The new action/comedy LOVE HURTS stars Ke Huy Quan (hot off his Oscar win for EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE) and Ariana DeBose (hot off her Oscar win for WEST SIDE STORY), and inspired bit of casting for two very talented people, which results in a fun but mostly mundane romp that feels a little too familiar for its own good. Quan plays Marvin Gable, an extremely upbeat and confident realtor who is very good at his job… but he wasn’t always a realtor. This new life is his way of hopefully leaving behind his old ways working as a ruthless hit man for his estranged brother Knuckles (Daniel Wu). Marvin’s last job in that previous life had him tasked with killing Rose (DeBose), which he said he completed, but in reality he let her go and told her not to show her face again. Now, she’s back, as she wants revenge for getting screwed out of her cut of money on a job and taking the fall for it going bad. And since she’s back, Knuckles wants to bring Marvin back in to ask him why he didn’t do what he said he did. As various thugs come after Marvin, he must draw upon his old skills to protect himself, and eventually reunite with Rose, who he’s not exactly excited to see. As much as Marvin loved his “new” life, his old one is coming back to haunt him in a big way.

LOVE HURTS is the kind of movie you’ve seen several times before, and probably done better, which I hate to say as you can tell everyone here is doing their best and having fun with the material. It’s an entertaining watch, but doesn’t really offer anything new or inventive beyond some great fight scenes and solid action, all mixed with some dark comedy and sporadic chuckles to boot. I loved seeing Ke Huy Quan in a leading role, as I’ve always liked him both as an actor and a person (full disclosure, I’ve worked with Ke at conventions, and he’s a very likable and charming guy who genuinely loves what he does), but his character here is only mildly effective, and in many ways feels a bit underwritten and stunted by the material. We never get much of a back story for him on either “life” he’s lived, and he doesn’t have much dialogue to make up for that, so much so that there’s some sporadic narration that feels like a last-second addition to the film. Ariana DeBose was excellent in WEST SIDE STORY, but this is the second film in recent memory (the other being KRAVEN THE HUNTER) where she feels slightly miscast or just awkward, and is also underwritten as a character… I have to wonder if there was more story on paper for Marvin and Rose that was either cut for time, or just didn’t feel natural. Sean Astin (yes, Ke’s former GOONIES co-star) has a brief role as Marvin’s new boss, and it’s great seeing him back on the big screen, though it’s more of an extended cameo than a proper supporting role. Daniel Wu is really effective as the movie’s villain, and is easily one of the best parts of the production. Mustafa Shakir and Lio Tipton become fun supporting players as a poetic assassin and Marvin’s disgruntled assistant at the reality company – they strangely fall for one another and find new purpose in life with their unexpected relationship – in fact their “romance” is in some ways more thoughtful and endearing than that of the main characters. It adds an odd but funny subplot to the otherwise familiar story. Football superstar Marshawn Lynch plays one of the hit men coming after Marvin, and is one of the more memorable characters in a story that feels like it has one or two too many. Cam Gigandet also plays one of Knuckles’ goons, and one of the reasons Rose got in so much trouble, but he’s one of the characters that comes across as excessive here, and doesn’t have much to do beyond chasing after Rose like everyone else.

This is the directorial debut for Jonathan Eusebio, who previously worked as a stunt coordinator on movies like NOBODY and JOHN WICK. He handles the action beats quite well, but doesn’t quite find the chemistry between the various characters the way you might hope. Certain scenes work okay, others fall flat, and there’s one or two moments that echo scenes other movies did much better. This reminded me a lot of BULLET TRAIN, only nowhere near as effective or exciting, and definitely not as memorable. One of the biggest issues with the production is that it’s meant to be a romantic story for Marvin and Rose, but I never once got the sense of them “loving” each other, or even really caring about each other beyond basic obligation… if Marvin loves this woman, why can’t we understand his reasons for doing so? The script never tells us, and that’s a problem. At 83 minutes (such a refreshing run time for a film these days), the pacing is surprisingly slow at times, but despite that I feel like there was a good movie in there somewhere that we just never get to see. LOVE HURTS is about what you’d expect from a February release, nothing special but a fun distraction. I hope Hollywood gives Ke (and Ariana) another chance to shine, but considering they both are fresh off Academy Award wins, this is hardly the project to propel them to the next potential bit of greatness. It’s mildly fun, but ultimately forgettable and formulaic… and it “hurts” having to say that.

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