Showalter's recent film, “The Lovebirds” is a not so typical romantic comedy movie. For starters, it stars Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae, two racially different actors. Also, the premise of “The Lovebirds” is an unusual fusion of romantic comedy and crime mystery put together, in which the former overpowers the latter though restrictively. The movie is supposed to be released in theaters but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it's rights were sold to Netflix.
The opening of “The Lovebirds” is a very meta illustration of romantic movies. It shows what appears to be a feel-good scene where the boy and the girl fall in love right before a happily ever after. But when the movie subsequently transitioned four years after, we immediately recognized Jibran (Nanjiani) and Leilani’s (Rae) relationship in a brink of collapse. What follows afterward is a series of arguments that, eventually, lead to a road accident.
Jibran and Leilani hit a cyclist, but he suspiciously moves along in a hurry. The scene caught the eye of a nearby mustached policeman. He forcibly commandeers the couple's car stressing that the cyclist is a criminal. Caught up in the height of the moment, the couple soon realizes that everything might not be what it seems when the police officer starts to brutally kill the cyclist.
“The Lovebirds” is not wholly new in terms of story but it is fresh in some aspect. Like for example, the casting. Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae are a welcome deviation of the usual rom-com formula we know. The glaring difference in culture and personality between the two creates interesting and equally entertaining conflicts that make up for great banters and cute back-and-forth. Also, the movie’s dark tone resembles a noir-like crime movie. Even though the mystery in this movie is supposedly in the back seat, Showalter was able to oscillate between the few genres that exist within the film.
It should not also be discounted that this film makes a few jabs on some overt social issues. For one, the police character (portrayed by Paul Sparks) is an illustration of how corrupt the authority can become in the name of money. The police’s brutality shown in the movie is vivid and over-the-edge. It also depicts how racial communities can easily be regarded as criminals. Racial profiling is a persevering issue in the movie, with Leilani herself expressing distrust and fear towards the justice system.
With a run time of one hour and a half, I find “The Lovebird” as an entertaining addition to Netflix’s catalog of films. It’s a movie that serves the much-needed chuckles amidst the ongoing pandemic. The script is clever and the chemistry of the two lead casts is just perfect. The story is a little shabby, formulaic and outlandish, admittedly, there's a lot of movies that tell the same story much effectively. But, “The Lovebirds” is such a light movie to watch, and it’s easy to follow that there is not much I can complain about.
In conclusion, I believe that director Showalter deserves credit for what he is doing here. Discussing social issues with racial actors and actresses to invite realism on the challenges faced by these people. “The Lovebirds” didn’t just veer away on some formula determined by rom-com movies, it’s also self-aware of the message it wants to deliver.
3.5/5
