Movie Review: "What Love Looks Like" (2020)
What’s this madness, you ask? A bonafide romantic comedy here at Get On My Damn Level?! But, Stu…you review horror, fantasy, comedy, genre books, and even rant about sports on occasion! What’s this romantic comedy bullshit? To be honest, I said the same thing to myself (in much more harsh and graphic terminology). It’s really not my bag, after all. I’m a sicko through and through, but I also like to think there’s more to me than that. I’m the pervert with a heart of gold; my mind is warped but my heart is pure. I cry during movies and TV shows all the time. No shit.
When writer/director Alex Magaña (Slapped! The Movie, The Smiling Woman) asked me if I’d be interested in reviewing his new film, I was more than happy to. In two previous outings, I’ve found his work to be solidly self-aware and a pleasure to watch (side note: I’m still pushing for a full length Smiling Woman). I had my misgivings about the genre, as I truly detest the “same old, same old” shtick you get in most romantic comedies. The anthology format is always a draw for me as well, so I jumped right in.
What Love Looks Like is five interwoven stories of modern love. Nicole (Kate Durocher; Hi-Death) is a vibrant young beauty stuck in dead-end relationship with Owen (Josh Gilmer; In Defense Of), a man who’s more in love with his phone than he is with her. Calvin (Connor Wilkins; Confessional) has a disastrous Tinder-fueled one night stand with Summer (Jamie Shelnitz; Coffee Date) only to reconnect with her on an anonymous dating site soon after. Finn (Kyle Meck; Awaken the Shadowman) is crazy about the lovely Penelope (Taylor Alexa Frank; Written on my Skin)…only the timing couldn’t be worse. Theodore (Jack Menzies; BRUTE) is a painfully awkward young man who’s smitten with equally shy Bailey (Ana Ming Bostwick Singer). Finally, Sam (Nathan Kohnen; Leave No One Behind) is still reeling from the death of his wife when he meets Evie (Ashley Rose McKenna; Wasp-Men from Mars!), who just may be the girl to reawaken his heart if he can let his past go.
As is normally the case with anthologies, What Love Looks Like is a mixed bag. Magaña seems most comfortable when he’s making you cringe a little bit, as in the case of Theodore and Bailey. Their sweetness and innocence makes the cringes enjoyable, and you pull for both of them with some gusto. The same couldn’t really be said of Finn and Penelope; I just had a hard time connecting with that one with the almost silly tone missing the mark. Nicole and Owen, clearly doomed from the start, would have rubbed me the wrong way had it not shaken out the way it did, showing that reality isn’t always a sunny romantic comedy for everyone. I frankly loved the overall story of Calvin and Summer, if not the execution and wrap-up.
The real centerpiece is Sam and Evie. While you pretty much know out of the gate that he’s healing from something terrible, you don’t really find out until much later in the film. Nathan Kohnen plays the part with some real range, and the writing on this segment is Magaña’s strongest. Evie is a shy beauty who’s quite believable as the woman who has exactly what Sam’s broken heart needs. Their chemistry is natural and not at all forced (as some other performances are at times).
Magaña is a fun filmmaker to watch as he grows. You can see his metaphorical mischievous grin stamped all over his work. While I think that comedy and horror are a better outlet for his occasionally warped and always signature sense of humor, he shows a deft understanding of the genre’s tropes and hallmarks. It may not be the arena he’s best suited for, but he still delivers a competent romantic comedy that’s uneven but still giving you everything it’s got.
Rating:
2.5 out of 5.0 stars
What Love Looks Like is out now on Amazon Prime
