New movies are few and far between these days. And even when a new movie comes to streaming or paid VOD, it lately has been animated family fare like Scoob! or Trolls World Tour, mainly to help families who are looking for distractions during the time of social distancing. Michael Showalter’s The Lovebirds, though, is finally here to make grown ups laugh. The movie was due to have a global premiere at South By Southwest. That because a delayed release date, and now it’s going to Netflix.
But is it any good? Reviews dropped today, starting with our own analysis from CinemaBlend Film Critic Eric Eisenberg. He praised the chemistry between leads Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae. He writes:
What takes The Lovebirds over the goal line, however, is just the struck gold that is the back-and-forth energy that Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae are able to generate, resulting in numerous laugh out loud scenes and a permanent smile watching them in action. There exists a fine line for them to walk, as the heightened nature of the situation has to be balanced out by natural reactions and a grounded relationship, but both actors do brilliant work, and get the most out of the material. In any circumstance, whether they are scared or acting big, they get laughs.
Over at IGN, Kristy Puchko makes comparison to the underrated Game Night when praising the structure of The Lovebirds:
Like Game Night or The Out-of-Towners, it embraces the manic mayhem that can be had by chucking Average Joes (and Janes) into a bizarre quest that hurls them out of their comfort zone. The script by Aaron Abrams, Brendan Gall, and Martin Gero sets up our odd couple swiftly. He is, as a cerebral documentarian, obsessed with schedules and order; she is a free-spirited advertising exec, devoted to spontaneity and social media cache. Then, over the course of the first 20 minutes, they lose their car, phones, sense of safety and their stylish clothes, which are swapped for tacky fast-fashion complete with unicorn-horned hoodie. But in all this loss, they find a new freedom to be the badasses needed in this DIY murder investigation. Plus, they rediscover their romantic spark.
Joey Magidson of Hollywood News also finds a lot to love (get it?) about the Lovebirds leads, going so far as to say:
Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae are fantastic together. Their bickering pair are a consistent source of comedic jabs. The best parts of this movie center just on them going at it with each other. Nanjiani’s monologues and Rae’s insults are incredibly funny. They’re one of the best comedy duos of the year so far.
Bold claim! But at the moment, the movie has a 100% Fresh grade on Rotten Tomatoes, though it’s early in the game. Since there’s nothing but positivity out there at the moment for The Lovebirds, let’s conclude on Film Racket’s 3-star review, which claims:
Movies of this type always paint themselves into a corner at the end. The tone becomes more serious as the heroes face off against the villain and get into the most extreme danger. That happens in The Lovebirds, too. I laughed so hard and so frequently, though, that I didn't care.
Sounds like a winner! Paramount sold The Lovebirds over to Netflix, meaning you will be able to watch it beginning on Friday, May 22. Did these reviews sell you on checking it out?
