‘Love Hurts’ Review
Stars: Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Daniel Wu, Mustafa Shakir, Lio Tipton, Cam Gigandet, Marshawn “Beastmode” Lynch, Sean Astin | Written by Matthew Murray, Josh Stoddard, Luke Passmore | Directed by Jonathan Eusebio
Ke Huy Quan turns Jackie Chan in the action comedy Love Hurts, from producer David Leitch (John Wick), whose production company 87North also made Nobody and Violent Night. Admittedly, the film has its fair share of problems, but Quan’s likeability and some decent fight scenes paper over a lot of the flaws.
Recent Oscar-winner Quan plays mild-mannered estate agent Marvin Gable (weirdly, no one in the film makes a Marvin Gaye joke), who, just like mild-mannered Bob Odenkirk in Nobody, turns out to have a secret violent past, in this case as a deadly killer, working for his gangster brother Knuckles (Daniel Wu). Marvin walked away from that life after Knuckles ordered him to kill Rose (recent Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose), the woman he loved, whereupon he faked her death, helped her disappear, and moved into real estate.
However, when Rose shows up unexpectedly, Knuckles sends a variety of gun-toting goons after her, which forces a reluctant Marvin to start kicking ass again. Meanwhile, his quirky assistant Ashley (Lio Tipton), falls for blade-wielding, poetry-quoting henchman Raven (Mustafa Shakir), after she finds him unconscious in Marvin’s office, following an early punch-up.
The fact that Ke Huy Quan doesn’t really convince as a martial artist (despite abundant experience in that regard) is surely part of the joke of the film. To that end, you either go along with it, or you don’t – either way, he’s extremely nimble, and watching him zip around the frame, punching and high-kicking provides a decent amount of fun.
The fight scenes are further improved by some inventive and funny direction, particularly a punch-up sequence in which the camera ends up in both a fridge and a microwave, as well as an amusing visual gag where two goons attack Marvin with giant pieces of cutlery (a sequence that should have been longer). Some of the soundtrack choices raise a smile too, most notably a key sequence set to Barry White’s classic love song, You are the First, the Last, My Everything.
What’s harder to swallow is that loveable Quan could ever have been a ruthless killer in the first place, big bad brother or no big bad brother. It’s also fair to say that his supposed romance with DeBose’s Rose fails to generate anything resembling onscreen chemistry, so much so that you’ll probably find yourself turning away from their kissing scene out of embarrassment for everyone involved.
Debut director Jonathan Eusebio also has a problem with tone. While some of the kills are comedic (most notably a short cameo that’s probably wasted on UK audiences), others are vicious, nasty and upsetting, and they feel out of place in what is otherwise trying to be a Valentines-themed romcom-esque action comedy. Similarly, the scripted gags frequently fall flat, although there is the occasional winner, such as Ashley telling Marvin that “there’s a dead poet in your office”.
On the plus side, the performances are entertaining. Quan is adorably goofy throughout, DeBose is effortlessly cool and Tipton and Shakir have surprisingly enjoyable chemistry. There’s also strong support from former NFL player Marshawn “Beastmode” Lynch and Andre Eriksen as a pair of bickering heavies, as well as a touching two-scene cameo from Sean Astin, who previously co-starred with Quan in The Goonies, 40 years ago.
In short, Love Hurts is something of a mixed bag. As such, it’s not on the level of 87North’s previous action flicks, but if you’re prepared to accept its shortcomings, it’s passably entertaining for its commendably short 83-minute running time.
**½ 2.5/5
Love Hurts is out now.
