There’s no clear answer to what someone should do when they learn their fiance has been cheating on them right before they walk down the aisle. They can run away, scream, cry, whatever they want, but there isn’t anything they could do that everyone would agree with. So what’s wrong with impulsively doing something out of the ordinary? Our main character Kat Valdez’s response is one no one expected: marry a stranger in the crowd.

Inspired by Bobby Crosby’s book of the same name and Jennifer Lopez’s own life, the new rom-com “Marry Me” made its way to theaters in February 2022. Following music star Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez), this movie focuses on her unlikely love story. Life was perfect for Kat: she had money, fame, and her loving fiance, fellow music star Bastian (Maluma), who she was set to marry in front of millions as an end to their “Marry Me” tour. However, her life comes crashing down seconds before she is meant to go on stage to get married when Bastian is found cheating on Kat with her assistant. 

Kat, in the spirit of “if you want something different, you have to do something different,” impulsively selects divorced math teacher Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson) from the crowd to marry her on stage. When both decide not to get a divorce, Kat and Charlie must try to get to know each other while facing pressure in their personal lives and under the watchful eye of the media.

This movie is interesting, to say the least. “Marry Me” attempts to combine a “strangers to lovers” story with a romantic comedy and the product makes it hard to tell if it was good or not. The unique thing about this film is that the woman is the famous and successful one in this relationship, while the man is seen as ordinary. Charlie is constantly judged due to this, causing him to be insecure in the relationship while Kat gives off a confident persona. “Marry Me” is a gender-flipped version of what happens in films such as Disney Channel’s “Starstruck.” 

Despite this, the film manages to capture the relentless judgment of women in relationships, especially famous women. Jimmy Fallon, who plays himself in the film, regularly makes fun of Kat on his show, for having a huge wedding, marrying a stranger, etc. This, along with the backlash Kat faces from the media, is partially caused by the fact that she has gone through divorce three times — but more specifically the fact that she’s a woman who’s gone through divorce three times. 

In reality, divorce is very common; statistics show that 50% of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce, 60% for second marriages, and 73% for third marriages. However, women are more looked down upon for divorce compared to men; Jennifer Lopez herself, when compared to male celebrities like Tom Cruise, has faced more judgment in regard to her divorces.

Lopez has had to publicly deal with almost all of the healing process that follows a divorce, modeling “Marry Me” after her own story. In contrast, Cruise has had the opportunity to deal with his divorces privately without widespread judgment. This is a small representation of the double standard present in real life, and without it, the movie would have been even more unrealistic.

Overall, the reason this movie missed the mark was that there wasn’t anything special about it. It was completely predictable, but for some reason, it was difficult to believe what was happening. 

Although Jennifer Lopez was practically playing herself, Lopez and Wilson did an amazing job of bringing Kat and Charlie to life, perfectly portraying the awkward stage of a relationship with their charm and grace that eventually turned into a balanced relationship. 

The soundtrack aided the storytelling. Most songs were sung by Jennifer Lopez, with the title track, “Marry Me,” featuring Maluma. The soundtrack is available on all streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music, and listeners can and should enjoy these tunes without ever watching the movie.

I think the film is worth seeing at least once. The nature of it makes it a perfect film to watch with friends to cringe, scream at the screen, and make fun of. After you’ve seen it once, stick to listening to the soundtrack.