‘Shotgun Wedding’ Non-Spoiler Review – An Rom-Com That Dies Hard To The End

Romantic comedies were a huge deal in the later parts of the 20th century, and Shotgun Wedding proves that this specific genre of cinematic storytelling is going through many rough patches, hopefully, a transition into a revitalized era. The film, directed by Jason Moore and written by Mark Hammer, seems to be an experiment in post-modern filmmaking, namely what is slowly becoming known in more recent years as “cross-genre”. Not only does the flick fall under the rom-com category, but it also qualifies as an action film.

Its lead duo–Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Lopez–are perfect examples of actors who can fare well in both categories. Duhamel is an action veteran, having appeared in the Transformers movies from 2007 to 2017. On the rom-com side of things, the actor has appeared in When in Rome, Life as We Know It, and Love, Simon. Jennifer Lopez (as many refer to her as “JLo”) has many rom-coms and action films credited to her name, including Anaconda, The Wedding Planner, Maid in Manhattan, Gigli, Shall We Dance?, Monster-in-Law, and What to Expect When You’re Expecting–although, let’s not forget she once played Selena over two decades ago. If it were not for its cast roster, Moore’s film would not be as good as it is, at least in my opinion.

In this review, I will be discussing Jason Moore’s Shotgun Wedding. There will be no spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion.

Please note that I have seen the entire film twice ahead of its release. I have also credited as many cast and crew members as I can.

Shotgun Wedding Plot Synopsis

According to Amazon Studios/ Prime Video’s press site, here is the synopsis for Shotgun Wedding.

In Shotgun Wedding, Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel) gather their lovable but very opinionated families for the ultimate destination wedding just as the couple begin to get cold feet. And if that wasn’t enough of a threat to the celebration, suddenly everyone’s lives are in danger when the entire party is taken hostage. “’Til Death Do Us Part” takes on a whole new meaning in this hilarious, adrenaline-fueled adventure as Darcy and Tom must save their loved ones—if they don’t kill each other first.

Amazon Studios/ Prime Video

Discussion

Maybe we are not too ready for a cross-genre film like Shotgun Wedding. On one hand, I like that the movie is more than just a romantic comedy and is not merely an action flick–it happens to fall under both and thus makes for an enjoyable experience. Still, if I had to gauge its excellence, I would not go so far as to say that it is the best rom-com or the best action film. Moore’s film does run into some lows and some highs along the way. Thus, it would be quite a challenge to call it immaculate.

Yes, a lot of cinematic elements that comprise the film’s final product make it come off as a good movie. Deming’s cinematography and Nowell’s aerial shots of the remote Philippine island are beautiful. Buckner et al’s set pieces for the Mahal Island Resort are wonderful, exhibiting the love that an East Asian country has to offer. I also love John Van Der Pool’s special effects, which have a couple of grenade explosions and a ton of fireworks displays. (Fireworks tend to be a huge thing in the Philippines, so I commend the crew for including that in the film.)

However, the visual effects do not work for me. Take the helicopter stunts or the zipline stunts, for instance. That part of the film just appears awkward to look at while watching the film. Travers’s costume designs for the bride, the groom, the wedding guests, and the pirates are appealing to me. I have no issue with how the characters physically appear. Yet, when it comes down to distinguishing between the different pirates (e.g. “Dog-Face”, “Rat-Face”, etc.), I do happen to run into some problems, not that they are too major in any way.

The Writing

Shotgun Wedding‘s screenplay is very R-rated in terms of action and dialogue.

In one scene on the night before the wedding ceremony, we see Darcy Rivera (Jennifer Lopez) seduce her soon-to-be husband, Tom Fowler (Josh Duhamel), into sex by sporting a t-shirt and no pants on. This is a spicy scene that unfortunately does not last long. Later in the film, we see Darcy attempting to outsmart one or two pirates. When this happened, I could not help but think, “These people are not that gullible and dim…right?” I do believe there could have been another way to achieve this than the way it was executed from script to screen so as to drive the story forward.

The best of its comedic lines comes from the character, Carol Fowler, portrayed masterfully by Jennifer Coolidge. With her in the film, it is difficult for everyone to keep up with her delivery, but we will get to that in a bit. Cheech Marin is hilarious at times as Darcy’s father, Robert Rivera, but he is more on the serious side of things.

