Love Again Review
Traumatised is the only way to describe the feeling of leaving this terrible movie.
Mira Ray (Priyanka Chopra Jones), an acclaimed children’s author and illustrator, is struggling after the death of her boyfriend. In an effort to cope, she starts texting his old number, telling him how much she misses him and what she is getting up to each day. Little does she know that reporter Rob Burns (Sam Heughan), presently on assignment covering Celine Dion (as herself) in her latest tour, is receiving these texts on his new work phone. The texts lead Rob to fall in love with Mira, and he hatches a plan to date her for real. The question is, does he tell her he has read and received her innermost thoughts?
Love Again is a baffling attempt at romantic comedy, joining two would be lovers together in a terrifying, Passengers-level exploration of the problems around digital consent, and interspersing it with - for some inexplicable reason - Celine Dion.
Let’s start with the story. Our heroine, Mira Ray, watches her boyfriend die in front of her eyes, and when she finally finds a way to cope by texting with him, it turns out that burnt out from love writer Rob Burns is receiving the texts through some cosmic twist of mobile phone number fate.
A stronger take on this material would have explored better Mira’s use of this device to deal with her pain; perhaps starting with it aiding her as a crutch to her entering society again, before her constant texts with her dead partner blowing up a would-be relationship and her then having to do away with the phone in order to pursue real life.
Love Again, instead, turns this into some sort of creepy stalker vibe that is meant to come across as romantic, but instead oozes ‘about to be a Netflix doco about a serial killer’ vibes. Heughan, in a whirlwind of poor costuming, is obsessed with the woman, and the way he plays this character is too intense and too loveable to smooth over the fact that what he is doing is deeply wrong. For her part, Chopra Jones is perfectly fine in this material, although one wishes she was given more to do with the role.
The dialogue across the board is cringey in the extreme. Whether it’s a super awkward dance in Central Park, a super awkward burger date in a favorite haunt, or a meet cute at the opera, the duo never hits anything close to a spark.
The pair go on really two dates prior to the inevitable discovery from Mira that Rob has been reading her texts - one an extended long date which implies that Burns hasn’t slept for nearly 72 hours by the end of it - and yet we are supposed to believe that they have formed enough of a connection, particularly on Mira’s side, for forgiveness and a shot at something real.
Mix in a bevvy of completely disinteresting side characters struggling to muddle through this mish mash of horrendous dialogue, and the ultimate dish served up is stone cold in the romantic fizz department, completely bereft of any enjoyment, and leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth.
The inclusion of Celine Dion playing herself is also completely baffling, both tonally and plot wise. For some reason, Celine wants Mira to design her poster for her show that is happening that weekend? But the show is already evidently on sale? Do people design posters to advertise shows and reveal those posters at said show?
Every scene with Celine is straight out of an entirely different film tonally. The odd thing is that Celine brings an energy that neither of leads do, and it is a much more refreshing and recognisable rom com energy than what we are otherwise presented. So while it is tough to dislike her inclusion, it distinctly feels like a rewrite was had when someone knew someone who knew Celine and they could get her in the film.
In the end, in an age where the cost of living is skyrocketing, interest rates are high, and movie tickets are more expensive than ever, going to the cinema should be a blast for the price you pay. People talk about the streaming services killing the low to mid-budget movie, but that’s not entirely true when you look at films like this. There is no thought on display here - none of the loving care, freshness, witty repartee or sparkling, fizzing chemistry that all of those fantastic rom-coms of old had. Love Again mixes a range of ideas from old films, tries to modernize them to no avail, and comes off with largely unlikeable characters who do inexplicably nonsensical things, uttering dialogue that feels completely ingenuine, in a setting that has no tangibility. It’s a complete misfire, and an insult to those who paid for a ticket. Avoid this one if you can.
