Office Romance review: Jennifer Lopez can do many things. Saving the film isn't one
Office Romance, starring Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein, released on Netflix with boardroom chaos and a workplace love story. Slick and watchable, the movie, however, never quite finds the charm or chemistry that makes a romcom linger.
Picture this: the soft glow of office lights, looming deadlines and hurried coffee runs and, amidst all, a budding office romance. Romantic, right? Well, that's a dream for everyone, something wishful, something like a reality for another lifetime, maybe.
Well, once you have pictured it and settled in dreaming about a potential meet-cute, let's get back to reality. One such story has dropped on Netflix today. Starring Jennifer Lopez (yes, back in the romcom game) and Brett Goldstein, Office Romance is a glossy OTT offering that promises the kind of fizzy, feel-good weekend escape.
After years of heavy lifting in roles like The Mother (2023) and Atlas (2024), it is nice to see JLo return to the territory where she built her early stardom [cue: The Wedding Planner (2001) and Maid in Manhattan (2002)]. The film lands on June 5, and on paper, it looks like a winner – sharp suits, boardroom banter, a forbidden office fling with just enough edge to feel grown-up. Yet what unfolds is something more complicated – you know the one that knows the recipe but keeps forgetting the seasoning.
Lopez plays Jackie Cruz, the no-nonsense CEO of Air Cruz, the airline her father (played by Edward James Olmos) built from the ground up. So, when a damaging lawsuit threatens the company's expansion plans, in walks Daniel Blanchflower, played by Brett. He is British, who is equal parts competent and comically out of place. What begins as a "strictly professional" rescue mission quickly turns personal (readers: you saw this coming from a mile away, didn't you?), complicated by the film's ironclad no-fraternisation rule. The setup is classic: two lonely hearts, some office air and chemistry that refuses to stay hidden.
Before we get into what happens next, let me point out that there's nothing "dreamy" about their meet-cute in the film. In fact, there is no meet-cute at all. So, when Rancho (Aamir Khan) in 3 Idiots said a meet-cute is supposed to have "wind blowing, flowers blooming, violins playing, or even the moon looking bigger", none of that happens here. The film actually deprives viewers of feeling those butterflies. For a movie marketed as a romantic drama, that's pretty disappointing.
Halfway through the film, you realise it is trying hard to sell itself as a racier, R-rated update on the old formula. It opens with both Jackie and Daniel enduring painfully awkward dates, setting up their inevitable connection with almost surgical precision. There is a getaway to the Dominican Republic, heated depositions that thaw into flirtation, and the inevitable moment when work and desire collide. Yet for all the talk of being “naughty,” the execution feels oddly restrained.
A much-hyped handshake scene, where Daniel’s body betrays him in the most obvious way, is meant to shock and amuse. Instead, it lands somewhere between uncomfortable and unconvincing, like the film cannot quite commit to its own boldness. The supposed spice mostly boils down to a few double entendres, and the occasional swear word (spoiler: c**t) that feels dropped in for streaming credit rather than genuine mischief.
Jennifer Lopez carries the film on her shoulders with the ease of someone who has done this dance many times before. She looks every inch the powerful boss - tailored dresses, commanding presence, and that unmistakable star quality that makes even routine boardroom scenes watchable. You believe her when she snaps at underlings or wrestles with the weight of being labelled a nepo baby. There is an ache beneath that glamour, especially in scenes where Jackie admits how little room is left for her personal life. It is the kind of performance that makes you keep coming back to her.
Brett Goldstein, who also co-wrote the script, fares less well. His Daniel is written as the awkward outsider – football jokes, fumbling charm, and all – but the character never quite gels with the polished world around him. The humour often feels forced, like someone trying too hard to stand out in a room full of sleek professionals. Their chemistry sparks in patches, particularly during late-night work sessions where admiration slowly tips into attraction, but it never quite ignites into the irresistible pull the story needs. You root for them because the genre demands it, not because their connection feels destined.
Director Ol Parker, who proved he could make magic with Ticket to Paradise (2022), seems strangely restrained here. The supporting cast, including a broadly played colleague from Betty Gilpin, adds just enough spark. A pregnancy subplot aimed at laughs lands with a thud (watch out for the explicit graphics) and the workplace satire stays surface-level, offering predictable jabs at corporate culture that never cut deep. Even the background score, with its upbeat but generic pop tracks, fails to lift the quieter emotional beats or give the Dominican escape the romantic swell it deserves.
There are moments, though, that catch you off guard. A late confrontation where Jackie stands in front of her team and finally chooses honesty over perfection carries real weight. In those few minutes, you feel the frustration of a woman who has spent years proving herself, and Lopez sells it with genuine vulnerability. Sadly, it is a reminder of what Office Romance could have been if it had trusted its emotional core instead of chasing every romcom checklist.
Office Romance is not a disaster. It is polished, easy to watch, and offers the comforting shape of a story we have loved before. For anyone craving a couple of hours with Lopez looking fabulous and falling in love, it will probably scratch the itch. But, for romance paglus like me, it lacks the crackle, the surprise, and the heart that turn a decent romance into something memorable.
