Review: BRAND NEW LOVE (2018), a reasonably funny and unexpectedly realistic rom-com
Everybody has heard of “marriage pacts”, right? It’s a simple enough idea: two friends, afraid of ending up alone by the age of thirty, vow to marry each other —despite the fact that maybe, you know, they don’t love each other— if they don’t manage to find a partner by said time. It’s a relatively intriguing idea that should serve to develop a relatable and suitably funny romantic comedy, and although Cat Rhinehart’s “Brand New Love” is not as polished as expected, it’s entertaining enough for a lazy Saturday afternoon.
Our protagonists are Charlie (Arturo Castro) and Hannah (Aya Cash), who, surprise, made said pact during their high school days. Now that they are adults, Charlie is working as a personal trainer in Los Angeles, and Hannah is recently divorced and has moved back to her parents’ house. When Charlie suddenly returns to their hometown of Modesto to meet his brother’s newly-born child, he decides to meet up with Hannah, and they immediately have a (re)connection. Remembering their pact, and the fact that they are both single, they impulsively decide to get married… that very night.
The best thing about “Brand New Love” is the depiction of Charlie and Hannah’s relationship, and the way they have changed since their high school days. They are two completely different people but they seem to “need” the pact because, despite having matured at different rates, they both ended up relatively lonely and in need of affection or attention. He is a man-child, someone who has never considered the feelings or needs of a steady partner, and she is someone who decided to get married too young, falling in and out of love too suddenly. The fact that they make such an impulsive decision seems to be on-character for both of them, and results in as many hijinks as one should suppose from reading the movie’s synopsis.
They might not seem to be particularly relatable as protagonists (at least not initially), but both Charlie and Hannah are reasonably well-developed, and as one should assume, they grow quite a bit throughout the movie. This, coupled with the fact that the “marriage pact” is something pretty much everyone has heard of (or tried to do at some point or another), makes “Brand New Love” feel pretty realistic. The film doesn’t feel like one of those over-the-top, exaggeratedly glamorous romantic comedies Hollywood used to churn out year after year; despite its humour and use of contrivances, “Brand New Love” is a little more believable than the average picture of its genre.
Nevertheless, the movie does feel a little too agreeable from time to time. Meaning, the central conflict, while compelling, doesn’t really manage to raise the stakes as much as one could’ve expected. The differences between Charlie and Hannah aren’t emphasised too much —and when they are, they don’t create as much conflict between them as expected— and even the secondary characters, while suitably wacky or funny, don’t add too much colour to the proceedings. Admittedly, this allows the film to avoid some of the more annoying clichés in the rom-com book (at least during its first two acts), but at the same time, makes “Brand New Love” feel a little stale, even repetitive from time to time.
All this relative originality and charm, unfortunately, goes to waste during the film’s third act, when the story turns annoyingly predictable. Yes, the couple ends up fighting, wondering if their marriage is a good idea. Yes, the ending involves a boring contrivance and depends on the audience asking themselves: “will they end up together, or not?” It’s old news, and it turns “Brand New Love’s conclusion into an exercise in redundancy. Whether you liked the first two acts or not,—I did— there’s no denying that the third one feels disappointingly shallow and clichéd. Considering that the movie actually went out of its way to avoid some stereotypes during the first two thirds of its running time, the fact that it turns so predictable just as it is about to end doesn’t really make sense.
Performances are solid all across the board, which helps one ignore some of the more questionable script decisions. Aya Cash is quite charming as Hannah; she sells the fact that she’s someone new to the dating scene (even though she’s quite young), and that she’s feeling desperate after her recent divorce. Arturo Castro can be a little annoying at times, but is also quite believable as a man-child, as someone who is marrying Hannah not out of love or even friendship, but because of his own, selfish reasons. Plus, as a Peruvian film critic myself, it’s always cool to see some Latino representation, especially in a rom-com such as this.
“Brand New Love” is reasonably well shot, even though some scenes do look a little empty or cheap (remember, this is an indie, not a big budget Hollywood production). Nevertheless, director Rhinehart makes good use of her locations, and the art direction uses plenty of warm colours to give the picture an agreeable, cozy look. The score, while not particularly memorable, at least doesn’t feel intrusive, something that happens with some frequency in this kind of movie.
“Brand New Love” is not the best romantic comedy I’ve ever seen, but it’s not the worst either. The concept itself is full of potential, and although the picture never really manages to fulfil it, it’s funny enough, charming enough and well-acted enough to entertain any fan of the genre. Chemistry between the lead actors is palpable, their characters are pretty well developed, and their relationship feels reasonably realistic and relatable, but it all goes to waste during the last third of the movie, when it all turns into a big ball of clichés. Thankfully, it’s not bad enough to completely ruin this fun and occasionally emotive motion picture.