The foreshadowing that leads to the two plot twists is not too clever. Although, one hint I do like is when one character refers to themselves as a Gemini zodiac sign, one of whose personality traits involves being deceptive.

In terms of plot structure, the film seems to be at its best by its final act, when we see who really runs the show and how matters are resolved–or try to be resolved. There is not a complete success in this, but I do appreciate the attempt at it.

Somewhere in East Asia…

As someone who is of Filipino descent, I am grateful to see a film take place in the Philippines, or rather, in an island resort on a remote Philippine island. Still, I do find it incumbent on me to criticize just how accurate the Filipino representation is in the film. Shotgun Wedding is set on a remote Philippine island–one of two thousand islands–that is close to Indonesia. In reality, the reality is filmed in the Dominican Republic with its forest landscape modeled in such a way as to give off the Philippine atmosphere. In fact, a lot of its actors who play East Asian characters are from other non-Philippine countries: Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Thailand, to name a few. Meanwhile, it seems that only two or three of the other East Asian actors have roots in the Philippines.

This could be an issue for the film if it were not for the plot twist in its third act, which makes matters seem reasonable. The movie’s opening scene teases this twist, and initially, I thought the “pirates” would be from the Abu Sayyaf, an actual militant separatist organization and pirate group that operates on the southern islands of the Philippines. If the pirates were to be from this group, the film would take a very serious and grave tone. Shotgun Wedding actually gets close to that. However, due to its romantic and comedic half, the action-thriller half gets a lot of levity. These two genres are not halves that writers can attempt to balance, then expect brilliant results by the end. As a story, it will encounter some complications as the narrative progresses.

Symbolism?

The film also has a great deal to do with pineapples, a symbolic staple of the Philippines. Although, I do wonder why the movie did not also utilize other fruits, like mangoes, calamansi (Philippine lime), bananas, jackfruits, etc. There is one action sequence in which a pirate is hit in the head with a pineapple, but other than that, I am puzzled by the imagery.

The Crew Behind Shotgun Wedding

Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman, Alexander Young, Jennifer Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, and Benny Medina serve as the producers of Shotgun Wedding. Bergen Swanson (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Widows, Army of the Dead, Rebel Moon), Ryan Reynolds, and George Dewey serve as the executive producers.

Peter Deming serves as the director of photography for the film, while David B. Nowell is the aerial DP.

Doc Crotzer is the editor, while Ulysses Guidotti is the additional editor. Aaron J. Brander and Jaime Sukonnik are the second additional editors. Ana Carballosa is the still photographer. Stephen J. Forest-Smith is the storyboard artist for the film.

Pinar Toprak scores the music for the film, while Julianne Jordan and Julia Michels serve as the music supervisors. Ben Holiday is the music editor.

Deanna Brigidi serves as the casting director. Alexandra Presas is the casting associate, while Dana Gaier is the casting assistant. Vanessa Flix is the local casting coordinator, while Maria Abreu and Mauricio Adrian are the local casting assistants.

Lee Morrison is the stunt coordinator for the film; Morrison also serves as the second unit director. David Grant is the assistant stunt coordinator.

Vanessa Vander Pluym and Michelle Jubilee González are the Darcy stunt doubles. Jeremy Fitzgerald and Alex Krimm are the Tom stunt doubles.

The Aesthetic End

N.C. Page Buckner serves as the production designer. Tamara Medrano, Tommy José Rodriguez Chireno, and Ivanna Bolonotto are the set designers for the film.

Lorelei Sainz Franco serves as the supervising art director, while Elvis Marinez Yang and Limber Vilorio are the art directors. Pamela Delgado, Scarlette Estrella Espinosa, Mariapaula Nadal, and Khalil Canaan are the assistant art directors. Tamar Barnoon is the set decorator, while Braulio Gil is the set decoration assistant.

John Van Der Pool serves as the special effects supervisor.

Mitchell Travers serves as the costume designer, while Jill Livingston is the assistant costume designer. Hillary Vicente Espinal, Larissa Gautreaux Urena, and Camila Cannan serve as set costumers. Jose Hernandez, Laurel Rose, Juan Lopez, and Becky Negrete are the costumers. Kelly Johnson is Jennifer Lopez’s costumer.

Debbie Zoller is the head of the makeup department. Kate Best is Jennifer Lopez’s makeup artist.