Picture this: the soft glow of office lights, looming deadlines and hurried coffee runs and, amidst all, a budding office romance. Romantic, right? Well, that's a dream for everyone, something wishful, something like a reality for another lifetime, maybe.
Well, once you have pictured it and settled in dreaming about a potential meet-cute, let's get back to reality. One such story has dropped on Netflix today. Starring Jennifer Lopez (yes, back in the romcom game) and Brett Goldstein, Office Romance is a glossy OTT offering that promises the kind of fizzy, feel-good weekend escape.
After years of heavy lifting in roles like The Mother (2023) and Atlas (2024), it is nice to see JLo return to the territory where she built her early stardom [cue: The Wedding Planner (2001) and Maid in Manhattan (2002)]. The film lands on June 5, and on paper, it looks like a winner – sharp suits, boardroom banter, a forbidden office fling with just enough edge to feel grown-up. Yet what unfolds is something more complicated – you know the one that knows the recipe but keeps forgetting the seasoning.
Lopez plays Jackie Cruz, the no-nonsense CEO of Air Cruz, the airline her father (played by Edward James Olmos) built from the ground up. So, when a damaging lawsuit threatens the company's expansion plans, in walks Daniel Blanchflower, played by Brett. He is British, who is equal parts competent and comically out of place. What begins as a "strictly professional" rescue mission quickly turns personal (readers: you saw this coming from a mile away, didn't you?), complicated by the film's ironclad no-fraternisation rule. The setup is classic: two lonely hearts, some office air and chemistry that refuses to stay hidden.
Before we get into what happens next, let me point out that there's nothing "dreamy" about their meet-cute in the film. In fact, there is no meet-cute at all. So, when Rancho (Aamir Khan) in 3 Idiots said a meet-cute is supposed to have "wind blowing, flowers blooming, violins playing, or even the moon looking bigger", none of that happens here. The film actually deprives viewers of feeling those butterflies. For a movie marketed as a romantic drama, that's pretty disappointing.
Halfway through the film, you realise it is trying hard to sell itself as a racier, R-rated update on the old formula. It opens with both Jackie and Daniel enduring painfully awkward dates, setting up their inevitable connection with almost surgical precision. There is a getaway to the Dominican Republic, heated depositions that thaw into flirtation, and the inevitable moment when work and desire collide. Yet for all the talk of being “naughty,” the execution feels oddly restrained.
A much-hyped handshake scene, where Daniel’s body betrays him in the most obvious way, is meant to shock and amuse. Instead, it lands somewhere between uncomfortable and unconvincing, like the film cannot quite commit to its own boldness. The supposed spice mostly boils down to a few double entendres, and the occasional swear word (spoiler: c**t) that feels dropped in for streaming credit rather than genuine mischief.
Jennifer Lopez carries the film on her shoulders with the ease of someone who has done this dance many times before. She looks every inch the powerful boss - tailored dresses, commanding presence, and that unmistakable star quality that makes even routine boardroom scenes watchable. You believe her when she snaps at underlings or wrestles with the weight of being labelled a nepo baby. There is an ache beneath that glamour, especially in scenes where Jackie admits how little room is left for her personal life. It is the kind of performance that makes you keep coming back to her.
Brett Goldstein, who also co-wrote the script, fares less well. His Daniel is written as the awkward outsider – football jokes, fumbling charm, and all – but the character never quite gels with the polished world around him. The humour often feels forced, like someone trying too hard to stand out in a room full of sleek professionals. Their chemistry sparks in patches, particularly during late-night work sessions where admiration slowly tips into attraction, but it never quite ignites into the irresistible pull the story needs. You root for them because the genre demands it, not because their connection feels destined.
Director Ol Parker, who proved he could make magic with Ticket to Paradise (2022), seems strangely restrained here. The supporting cast, including a broadly played colleague from Betty Gilpin, adds just enough spark. A pregnancy subplot aimed at laughs lands with a thud (watch out for the explicit graphics) and the workplace satire stays surface-level, offering predictable jabs at corporate culture that never cut deep. Even the background score, with its upbeat but generic pop tracks, fails to lift the quieter emotional beats or give the Dominican escape the romantic swell it deserves.
There are moments, though, that catch you off guard. A late confrontation where Jackie stands in front of her team and finally chooses honesty over perfection carries real weight. In those few minutes, you feel the frustration of a woman who has spent years proving herself, and Lopez sells it with genuine vulnerability. Sadly, it is a reminder of what Office Romance could have been if it had trusted its emotional core instead of chasing every romcom checklist.
Office Romance is not a disaster. It is polished, easy to watch, and offers the comforting shape of a story we have loved before. For anyone craving a couple of hours with Lopez looking fabulous and falling in love, it will probably scratch the itch. But, for romance paglus like me, it lacks the crackle, the surprise, and the heart that turn a decent romance into something memorable.
