Lamar reviews - The Lovebirds 5-29-20

I was really afraid that this was going to be one of those movies where the all funny scenes were in the trailer and none in the movie. Much to my surprise that was not the case.  The movie stars Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani as Lelani and Jibran. It opens up with the morning after the first night they had spent together. It has the awkwardness of departing the one night stand but takes a different turn in a really cute way. It looks like this is destined to be the greatest romance in romantic comedy history. Then we flash forward to four years later. It seems that all those endearing idiosyncrasies that were so cute at first, have turned into irritating habits and personality traits that have them headed for a breakup. The latest blowup starts out as a disagreement on whether or not they could win the Amazing Race and winds up with a fight about whether an orgy has to be planned or can it be spontaneous. On their way to a party they are right in the middle of the breakup when they hit a guy on a bike. As they are discussing what to do he jumps up and rides off.  A guy claiming to be a cop commandeers their car, chases the guy down and runs over him, with them in the car. After making sure he’s dead the guy runs off leaving them at the scene. They are sure they will be charged with murder and they run. The only way to prove their innocence is to solve the crime.   The movie is a perfect 86 minutes, Rated R for sexual content, language, and some violence.   The chemistry could not have been better between Lelani and Jibran. By far the physical jokes and setups, although most of them worked, were not near as funny as the dialog between the two. My favorite line in the whole movie was when during their investigation they stopped by the party they were originally going to. Someone looks at Jibran and says “you got blood on your face.” And he responds, deadpan, “It’s a big disgrace.” That is hilarious. I’m still laughing at that.   This is certainly not When Harry Met Sally or Pretty Woman, but it ain’t Gigli either. I really didn’t know what to expect but I sat down with Carla to watch it.  This is not rolling on the floor laughing, but their chemistry is infectious. Infectious in a good way, not a “pandemicy” way. We enjoyed the banter between them and enough of the jokes worked that it was an extremely enjoyable 86 minutes. It might not have been quite as enjoyable had we paid $20 in tickets, and $30 at the concession counter. But you’ve already got Netflix, there’s probably peanut butter in your pantry, and unless you are from another planet, some Ritz crackers. Lather up some of those crackers with some Jif, get you something to drink and have at it. You can pause if you need to go to the bathroom, or back it up if you miss something. If you don’t like it as much as we did, Netflix has a gazillion shows and movies, switch it to something else. You’re still ahead of the game.   My Score: 4 Budweisers  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.