Movie Review: Shotgun Wedding

Watching a movie that bungles a high concept is so frustrating. Shotgun Wedding-which is the latest case of Amazon getting fleeced by a theatrical distributor (Lionsgate was the used car salesman this time around) that was more than happy to unload a movie they didn't believe in to a deep-pocketed streamer that was thirsty to add another star vehicle to their library-takes this phenomenon of half-assing an inherently fun premise to the next level as it spins what effectively amounts to a perfect game of missed opportunities.

Shotgun Wedding's winning plot outline is as follows: A 40-something couple (Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel) has their dream destination wedding in the Philippines interrupted by a band of masked pirates who take all the guests' hostage until the bride's wealthy father (Cheech Marin) transfers $50 million into their bank account and it's up to the soon-to-be wed couple to save the day. 

Without really getting too crazy in the innovation department, Shotgun Wedding could've headed in at least a few different directions that utilized its setup well. Leaning into the absurdity of the situation by having the leads go all John Wick on the pirates, making some kind of sweet statement on how true love is able to persevere through any crazy, dangerous situation life throws at the couple or even just turning into a semi-twisted buddy movie where the couple discovers a new layer to their relationship by working as a great team in the face of death all feel like the type of gameplans that could've made this little ditty hit the appropriate entertaining notes. Instead, director Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect, Sisters) and writer Mark Hammer (Two Night Stand) approach the material like a soon-to-be-married individual getting cold feet on the day of the ceremony by aimlessly throwing together a somewhat passable yet thoroughly unmemorable stew of comedy, romance and action that is too scared to commit to any one genre, let alone convincingly meld them together. 

Sure, there's a joke here and a quick fight scene there, but they somehow manage to always treat the premise of armed pirates taking wedding guests hostage while the happy couple tries to free them like it's some kind of perfunctory romantic comedy situation that people have seen dozens of times over the past handful of decades. Last fall's Ticket to Paradise-which wasn't exactly a home run either-was built on a foundation of cliched romantic comedy hijinks and even that didn't manage to feel as by-the-numbers as this since it was at least executed with a reverence for that familiar playbook. All Shotgun Wedding manages to do well is keep things moving at a pretty good clip and give Jennifer Coolidge-who plays Duhamel's mother-the space to be funny whenever she's in a scene. Some things here (namely the chemistry between Lopez and Duhamel-which feels more like the dynamic between affable co-workers who know each other decently well rather than soulmates preparing to spend the rest of their lives together) couldn't have been fixed regardless of how far the R-rated romcom meets action movie plot was pushed, but Shotgun Wedding would've been a lot more fun if it simply took the plunge into the great unknown of unlikely genre hybrids instead of lightly dipping its toes in the water for 100 straight minutes.                  

Grade: C+