Review: Shotgun Wedding

In Shotgun Wedding, Darcy Rivera and Tom Fowler are on the verge of getting married, on a beautiful island in the Philippines, when a group of pirates suddenly show up and take the wedding guests hostage. The gun-wielding pirates are looking to extort a large sum of money from Darcy’s father, and they will do whatever it takes to get the loot.

But while the pirates have all the guests held captive in one location, they have failed to secure the bride and groom. When all the chaos was taking place, Darcy and Tom were away having a heated discussion about their impending nuptials, and they didn’t get caught up in the drama.

As soon as the (sort-of) happy couple realise what has happened, they set out to get help. But in order to do this, they must evade capture themselves and ensure their big day doesn’t end in tragedy.

Directed by Jason Moore, Shotgun Wedding is an action comedy which stars Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel, Jennifer Coolidge, Cheech Marin, Sonia Braga, Steve Coulter, and Lenny Kravitz. The movie is new to Amazon Prime Video from today, and is an enjoyable romp, filled with explosions, slapstick comedy, and witty lines.

The movie is fun, frothy, not to be taken seriously, and is a fine bit of escapism. It won’t tax the brain, doesn’t run out of steam, and is more than capable of cheering up its audience on a dreary day in January.

Leading the film are Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel, who play the roles of soon-to-be newlyweds, Darcy and Tom. Both actors have a likeable screen presence, and they employ it to great effect here.

Lopez in particular is a lot of fun, and she appears to be having a ball in this film. Yes, Shotgun Wedding is preposterous at times, and Lopez continues to look flawless even when grenades are going off, but hey, this is J-Lo, do you expect anything less?

Teamed up with Duhamel, the two become the perfect pairing. They work well together on screen, and there are plenty of laughs to be had as they do their best to evade the villains of the story.

Now, I would say that Lopez and Duhamel get all the best lines in this film, but in truth, while they get most of the best scenes, the funniest pieces of dialogue go to Jennifer Coolidge, who takes on a supporting role as Tom’s mother, Carol. Coolidge’s line delivery is hilarious, and she steals pretty much every scene she is in.

She is joined by Cheech Marin, Sonia Braga, and Steve Coulter, who fill out the other parental roles in this movie, but whenever Coolidge is on screen they don’t stand a chance. She doesn’t go out of her way to nab the spotlight, it simply finds her of its own accord and makes her a star.

Outside of the fun performances, the movie offers up plenty of drama and spectacle, and a couple of good set pieces. This isn’t Die Hard, nor is it Lethal Weapon, but there is enough bang for anyone’s buck.

In terms of its tone, the film is reminiscent of the recent Sandra Bullock/Channing Tatum action-comedy, The Lost City, so if you’re familiar with that film, you’ll know what you’re in for here. And if you’re not familiar with The Lost City, then be sure to pair it up with Shotgun Wedding, as the two would make for a great double-bill.

While Shotgun Wedding is unlikely to appear on a list of ‘Best Movies of the Year’, it sure would fit neatly on a list of ‘Enjoyable Fluff That Provides Plenty of Entertainment’. It does exactly what you might expect it to do, but it does it well, and that’s good enough for me.

I’m not sure why this film wasn’t held back a couple of weeks to move it closer to Valentine’s Day, but whether you watch it now, or save it for a date night, Shotgun Wedding is good stuff regardless. Lopez, Duhamel, and all the action sequences ensure this is a solid celebration of love, while Coolidge is the icing on the cake.

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