Review: The Lovebirds

Release date: May 22, 2020
Running time: 86 minutes
Starring: Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani, Paul Sparks

Jibran (Nanjiani) and Leilani (Rae), after being together for four years, experience a rough patch in their relationship.  However, when everything is about to fall apart, a traumatic murder leads to a journey that they won't forget.  And this ordeal will test each of them, and their relationship as they try to survive the night.   

The Lovebirds is a ridiculous comedy that relies on its two leads to carry the film.  Rae and Nanjiani are up to the task and they mostly succeed.  They have good chemistry on screen and play off each other well.  Rae has a more no holds barred type of humor, and Nanjiani has a reserved, awkward humor.  They complement each other well, and their different personalities feed off each other as the night goes on.  The story of the movie goes through a few different locales as they attempt to solve the mystery of who was killed and why.  This presents enough scenarios to keep the film moving, but thankfully it doesn't ever feel like it is dragging on.  

However, although The Lovebirds is an entertaining film, it is not as funny as I expected.  There are several laugh out loud moments, and the couple are definitely funny together, but the a lot of the jokes fell flat.  This was surprising to me, given that I love both of the leads, but something about this just didn't hit all the time.  And the story, although entertaining, does have the pair make some pretty terrible decisions.  Finally, the film has some pretty bad CG and a few goofs in it, which was surprising coming for a big budget film.  It is only in a couple of places, but it is very noticeable.  And there are some odd little nits here, like when a silenced shot is fired from a gun that clearly doesn't have a silencer.  In the end, The Lovebirds is a funny journey to take and should provide enough entertainment for a happy quarantine night.

The Lovebirds has two funny leads with good chemistry and plenty of awkward humor in this ridiculous one night adventure.  

Rent it.