolidge)) on a private island in the Philippines, there are a few unexpected surprises. The first is Darcy’s ex-fiance Sean (Lenny Kravitz), who shows up unexpectedly. The second is a gang of pirates who take the wedding party hostage. Now Tom and Darcy have to overcome their cold feet and team up to save family, friends, and their marriage from the pirates.
Director Moore, most famous for helming Pitch Perfect, and writer Mark Hammer appear to be on safe ground with a concept that looks good on paper – combine a rom-com headed by the veteran likes of Lopez, Coolidge, and Duhamel, with pulse-pounding action that’ll attract both men and women.
However, the combination proves awkward, with scenes showing J-Lo arguing with Duhamel over his choice of wedding location (a Philippine island somehow isn’t enough for her) sitting awkwardly alongside surprisingly graphic violence that includes Lopez killing a pirate and wedding guests being threatened at gunpoint. As a result, the tone lurches from light to dark with surprising frequency, as if Moore and Hammer were unsure whether their rom-com had enough jokes so decided to lean more heavily on the action aspect.
This can be seen in the lack of substantial comedic material the actors have to work with, with Lopez and Duhamel not having much to flesh out their characters – at one point, Lopez has to practically state out loud Duhamel’s personality traits for the benefit of the audience. The few jokes that work are mostly due to the skilled nature of the performers, with Coolidge in particular making the most out of her limited screen time to deliver a few of the film’s rare genuine laughs.
Kravitz does what he can with a thankless role, with the character of Sean coming across as unconvincing both as a seemingly-perfect ex-fiance and as a criminal antagonist. Fortunately, he doesn’t receive enough screen time for these flaws to stand out amongst the film’s other shortcomings.
Shotgun Wedding may seem like a fun action-packed romp on the surface, but a weak script and tonal issues lead to much of its potential being squandered. Even if you’re a J-Lo fan, you’ll be disappointed by this underwhelming film.
Available to stream on Amazon Prime