Jackie Cruz is the CEO of a New Jersey airline, feared for her perfectionism taken to extremes, which leads her employees to regard her with extreme reverence. Daniel Blanchflower, on the other hand, is the company’s new lawyer, a British man of aplomb (at least initially), who finds himself urgently replacing his senior colleague, who fell ill during lunch. His first assignment coincides with a crucial deposition in which Jackie is involved in a lawsuit with potentially devastating consequences for her career.
In this rather daring turn of events, the protagonists of Office Romance meet, and as in any self-respecting rom-com, sparks fly at first sight. Unfortunately, the company has a strict zero-tolerance policy regarding romantic relationships in the workplace, and their budding love story, if discovered, could trigger a series of unexpected legal consequences.
Office Romance: Love When You Least Expect It
The screenplay, co-written by Joe Kelly and Brett Goldstein—the latter also appearing on screen in the lead role of Daniel—doesn’t aim for realism but seeks to update the classic tropes of the comedy of misunderstandings, with results that, unfortunately, don’t always live up to expectations. Office Romance relies heavily on the presence of Jennifer Lopez, who becomes the unwitting alpha and omega of the film’s 100-minute runtime, but who is unable to carry the weight of an uncharismatic co-star and the lack of chemistry between them.
The film opens with a double date sequence that ends just as disastrously for both of them: the “blind date” in fact pits them against characters who are far more than mere caricatures, underscoring how both are actually well-adjusted individuals, eager to finally find their soulmate. A prologue that attempts to define their personalities as well, even though, paradoxically, they remain trapped in the long run within a series of more or less restrictive clichés.
The watchword: lightheartedness
It must be said that despite its obvious limitations, Office Romance at least has the good sense not to pretend to be anything more than what it is: a classic “disposable” title designed for the streaming market, aimed at an audience that, tired from a day’s work, needs something to watch without having to think. A light-as-air affair that proceeds through largely predictable steps: the initial reluctance, the passion that explodes, the secret that comes to light and threatens to undermine everything, the legal complications, and so on—but rest assured, the ending is exactly what fans of the genre can’t help but expect.
Ol Parker is, after all, a director well-versed in the genre, with a career that includes the musical sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) and Ticket to Paradise (2022)—a rom-com that heavily relied on the star power of its leads, Julia Roberts and George Clooney, with results that, it must be said, were slightly better than those of his latest film, which landed as a Netflix exclusive.
A Hit-or-Miss Screenplay
Office Romance actually shares something in common with the aforementioned title in its central section, where for several minutes the romantic plot unfolds in an exotic setting—namely, the Dominican Republic—reached via a microlight piloted by Jackie, complete with a timely, party-crashing storm. But where the script works best is within the confines of those offices where the clandestine relationship must remain just that, amid fateful elevators and nosy secretaries, complete with some improbable plot twists involving a pregnancy.
There’s even a prison setting—his sister is behind bars—and at a certain point, the story seems to become overloaded with subplots that are either uninteresting or poorly developed, dragging out a runtime that would have benefited from a few cuts here and there. And while there are no plot twists truly worthy of the name, this probably wasn’t the place to look for them in the first place.
Conclusions
Office Romance is, in fact, a title that speaks for itself, and, with all its pros and cons, it delivers exactly what it promises. A not-very-original adult romantic comedy, but one that has a decent pace going for it, allowing you to turn a blind eye to the obvious weaknesses of a predictable, surprise-free screenplay. The lack of chemistry between Brett Goldstein—who also wrote the screenplay—and Jennifer Lopez, who is better than he is, doesn’t lend the right feel to the story’s romantic spirit, but Ol Parker’s “crafty” direction prevents far worse damage.
