Romantic comedy rock love for couples young and old – Chicago Tribune

In the romantic comedy Maybe I Do, a young couple played by Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey discuss the possibility of getting married. she’s all in He’s all “what?!” But this bland and beautiful duo might be an afterthought. The main characters are their respective parents, played by her rom-com veteran killers such as Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, and Susan Sarandon. Rounding out the quartet is William H. Macy, with a quartet of seasoned stars as two late-life couples who, despite their script’s shortcomings, deal with some relationship issues and extramarital affairs. , can produce a light absurdist sheen and emotional nuances… their own playfulness.

“Maybe I Do” is a hilarious take on a not-so-joyful subject: loneliness in a long marriage. This is due to writer and first-time feature film director Michael Jacobs, whose resume is mostly used in television (especially in his early 90s ABC comedy “Dinosaur”). ).

There’s a scene early on that suggests Jacobs says something interesting about the passing of time and how restlessness and disappointment smother you like a weighted blanket that offers no comfort. At night, Gia’s character, sitting alone in a diner, spies on a young couple locking lips at a nearby table. His server also walks over and stops to watch. And she says, “It’s not our world anymore,” she says with a bit of resignation. The moment has a lot of subtext.

What does it look like when you share a home with someone but you don’t really share your life? When you don’t feel loved or seen? In his 70s, he had a midlife crisis 20 years late, and if you’re wondering, “Is this the end?”

A romantic comedy about this stage in life? bring it on! But the film is too hesitant, too tense to really speak to these people. Talk,about it. There are monologues, but none of the exchanges that give you a sense of who these couples were when things weren’t so dire. It can no longer be ignored. That’s usually when the actual conversation takes place. I couldn’t tell you when everything was resolved (or broken up for some couples) as Jacobs cuts to the final scene. Missing is the kind of difficult and vulnerable adult conversation that takes place between two people who hash out if there’s anything left to salvage.

Maybe this movie is more interested in young couples. Roberts and Bracey had romantic lead roles in 2020’s “Holidate,” but Roberts has a huge list of his comedy credits. She knows the genre well. Teaming them up again should do better than that, but there’s little to play with. , vaguely characterized: She still harbors hurt feelings. She’s clearly not an eccentric girl) and he’s… handsome and trying to keep the peace. Where’s the spark?where is anything?

They live together but have never discussed tying the knot. She insists and with an ultimatum hanging in the air, they go their separate ways for the night to seek advice from their respective parents. decided that meeting his mom and dad (Sarandon and Macy) was the solution. Or, as Gere’s character puts it, “Our kids sleep with their kids. Doesn’t that qualify us for dinner?”

The point is to get the parents together in the same room and have a humorous, chaotic dysfunction. This is all very much a couple exchange. It’s like couples don’t even realize they’re exchanging until it’s too late and all the secrets are laid out. Buffet of embarrassment.

Macy and Sarandon’s characters sell worse. He is paranoid that he was a good man who made a mistake in his youth and has paid for it ever since. I’m also a man. I’m just ripping “com” out of my ROM. Sarandon’s character is positioned as a sex-hungry modern day version of “Fatal Attraction,” and it stands out that there are no men in her life to speak kindly to because of her sins… enough Aren’t you modest? There are complex issues at the root of this story, mismatched couples getting on well with each other, and it’s really sour.

Gere is the film’s grace, somehow making everything seem worthwhile. their pairing.

But that’s not all. Gere barely keeps a smile in almost every scene, and goes amiable, “Sure, where do you need me?” Vibe for proceedings.

He is happy to be here, and by extension we are happy for him.

“Probably will” — 2 stars (out of 4)

Where to watch: at the theater

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic

nmetz@chicagotribun.com