Shrinking’s Brett Goldstein is a huge fan of romcoms. Specifically? Romcoms starring Jennifer Lopez, of which there are many. And so when he and writing partner Joe Kelly decided to pen, in his own words, “an old-school romcom with ruder jokes”, they envisioned J-Lo as their lead.
Fortuitously for them, Lopez happens to be a huge Ted Lasso fan, citing Goldstein’s terrifying – yet somehow cuddly – Roy Kent as her favourite character. The two men sent her their screenplay and voilà! A match made in Heaven.
Off-screen, that is. On screen, things are a little trickier. There’s a weird mismatch at the heart of Office Romance, with Lopez’s New Jersey-based millionaire and Goldstein’s awkward British lawyer seeming as though they’re from different films entirely. As another character puts it: one is Helen of Troy, while the other is Mr Bean.
Perhaps this contrast is down to a clash of cultures – much fun is had during the film with American/British differences, particularly the UK’s flippant use of a certain swear word that sends Americans into conniptions. Perhaps it’s because Goldstein’s character is sporting an atrocious ‘posh’ accent (which, in his defence, is at least explained in the film). Or perhaps it’s simply because it takes a long while for the central duo to relax with each other. When they finally do, everything suddenly makes sense… and the sizzling begins.
The ‘office’ of the title is the one fronted by Lopez’s high-flying CEO Jackie Cruz, whose airline is being sued by a rival. Her company’s lawyer, Daniel Blanchflower (Goldstein), is on the case. The entire lawsuit rests on Jackie proving that she doesn’t mix work and sex – indeed, that she’s picky about who she sleeps with (a “choosy queen”, as Daniel eloquently puts it).
And so when the two, inevitably, start falling in love, it’s imperative that nobody finds out. Cue them sneaking off to the Dominican Republic for sultry dances in sandy beach shacks, or having a quick spot of rumpy-pumpy between floors in the company lift. Ah, l’amour!
But the secret couple have other issues, too. Jackie’s position as CEO is being undermined by her board members, all while her aviator father, Captain Jack (Edward James Olmos), still treats her like a child. Daniel, we discover, is in the USA because his sister Lizzy is in prison for murder (Jodie Whittaker, delightfully hamming it up in a pair of handcuffs).
He visits her frequently in jail, leading Jackie to wonder what he’s up to. And while the two try to keep their affair secret, Jackie’s devoted and heavily pregnant deputy, Sydney (Betty Gilpin), is on the warpath, utterly determined to keep her beloved boss out of trouble. Somewhere in the middle of all of this, Tony Hale’s rubber-faced head of HR is having sleepless nights.
It’s a promising set-up and although the plot follows fairly standard romcom beats, there are plenty of unexpected laughs to keep things feeling fresh. Prepare yourself, though, for many, many swear words – enough to make Roy Kent himself proud. The same goes for the flashes of cheap, sex-based humour that bring to mind such shock-fests as There’s Something About Mary, although this film’s crassness never hits those depths. And finally, your retinas may be eternally haunted by a scene involving a baby…
In the midst of all this, J-Lo is her usual charismatic self and Goldstein is a twinkly, likeable leading man. Will this go down as a romcom classic? Probably not, but when so many people are having this much fun, it’s hard not to join them.
Office Romance is streaming on Netflix from Friday 5 June.
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