Jennifer Lopez never ages, and Office Romance is just what one would expect from an actress who has class and sophistication to spare. This is what makes her one of the last of the great romantic comedy actresses from the late 1990s and early 2000s.
If you enjoyed J. Lo in Marry Me from a few years back, this new Netflix film will satisfy your cravings for fun and easy-going romance.
Lopez portrays Jackie Cruz, CEO of Air Cruz. Jackie has the unfortunate luck of having a business dinner with a real creep as the picture begins.
This guy thinks it’s a date, but Jackie is just there for a business talk. Luckily, for Jackie, a new suave lawyer named Daniel Blanchflower (Brett Goldstein) comes to work for her, and her romantic prospects begin to blossom.
There’s a company rule that colleagues at Air Cruz can’t date, but when you see how nice this new set of co-workers looks together, you’ll realize that rules are made to be broken, especially in a romantic film like this.
At first, it’s a purely professional friendship between Daniel and Jackie until they get to know one another, and by the time they end up slow dancing midway through the film, it’s fairly easy to see where this story is heading.
Goldstein’s character makes some missteps over the course of the early stages of the movie as he overuses a crass “C” word, which he believes is OK to use in the workplace. He knows that Jackie is good for him, but she won’t realize it until the very last ending scenes of the picture, as the story typically goes in these types of films.
This is also the type of movie where the leading man, played by Goldstein, realizes that he should be nice to his fellow employees, such as the secretary (Mary Wiseman) he scolds for making small talk with him in the early part of the film. Lessons in life will be learned by both Daniel and Jackie as the movie progresses.
This new movie carefully develops its characters to the point that the picture’s good intentions sometimes throw the flow and pacing of the film off track. Lopez is so good, however, that she picks up the slack much of the time with her signature charisma and charm.
Goldstein is a charming actor, even though his character is forced to cave in to the movie’s conventional overall style. It’s not hard to guess where the movie will ultimately be headed, and the film even closes with Jackie realizing love can, in fact, conquer all despite the odds.
Whoever would have thought that?
Don’t think that enjoyment of this movie is impossible just because you know how it’s probably going to end. Lopez and Goldstein steam up the screen with their charismatic romance almost all throughout this Netflix dramedy.
Edward James Olmos, who played Lopez’s dad in Selena, is here again as well. Olmos acquits himself admirably in his “blink and you’ll miss it” role in Office Romance. Olmos and Lopez share some heartfelt interaction that could tug at the heartstrings of less demanding movie-goers.
Also in the supporting cast is the usually reliable Betty Gilpin as the pregnant Sydney. Gilpin isn’t really miscast, but she serves a rather basic purpose in the plot that helps make the film suspense-free when it comes down to whether or not Sydney will go into labor by the time the end credits roll.
Bradley Whitford also shines as an aging colleague who gets into some trouble with a food truck early in the proceedings here. The supporting cast is actually pretty capable, for the most part. J.Lo is everything here, though.
Her sophistication shines through and rubs off on her character, and the results will make for an enjoyable but very basic love story to watch.
This film feels a bit antiquated in its views on modern-day dating. Though the characters at large here hide their personal relationships with colleagues, the film’s tone makes the whole idea of prohibited office romances feel very dated in the grand scheme of things.
Just because it feels old school doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining to watch in the grand scheme of things. While New Jersey gets some deserved shout-outs in the film, the location of the action doesn’t matter too much overall.
J.Lo carries the movie almost single-handedly, and she has enough chemistry with Goldstein to make it all fun to watch in the moment, but the film is almost as cookie-cutter as they come if you analyze it closely.
Office Romance doesn’t offer any new insights about the policies of company dating and similarly frustrating debatable company agendas.
What the film does show is that Lopez and Goldstein have the movie star appeal to make the movie nothing short of likable, and it’s definitely watchable entertainment. If you enjoy this type of movie, you shouldn’t be disappointed in its optimistic, feel-good ending.
Office Romance is currently streaming on Netflix
Follow us on X and on Instagram!
Like us on Facebook!
Thomas Duffy
Thomas Duffy is a Critics Choice member who has written film reviews for most of his life, starting at age 11 when he crafted his first full length movie critique on the film, "Roxanne," a Cyrano story featuring Steve Martin. As a result of that review and other movie obsessive writing, Thomas was awarded a creative writing award in sixth grade. Thomas is the proud author of nine books, including two highly acclaimed novels, "To Never Know" and "Social Work." Thomas can be found on X (formerly known as Twitter) or at a New York City movie theater watching the latest hit or independent movie. You can also run into him at Tribeca or at the New York Film Festival.