Weak entry in the "average couple encounters danger" genre. Watching two actor/comedians riff in their familiar personas does not a movie make. "The Lovebirds" feels like it was created in a conference room: "let's create a project for Issa Rae and Kamail Nanjiani and and hope that it's more than the sum of its parts." It's not.
It takes an overly-mined Hollywood trope-that in the 1980s would have been a vehicle for Goldie Hawn, in the 1930s for Carole Lombard, in the 1950s for Betty Hutton, Doris Day in the 1960s, Diane Keaton in the 1970s, and on and on-and attempt to update it. More recent titles it resembles included "Date Night" and "Manhattan Murder Mystery." (All of the aforementioned are superior to "The Lovebirds," by the way.)
Basically, after a chance encounter, average couple meets with intrigue and danger, which ultimately adds spice to their life. Unfortunately, while Issa Rae and Kamail Nanjiani are both likable, their chemistry is more akin to comfortable office co-workers as opposed to romantic partners. They do get to riff a lot-incessantly, in fact-in their familiar personas, albeit watered down and one-dimensional versions...Rae never strays too far from Issa on "Insecure" nor Nanjiani from Dinesh on "Silicon Valley."
It's not intolerable in the beginning but after the first 20 minutes (of a mercifully short 86-minute movie) and a better-than-average car chase, it's as if everyone lost interest and phoned it in. Nothing much happens: the writing is exceptionally lazy and unimaginative and falls back on tired sight gags like absurd costumes, and forced, overly long moments-such as singing along to Katy Perry's "Firework" in the back of an Uber. Anna Camp and Paul Sparks add some much-needed spice as villains but far too little of them is seen...because, after all, this is a (weak) vehicle for its stars. Pass.
It takes an overly-mined Hollywood trope-that in the 1980s would have been a vehicle for Goldie Hawn, in the 1930s for Carole Lombard, in the 1950s for Betty Hutton, Doris Day in the 1960s, Diane Keaton in the 1970s, and on and on-and attempt to update it. More recent titles it resembles included "Date Night" and "Manhattan Murder Mystery." (All of the aforementioned are superior to "The Lovebirds," by the way.)
Basically, after a chance encounter, average couple meets with intrigue and danger, which ultimately adds spice to their life. Unfortunately, while Issa Rae and Kamail Nanjiani are both likable, their chemistry is more akin to comfortable office co-workers as opposed to romantic partners. They do get to riff a lot-incessantly, in fact-in their familiar personas, albeit watered down and one-dimensional versions...Rae never strays too far from Issa on "Insecure" nor Nanjiani from Dinesh on "Silicon Valley."
It's not intolerable in the beginning but after the first 20 minutes (of a mercifully short 86-minute movie) and a better-than-average car chase, it's as if everyone lost interest and phoned it in. Nothing much happens: the writing is exceptionally lazy and unimaginative and falls back on tired sight gags like absurd costumes, and forced, overly long moments-such as singing along to Katy Perry's "Firework" in the back of an Uber. Anna Camp and Paul Sparks add some much-needed spice as villains but far too little of them is seen...because, after all, this is a (weak) vehicle for its stars. Pass.