Shotgun Wedding is an action romantic comedy directed by Jason Moore and written by Mark Hammer. It was released by Amazon Studios onto their streaming service Prime Video.

Tom (Josh Duhamel) and Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) are getting ready for their destination wedding off the coast of the Phillippines. They are dealing with drama as Darcy’s mom Renata (Sônia Braga) is irritated by her ex-husband Robert (Cheech Marin), who arrives with his new girlfriend Harriet (D’Arcy Carden). Tom’s mother Carol (Jennifer Coolidge) and Larry (Steve Coulter) are causing drama. Things really heat up when Darcy’s sister Jamie (Callie Hernandez) informs her sister that her ex Sean (Lenny Kravitz) arrives. The next day, Darcy and Tom have an argument, during which a group of pirates arrive and take hostages. Cuffed together, they must survive their wedding day before the pirates start eliminating their families.

Originally, Ryan Reynolds was supposed to play Tom but passed in favor of an executive producer position and the alleged cannibal Armie Hammer was tapped before being fired. Thus, Transformers actor Josh Duhamel was tapped for Tom and I think it was the right call. He had decent chemistry with J. Lo, who was also a producer in the movie.

I cannot say that the special effects are good. There was a scene where the couple had to zip-line to safety and the CGI during this sequence is appalling. Fortunately, that was the only time I thought the movie really messed up, but you would think they could afford a decent green screen.

While it is not the funniest movie ever made, it got some genuine chuckles out of me. They had some pretty good moments that were not ruined by political correctness. It was a good effort and I cannot say I had a bad time.

Lopez plays the same role in every movie she is in, but I try to judge her on how likable she is in a film. While she was insufferable at times, I did find myself rooting for her in the end. She was a well-rounded character and had some good lines. The same goes for Duhamel. I rooted for him even though he is the same character he is in every rom-com he’s ever been in. They did not cave to the Hollywood trope of making him the bad guy or a weak man, but showed nuance and showed him to be heroic even.

Honestly, Cheech and Coolidge add a lot to make this movie enjoyable. Cheech is excellent as the judgemental father of the bribe and Coolidge is perfect as the nosy mother of the groom. They both played these parts well and added a little bit of spice to the plot. Without the two of them, the movie might have felt like a chore to get through.

Bottom line, Shotgun Wedding gave me a few laughs. No, it does not soar like a lot of comedies, but I found myself genuinely laughing at moments. It was simplistic and at times predictable, but I cannot say that I had a bad time.

PARENTAL CONCERN: Violence, Minor blood, Strong foul language, Some inappropriate humor

FAVORITE QUOTE: Be excellent to each other.

Check out the trailer below:

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or novel you would like me to review. While you are at it, check out my reviews of The Pale Blue Eye and M3GAN. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more posts like this one.

Connect with me on social media. You can support StudioJake on Locals.