Love Again film review: Really, really bad. Why is Celine Dion in this?
There have been a few romantic comedies in recent years that have moulded themselves around famous singers. 2019’s Yesterday was anchored around the music of The Beatles, while Last Christmas used George Michael as a soundtrack for festive love. At one point titled It’s All Coming Back To Me Now, this week’s release Love Again heavily relies on the legacy of diva Celine Dion. However, it may not be remembered as fondly as the legend herself.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays Mira, a grieving widow who copes with the death of her husband by texting messages of love to his old number. In the time since his death, that number has been assigned to the work phone of music journalist Rob (Sam Heughan). Drawn to her passion, Rob is desperate to meet Mira, and is assisted by singer Celine Dion in finding her.
There’s a grimness to the film’s conceit that neither cast nor crew can overcome. Many great rom-coms start with a misunderstanding or mistaken identity, but no amount of soft lighting can make Rob’s actions seem anything less than creepy. It doesn’t help that the script is excruciating, and the characters are one dimensional (the Gay Best Friend and Wacky Sister archetypes are present and correct).
Throw in that none of what transpires seems to make a lick of sense, and you have a story that is a stretch even for a genre that plays with plausibility. Chopra and Heughan have little chemistry other than being both very attractive people, and the presence of actual Celine Dion is baffling. It makes thematic sense given her greatest hits are used for the soundtrack, but her scenes as Rob’s Yoda-like mentor feel like a fever dream.
Love Again starts out with an uncomfortable premise, and things get worse from there. Even those who ironically enjoy Hallmark TV romances might have difficulty with a movie that can’t seem to hit the right notes.
Love Again is in cinemas now
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