Mary L. Mastro is the head of the hair department. Lorenzo Martin is Jennifer Lopez’s hairstylist.

The Cast of Shotgun Wedding

Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel play Darcy Rivera and Tom Fowler, the respective bride and groom of Shotgun Wedding.

Lenny Kravitz plays Sean Hawkins, Darcy’s ex-fiance.

Jennifer Coolidge portrays Carol Fowler, Tom’s mother. Steve Coulter plays Larry Fowler, Tom’s father. Sonia Braga and Cheech Marin play Renata Ortiz and Robert Rivera, Darcy’s divorced mother and father, respectively.

D’Arcy Carden plays Harriet, Robert’s girlfriend. Callie Hernandez portrays Jamie Rivera, Darcy’s sister. Desmin Borges plays Ricky Silver, Tom’s best man.

Selena Tan and Alberto Isaac play Margy and Ace, a husband and wife working at the Mahal Island Resort, respectively. Melissa Hunter plays Jeannie, Tom’s younger sister.

Ray Raymundo plays Joel the Security Guard.

Iana Ramirez and Vlad Sosa play Gloria and Uncle Benny, respectively. Alan Nova, Elizabeth Thurra, Lia Lockhart, Arturo Duverge, Isaac Savinon, and José Guillermo Cortines appear as members of the bride’s (Darcy’s) family.

Maria del Mar Fernández plays Amanda. Sebastian Kahuna, Ruairi Kevin Rhoades, John Twohy, Louise Walter, Odile Horjus, and Darrin Brown appear as members of the groom’s (Tom’s) family.

Jose Mona plays Jerome the bartender. Jason Cao plays a waiter who flirts with Jeannie. Angelito Evangelista plays Ace’s assistant.

Pirates of the Philippines

The antagonistic “pirates” of the film are credited as follows:

• Pirate Leader (Pancho Cardeña)
• Dog-Face (Alex Mallari Jr.)
• Rat-Face (Tharoth Sam)
• Clown-Face (Worapoj Thuantanon)
• Shark-Face (Zachary Wood)
• Tiger-Face (Vladimir Acevedo)
• Ghost-Face (Powpong Kopholrat)
• Bone-Face (Hector Anibal)
• Lizard-Face (Aesia Munma)

Performances and Character Developments

Duhamel and Lopez have good chemistry as Tom and Darcy. There are a lot of proposals going on between them, not just with them proposing marriage, but also proposing ideas for how to get out of the situation they find themselves in. The two actors have the credibility to lead in dual genres, which makes for the film to be more palatable. They have great scenes together, e.g., in the bedroom, in a hotel kitchen, at the pool, on a dock, and more. Once you see them side-by-side, it makes it hard to watch the film with the two figures separated.

By comparison, we see that Tom’s best man Ricky Silver (Desmin Borges) and Darcy’s sister Jamie (Callie Hernandez) have a cohesive or drifting dynamic. However, there is insufficient time in the film to see that relationship flourish, which is a shame, and it just develops as much as we would like to see happen. Hopefully, there could be a sequel in which this would work. Of course, I am not sure what the chances are for that.

Throughout the film, Coolidge is a major scene-stealer as Carol Fowler, especially when we see her interacting with the other wedding guests. Much of her lines are absurd, but that makes me love the actor even more. She delivers these lines with a straight face, which is absolutely astonishing, and only allows for the dialogue to be outright hilarious. One of my favorite parts about Carol is her ability to lead and guide others, whether it is having the guests sing a wedding song or arming herself with an assault rifle. Perhaps it was wise for Hammer to write her in as a realtor.

Final Thoughts on Shotgun Wedding

Shotgun Wedding never aims to be a perfect movie or an Oscar-worthy film, but with all things considered, that is what makes it a damn good film. Its lead actors are convincing as a power couple with some flaws to be worked on. Coolidge is incredible, while the rest of the cast has great things to bring to the table yet cannot provide it all within an hour and forty-minute runtime.

As a rom-com, this can be a gem; and as an action movie, it is decent. If we are to look at it as a cross-genre film, there is some work to be done. Other than that, there is nothing to hate about it. It is something akin to Die Hard if it were to take place in American Wedding.

Shotgun Wedding streams via Prime Video on January 27th!

Are you a fan of rom-coms? If so, then which ones are your favorites? Let us know! For more action, comedy, and romance-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!