Netflix And Chill: Office Romance (2026)

If you're not a fan of "the c-word" then you may not enjoy Office Romance as much as I did. I've always found it to be the strongest of the swear words, but it's also used much more casually in Scotland than anywhere else in the United Kingdom, in my experience. That aside, Office Romance is a rom-com that generally maintains a nice balance between the rom and the com, and then adds some extra sauce for some unexpected belly laughs.

Jennifer Lopez is Jackie, the CEO of Air Cruz (and also a qualified pilot). Her company has a strict policy against any relationships between colleagues, which should help her fight back against a frivolous lawsuit that has competitors accusing her of winning contracts by sleeping with people she is conducting business with. The other thing that should help her fight back is Daniel Blanchflower (Brett Goldstein), an in-house lawyer who is pretty great at his job. Unfortunately, Jackie and Daniel start to feel a very strong connection, which would ruin everything. It won't be bad if they can keep everything secret, but the likes of heavily-pregnant Sydney Bloom (Betty Gilpin), who has been alongside Jackie for many many years, can definitely sense something different in the workplace.

While director Ol Parker does a perfectly fine job behind the camera, and somehow manages to deliver something that feels like a proper film, as opposed to the Netflix feature products we've seen landing on there so often (which, to be fair, seems to be something that, with the likes of this and Apex, is changing for the better). It's the screenplay, co-written by Goldstein and Joe Kelly, that really makes this work though, working with plenty of familiar rom-com tropes while allowing the leads to feel like more well-rounded and sexual creatures than the more chaste figures we so often see in this kind of thing.

Goldstein also does well to have faith in himself when it comes to his main acting role. I have enjoyed him for some time now, but he's not who you might think of first when you envision a rom-com with Jennifer Lopez as the female lead. It works very well though, his Britishness and awkwardness juxtaposed with everyone around him in a way that makes you believe why Lopez would start to notice him. As for our Jenny From The Block, she can do a rom-com role in her sleep, and she gets to play a fantastic mix of professional, desirable, and passionate here. It's also great to see a film where the female lead is a decade older than her male counterpart, although Lopez doesn't look even close to her actual age. Gilpin is a hoot in her main supporting role, giving scowls and glares to almost everyone around her, Mary Wiseman is entertainingly over-sharing in most of her scenes, Tony Hale is a lot of fun as a put-upon HR worker, and you also get the likes of Jodie Whittaker, Edward James Olmos, Bradley Whitford, Amy Sedaris, Roger Bart, Will Sasso, and a few other familiar faces, filling out the enjoyably varied and sprawling cast. 

This is a perfect film for couples to enjoy together, which is what the best rom-coms should be. There are two leads you will find it easy to root for, an enjoyable storyline with enough obstacles to make things difficult for everyone without ever making things complicated, and a lot of great gags. Again, it won't work for those averse to some very bad language, and there's one visual gag that is hilarious because of how shocking and unexpected it is, and the revelations about the character played by Jodie Whittaker seem a bit odd and out of place, admittedly, but this is one I will happily recommend to most people looking for an enjoyable way to spend just under two hours. 

8/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Netflix And Chill: Ticket To Paradise (2022)

George Clooney and Julia Roberts play two people who were once married, but are now happily divorced, in this easygoing rom-com that coasts along on the star power of the leads. They have character names, but it’s easier to just call them Clooney and Roberts, considering that should be the draw for most people.

The pair can barely stand to be in the same room together, but they have to put aside their differences when their daughter (Kaitlyn Dever) has a holiday romance with a young man (Maxime Bouttier) that could lead to her completely changing her life plans for the chance of blissful happiness on what seems very much like a paradise island. There’s a wedding looming, a wedding that blindsides her parents. While Roberts and Clooney DO want their daughter to be happy, they think they know better. The only way to keep her from ruining her entire life is to ensure that the wedding is called off.

While director Ol Parker has played around in this sandbox before, most successfully with his last film before this one (a certain musical sequel making use of some huge ABBA hits), and he’s a very safe pair of hands. Having co-written the screenplay with first-timer Daniel Pipski, he keeps the focus on either the interplay between our charismatic leads or the natural beauty of the island setting, and that is enough to help this play out as a perfectly enjoyable rom-com.

I would feel a bit too sycophantic if I spent much more time praising Roberts and Clooney, so take that as a given, but there’s also fun to be had with a number of the supporting cast members. Dever has to be believably exasperated by parents she also still loves very much, and she plays that well, while Bouttier manages to portray his loving husband-to-be without seeming too bland or naïve. Billie Lourd has fun as the bestie who is making the most of the sun, sand, and selection of cocktails on the island, and Lucas Bravo steals a few scenes whenever he appears as the man currently in a relationship with Roberts.

There are few surprises (okay, there are none), but this has some decent laughs throughout, enough sweetness developing within the central characters to make you eventually root for them to sort things out, and even a drinking game montage that allows older viewers to enjoy some ‘90s tunes on the soundtrack. There are also some bloopers over some of the end credits that help to guarantee you are still smiling once it’s all over (an easy enough “cheat code” for movies, but these clips are more fun than most).

It’s insubstantial and forgettable, and would not be worth your time at all if it wasn’t for the casting, but it’s good fun for the duration of the runtime. I doubt anyone will rush to rewatch it, aside from those who are seriously dedicated fans of either lead, but it’s cute and amusing enough for those wanting to add a new rom-com to their viewing schedule.

