In new Netflix comedy Love Wedding Repeat, Sam Claflin is Jack, a big brother trying to make sure his little sister’s wedding goes as smoothly as possible. Quite the challenging task considering the various characters, both invited and not, who arrive with their own issues in tow. To further complicate things, Jack’s ‘one that got away’ is there, plus a sedative gets misplaced with highly unhelpful consequences.

Also starring Olivia Munn, Joel Fry, Freida Pinto, and Eleanor Tomlinson, director Dean Craig’s film has some good moments, both humorous and moving. Even though I did definitely laugh, I don’t quite have a specific, most memorable funny moment that stood out in a way I could recount in years to come. Nevertheless, I liked Fry’s physical performance once he was, ‘under the influence.’ It’s in fact Claflin and Fry’s performances that stand out most for me in good ways. 

As for the aforementioned ‘moving moments,’ I’m a complete sucker for beautiful sibling relationships, and Love Wedding Repeat certainly has that. Overall, the last third of the movie is my favourite. Surprise surprise! It’s where most of the beautifully written dialogue and affecting moments take place.

The things I wish were different about Craig’s film, just so I’d have had an even better time, include, firstly, the idea of telling two versions of the same story. The way it was executed was a tad awkward. I also don’t recall which character the film’s narrator (who sounded a lot like Dame Judi Dench) was supposed to be because I don’t believe it was mentioned.

Secondly, what I found most annoying overall, even though I forgot about it soon after, because there was so much going on, is the moving of the place settings. Perhaps too much time has passed since I’ve been to a wedding, but it simply didn’t make sense to me why the children would move the names around on that specific table and so deliberately without being asked to do so. It all just seemed too convenient a plot device.

Thirdly, some of the humour in Love Wedding Repeat simply felt awkward because a handful of jokes seemed to go on for too long. I definitely thought (maybe out loud) ‘Yes, yes. I get the point’ a couple of times.

Last but not least, I know only too well that no one is perfect but it sucked a little to learn around the halfway point hat one of the characters I’d been rooting for wasn’t as honest as I’d hoped.  

On balance, Love Wedding Repeat is one of those comedies you watch without setting your expectations too high. It’s definitely not as smooth as Four Weddings and A Funeral (1994) or the first Bridget Jones Diary (2001) movie but it does have its charm. Especially if you’re partial to the best parts of romantic comedies.

Watch it for a little romance, a one-hour forty-minute virtual Italian getaway and good performances by Claflin and Fry in particular. The three main ladies are good too. They’re also absolutely gorgeous. Namely Munn, Tomlinson and Pinto; not that you needed telling, I’m sure.

Happy Film Loving,

G