Netflix’s “The Lovebirds”: How Leads With Great Chemistry Save A Movie

The Lovebirds was supposed to be released in cinemas on April 3rd, but ultimately got delayed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. After a few weeks of waiting Netflix announced that it is going to release it on May 22th. That certainly was a good choice, because it fits perfectly on the streaming service.

 

A couple (Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani) experiences a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery. As their journey to clear their names takes them from one extreme – and hilarious – circumstance to the next, they must figure out how they, and their relationship, can survive the night. (Paramount Pictures)

The plot couldn’t be more conventional. There are no twist or turns or any developed side plots, it couldn’t be more predictable. It is straight forward, gets right in and leaves not much time developing the characters, besides the bit of development that the protagonists go through. There are a few scenes, where it slows down a bit to tell some more details of the characters through explanation talk, but it doesn’t get boring at any time, mostly because of it’s short runtime of only 86 minutes.

The movie shines through it’s great leads. Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani do have fantastic chemistry and basically carry the entire movie on their backs. They play their characters with a lot of charme and their dialogue scenes are the highlight of the movie. The dialogue isn’t even interestingly written, it’s the way how they deliver the lines, that make it such a joy to watch.

The humour in this movie also just works because of the delivery of Rae and Nanjiani. There are no cleverly written jokes, but some absurd scenes, which sometimes are really funny, but other times just don’t and then they just feel weird. These scenes show that the movie doesn’t work, when the leads don’t deliver.

The technical aspects of this movie are solid, but there is nothing that stands out. The cinematography does work, but there are no memorable shots, or any unique or interesting camera angles. Just an awful lot of medium shots, cut together in the most conventional way. The production design is solid and works for the story. There actually is a mistake in the sound editing. In one scene there is a silenced gunshot, but the movie clearly shows that the used gun doesn’t has an attached silencer.

The Lovebirds is a perfectly fine Netflix comedy, with charming leads and some funny scenes. It benefits from it’s short runtime and therefore is an entertaining watch. For fans of the comedy genre or if you just want to have an easy watch, this is the one to go.

2,5/5

What do you guys think? Have you watched The Lovebirds? Are you planning to watch it? Let’s discuss everything in the comments down below.