6/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share

A Boy Called Christmas (2021)

Here we are, with the last Christmas movie of 2021, but is it a good one to end on?

The latest attempt to deliver a nice bit of Christmas cheer to families is this tale of a boy seeking magic in a faraway land, and the cast and special effects work together to tell a familiar tale with a twist. 

Maggie Smith is the relative visiting children who she then decides to entertain with a story. That story is all about Nikolas (Henry Lawfull), a boy who lives alone with his father (Joel, played by Michiel Huisman) in a kingdom that seems to have lost all sense of hope and joy. The King (Jim Broadbent) asks people to travel far and wide in an attempt to bring something that will lift the spirits of his citizens, and that is when Joel heads off on a long journey. He wants to keep his dad safe, but also wants to find the secret magical location where elves live, as described to him by his deceased mother. 

Director Gil Kenan has mostly worked with material that has a healthy portion of the fantastical in it. Arguably best known for Monster House (an animated film loved by many, although I just found it decidedly okay), Kenan is a dependable pair of hands and he has certainly been given a cast capable of helping to lift the material. 

Aside from Lawfull, who is perfectly fine as the wide-eyed boy with good intentions, and Broadbent, a lot of fun, you have a wide variety of roles for people like Kristen Wiig (gleefully playing an evil relative), Sally Hawkins (a powerful elf who resents the presence of any humans in the elf village), Toby Jones (a kind elf), Stephen Merchant (voicing a mouse named Miika), and Zoe Margaret Colletti (a pixie who cannot lie). Everyone is wonderfully earnest and happy to deliver a message all about Christmas spirit, and that is before I even mention the lovely, mischievous, turn from Maggie Smith, who gets to appear intermittently as her young audience question her about the tale they are being told.

Based on a book by Matt Haig, the script co-written by Kenan and Ol Parker plays out exactly as you expect it to, which is no bad thing when you are being comforted by archetypes and beautifully landscapes covered in snow, and this is a safe choice for those seeking some wholesome entertainment for all during the holiday season. It doesn't do enough to become an instant new favourite, mainly because the lead character is just a bit too bland, but it should be a welcome viewing option for the next year or two.

There are moments of magic, there are thrills, there's a helpful reindeer, you have children helping to fix a mess made by adults, and a talking mouse. What more do you need?

7/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share 

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)

I was quite unimpressed when I first saw Mamma Mia! I wasn't exactly the target audience for it, I didn't think the songs were always as well worked into the plot as they could have been, and I found the antics of Meryl Streep and her friends just a little bit cringe-inducing. But it still sits on my shelf, surrounded by many better (and a few worse) movies. Why? Because it was one of the free blu rays that came with my first player, and I rarely throw out a film, especially a freebie.

You can already surmise that I wasn't keen to rush out and see the sequel, but see the sequel I did. I am a married man and that can mean compromising sometimes. My wife was going to join me for the latest Mission: Impossible movie so I could put a brave face on and accompany her to this movie. I did my duty.

The plot this time around sees Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) getting ready to open the hotel that she wants to make a success in honour of her deceased mother, Donna (Meryl Streep). Viewers also get to see the early years of Donna (played by Lily James) and how exactly she got herself in the predicament that eventually led to the events of the first film. There are some new faces, mainly in the scenes showing the younger incarnations of the men and women we already got to know as adults, another mix of ABBA hits, of course, and plenty of sea, sunshine, and sanitised -or-family-viewing sexual shenanigans.

Here's what happened when I watched Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. I had quite a good time. Not only that, I realised that I had been a BIT harsh in my judgement of the first film. I didn't enjoy it when I sat there, watching it in the comfort of my own home, even if I could singalong to the ABBA tunes. But that situation wasn't the best way to view it. It's a shared experience. It's fun for everyone, and the sequel aims for exactly the same end result.

And it achieves it. The songs may be, for the most part, lesser choices but the laughs are more frequent, and simply better. Which makes this a slight improvement over the original. That wasn't clear from the beginning. The first 15 minutes or so had me rolling my eyes on a number of occasions, thanks to the sentimental moments and the poor musical number that feels shoehorned in to the first scenes featuring Lily James (as well as Alexa Davies and Jessica Keenan Wynn, playing her friends). James is good in her role, but things start to pick up when Julie Walters and Christine Baranski come onscreen, and then it's all a surprisingly consistent crowdpleaser as we move back and forth between the past and the present, with lots more fun coming from Hugh Skinner/Colin Firth, Josh Dylan/Stellan Skarsgard, and Jeremy Irvine/Pierce Brosnan. Andy Garcia is also very good, Omid Djalili steals his all-too-brief scenes, and Cher takes the baton from Djalili and almost walks off with the entire film.

Writer-director Ol Parker, helped by Richard Curtis and Catherine Johnson, shows that he knows exactly what the audience wants, and he builds everything to a completely predictable and enjoyable finale that will have even the most cynical viewers grinning. I'm not completely converted, not quite yet, but I WILL rewatch the first film at some point, and I may even let my wife persuade me to endure/enjoy a double-bill one day in the future.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a film that it is easy to turn your nose up at. It is a safe viewing choice, one or two risque lines of dialogue aside, and it suffers from an overabundance of sweetness in almost every character. It will also have you leaving the cinema with a big smile on your face, despite how hard you might fight against it.

6/10

This is the shiny disc version.
Americans can get it here.