'Love Guaranteed' Review: An overtly saccharine romcom that tackles the hollow promises of online dating
He's a cynical yet smarmy smooth-talker. She's an uptight lawyer who doesn't think about anything else apart from work. Of course, this is enough for a Netflix romcom recipe.
Netflix has been dishing out these romantic comedies like desserts and we keep grabbing what we get. Some swooned over Noah Centineo's Peter Kavinsky and others crushed on Jacob Elordi's Jacob Flynn, but the streaming platform isn't done yet with its wholesale of romantic heroes. Here comes 'Love, Guaranteed'.
It's like walking into your favorite restaurant every month and asking for your favorite dessert. You know the taste too well, down to the very crumbs, but you don't want to try anything else — it's just one of those feel-good comfy days, where you want something that's well within your comfort zone. And that's exactly what 'Love, Guaranteed' is. You'll eat that chocolate tart because it's on the shelf. The film is sweet and sugary with much talk about love. You might consume it in one gulp if you love those feel-good romcoms where everything is predictable from the get-go, but if you're a cynic, you might end up pinpointing every loophole in the film.
But hey, 'Love, Guaranteed' isn't trying to be 'Titanic'. The premise itself is a rather staid and half-hearted one. Dashing Nick Evans (Damon Wayans Jr) wants to sue a dating site that has the same name of the film as he has been on a thousand dates but hasn't fallen in love. He seeks out lawyer Susan Whittaker (Rachael Leigh-Cook) and after the usual banter, they decide to work on the case.
Nick has slotted the rejected women into categories, or rather as Susan points out, names that are similar to the titles of 'Friends' episodes. Of course, you can't have a joke about a woman and cats because single women are apparently cat ladies. But moving on, Nick and Susan strike a cutesy friendship as a build-up before the grand court session. The two leads have commendable chemistry and the exchanges between them are quite sweet and endearing. Of course, every romcom has its share of troubles and a threat of separation, but never mind, that's all solved within minutes and there's a romantic courtroom confession for all the romantics.
Don't try looking too hard into the legal flaws of the film, that just might be a bottomless pit. Enjoy the saccharine romance, try to laugh at some very stale jokes and some rather over-the-top extra characters, and sigh at the final love confession.
'Love, Guaranteed' is your average sweet and romantic comedy that you can choose to watch on a rainy day. It's not so wholesome as the 'To All The Boys I loved Before' series or entirely cringeworthy like 'Kissing Booth' (just a few examples of other Netflix romantic dramas), but makes for a decent and entertaining one-time watch. It's a slow burn, but it makes you feel warm. A little.
