Love, Guaranteed Synopsis: To save her small law firm, earnest lawyer Susan takes a high-paying case from Nick, a charming new client who wants to sue a dating website that guarantees love. But as the case heats up, so do Susan and Nick’s feelings for each other.
Susan (Rachael Leigh Cook) is an attorney who likes to fight for the little guy but rarely collects payment. As a result, her small firm is dipping into the red financially. Enter Nick Evans (Damon Wayans, Jr.), a man willing to pay a hefty sum for Susan to take his case. He’s looking to sue an online dating company named Love, Guaranteed, which, yes, guarantees love to its subscribers.
The fine print claims the company guarantees love within 1000 dates with different people. And Nick is zeroing in on date number 1000. Susan sees Nick as an opportunist, and the case seems to be nothing more than a cash grab by someone looking to exploit a legal loophole, but she needs the money, so of course, she takes the case.
As a viewer, it’s easy to see Nick is exploiting Love, Guaranteed’s fine print by pushing through 1000 dates in order to sue and get a big payday. But because he’s going up against a billion-dollar company, and he has noble intentions for the money, it’s more or less passed off as a heroic act than anything else. All the company had to do was show Nick hired Susan before he had even reached 1000 dates, proving he did not intend to find love but to reach the number required to claim their guarantee was bunk.
But, I digress…Love, Guaranteed is a Netflix film that once again feels like it would be more at home on Hallmark Channel. The movie crams as many rom-com tropes as it can into its hour-and-a-half runtime. The supporting cast feels like stock characters without much depth or personality. Heather Graham’s role felt insanely familiar to me, considering she played a less bitchy version of it in Desperados.
It was fun to see Cook back, and she’s earnest and likable as a workaholic attorney with no time for love (do they ever?). I have enjoyed Wayans, Jr. quite a bit in Happy Endings and New Girl, and he proves himself well enough here as a leading man, carrying the comedic weight.
Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the two leads had convincing chemistry to buy the romance. They’re pleasant enough together, but pleasant isn’t enough to overcome the by-the-book story that leaves zero doubt about the outcome. The central conflict is brought upon by a contrived lack of communication and wrapped up neatly with a bow by the expected grand gesture that leads to, yes, a standing ovation. Oi.
And yet, despite its trove of tropes and rom-com stereotypes, I enjoyed it enough for what it was, though I think a lot of that had to do with the leads more than the story itself. This is not a great movie by any means, but it’s mindless, fluffy entertainment that is fine for an evening when you can’t find much else to watch.
Watched: 10/03/2020
Notable Song: I Think We’re Alone Now by Tiffany
Katy
October 4, 2020That plot is a little thin even by Hallmark standards. lol It’s nice to see Rachel Leigh Cook in another role, and I enjoyed Damon in How To Be Single. Sorry it didn’t work out that great. Nice review!
Sara
October 5, 2020thanks, Katy! I do like Cook and Wayans Jr. so I was disappointed in the material they were given. There wasn’t even any legit conflict to overcome and I groaned pretty loudly at the courthouse confession and standing ovation… omg why. lol
Mettel Ray
October 5, 2020I hated it. It’s ironically also my most popular Letterboxd review now. I just wish Netflix had a bit more brains to do not Hallmark copies with more known actors.
Sara
October 5, 2020That’s how I felt about Falling Inn Love. It just felt like a Hallmark knock off. I was pretty optimistic with Set it Up and To All The Boys… but it just seems like Netflix has opted for the super cheesy romances now instead of something with substance.
Allie
October 6, 2020I worried this movie would be a bit ‘meh’. I adore Damon Wayans, Jr but he hasn’t been in anything great since New Girl (although I did enjoy Let’s Be Cops) – I hope he gets a big break soon!
Sara
October 6, 2020Yeah, he definitely deserves success! This really didn’t seem like the type of movie I would see him in either.