What's Love Got to Do with It? Reviews

Despite having a similar title as the famous 1993 Tina Turner biopic, this romantic comedy from Indian director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) bears far more resemblance to When Harry Met Sally, interspersing scenes of love and friendship with interview sequences that challenge audience's perceptions of what it truly means to fall in love.The main plot line begins when award-winning filmmaker Zoe Stevenson (Lily James) learns that her Pakistani best friend Kaz Khan (Shazad Latif) has asked his family to arrange a marriage for him. Zoe decides to document his matrimonial endeavors while also interviewing the Khan family about their own arranged marriages to see what has made each relationship work.While an exploration of arranged marriage and how it fits into modern society would make an interesting enough topic on its own, the film further dives into the subject by juxtaposing Kaz's journey with Zoe's own unfortunate love life. Zoe struggles with an obvious desire to find the one, which she attempts to hide behind a veneer of independence by claiming to only care about her work. All the while, she refuses to entertain the idea of arranged marriage in her own life, aggressively discouraging her mother Cath (Emma Thompson) from setting her up with a man.The arranged marriage theme serves more than just an interesting subject matter. It also helps drive the tension of the film. For the vast majority of romantic comedies, audiences might assume the two best friends will wind up together. However, Zoe's trepidation about dating the perfect man, simply because he was chosen by her mother, leads the audience to wonder if there's a different lesson to be learned here. While the film still ends somewhat predictably, it raises enough questions along the way to keep viewers fully engaged with the story.As this story unfolds, viewers find themselves treated to a beautiful experience overall. The set pieces become especially beautiful once the action moves from Britain to Pakistan, and the music selections delectably marry the two cultures into one cohesive experience. On top of this, the acting by everyone involved is natural enough to create a truly immersive experience, something few romantic comedies can truly claim to do.Unfortunately, the movie is not without its flaws. The action drags at times, to the point that it feels as if fifteen minutes or more could easily be cut. Despite this, a side plot regarding Kaz's sister Jamila (Mariam Haque) resolves itself far too quickly for the buildup it receives. The same could be said of a third-act twist involving Kaz's matrimonial prospect, Maymouna (Sajal Ali). Both of these actresses play their parts extraordinarily well, and it's worth sticking around to the end just to see them show off their emotional acting prowess. Story-wise, however, their plot lines throw off the film's pacing in a terrible way.Ultimately, What's Love Got to Do with It? will appeal to both fans of romantic comedy and those who enjoy thematic explorations of other cultures. However, its flaws fail to elevate it too much above what most audiences would consider a rather average viewing experience. It's worth a home viewing experience at the very. Most viewers will stay for the charm of the cast, but the execution of what should be an incredible story will fail to stick in their memory for very long after the credits roll.