Not so As algorithmically formulaic as the title might suggest (though I still find something dystopian and Soylent-like about subgenre titles), Netflix's Office Romance is the story of a depressed but successful CEO who feels she's not allowed to fully express herself at work, even though she's running the company. Women like Jackie Cruz can rise to the top in today's world, but only if men still look down on them at every opportunity.
In Jackie's case, these men include her father (Edward James Olmos as "Captain" Jack), who handed Air Cruz over to his daughter but still lords it over the regional airline as if she couldn't run it herself, and her business rivals, who baselessly accuse her of having an affair with an executive at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in exchange for access to his gate. She is infantilized and hypersexualized within the space of a single board meeting, as the men in her airspace can't help but perceive her as a woman first and an industry titan second (a dilemma Jackie tries to resolve by becoming a celibate workaholic).
Needless to say, Jackie is deeply embarrassed when her company's new general counsel—a gravelly-voiced Brit (Brett Goldstein as Daniel Blanchflower) who disdains the puritanical rules of modern office culture but deeply respects his boss—shows off a visibly erection upon their first handshake (Jackie notices and dismisses it as a simple "awkward moment!"). He perceives her as both a beautiful woman and a domineering bitch, each perception of his employer perfectly distinct from the other. For Jackie, it's a dream come true, but can the 56-year-old really dare to have it all?
The American film industry is obviously, teeming 50-something actresses might be cast as Jackie Cruz in a glossy Netflix romantic comedy, but Office Romance stars Jennifer Lopez, a wildly charismatic Latina whose screen persona has sometimes been overshadowed by the roles white Hollywood has allowed her to play. Lopez, who has given stellar performances in films like Hustlers, Out of Sight, and even a self-financed ode to Ben Affleck, This Is Me... Now: A Love Story, shines whenever she can indulge her natural sass (as she has done more confidently in her music career), but she falters when she tries to fit into pre-set genre archetypes—which is why her performance in the rightly panned Gigli is so much stronger than her roles in more formulaic films like Monster-in-Law and Second Act.
The most appealing thing about Office Romance, which would be utterly formulaic if not for its impressive cast of eccentric supporting characters, is the opportunity for Lopez to publicly navigate the extremes of her on-screen persona, exploring the frustrations of being a confident woman who has to tone it down to maintain her power. Directed by Ol Parker (Imagine Me & You), this summer fluff lacks the charm, wit, or chemistry needed to be anything special (though it doesn't deprived (all of it entirely), but it's kept afloat by how convincingly Lopez transforms Jackie from the prim, overworked daughter of a powerful businessman into a liberated executive who finds new power in being herself.
While this predictable and familiar trajectory might seem typical of a #GirlBoss-style romantic comedy, Goldstein and Joe Kelly's script adds a twist by questioning the premise of modern office culture. Things would be different if the characters' genders were reversed, or even if Daniel worked directly. under the command Whether it's Jackie's choice or not, "Office Romance" does raise the question of whether a zero-tolerance dating policy really makes sense in a society where people are forced to spend all their time at work.
Sydney, Jackie's second-in-command, is so deprived of relationships outside of Air Cruz that she opted for artificial insemination; now, roughly 97 weeks pregnant, she still comes into their rather high-rise New Jersey office complex every day to prevent men from putting her down. Sydney, predictably played brilliantly by Betty Gilpin (whose scornful reactions are easily the best part of the entire film), is a vigilant defender of Jackie's conventional success, her character weaponizing the best-friend archetype, an increasingly caustic satire on the lengths women go to to stay on top. What would she think of Jackie having an affair with the English lawyer representing her in her latest big case? "It would be like Helen of Troy sleeping with Mr. Bean.".
As for Daniel, he's gruff but brash—more Roy Kent than Hugh Grant—doing his best to maintain professionalism, even when his penis has other plans. He has a "Keep calm and carry on" mentality that stems from the need to care for his incarcerated older sister (Jodie Whittaker, whose character is in prison for reasons too outlandish and ridiculous to reveal here), but Jackie is tired of pretending she doesn't care. need to from life. And so on, and so on, until late-night legal consultations soon turn into a secret intrigue that could lead to her dismissal, and his deportation (and also dismissal).
Lopez and Goldstein, despite their telegenic presence, aren't particularly impressive onscreen, and it takes a while for their characters to relax enough for their flirtation to move beyond its strained phase. Rather than delve into the subtleties of their dynamic, Office Romance prefers to indulge in a variety of other business moments, which range from mildly amusing (Bradley Whitford as a trial-obsessed lawyer who nearly chokes on a burrito) to hilariously funny (Gilpin trying to hobble up the stairs) to somewhat banal (Tony Hale as an HR manager outraged by Daniel's frequent use of the word "bitch").
The worst part of all this is that it's only annoying because Jackie and Daniel's relationship is getting worse. less realistic once they start dating, as the script's penchant for absurdity—typically exemplified by the revelation of a particular fetish—prevents the characters from bonding deeply (their slow dance to a sensual bachata set to a Mazzy Star classic is deemed sufficient). The real reward lies in watching Jackie, along with the actress playing her, gradually shed the need to protect their brand, and the always charming Goldstein is content to play the simple agent of this change.
Sometimes this ease is expressed в There are moments of absurdity, such as the physical comedy of Jackie tripping over every conceivable object in a Dominican Republic hotel room as she and Daniel make their way to bed (part of a tropical sequence that underscores the borderline banality of the film's New Jersey setting, which Parker struggles to bring to life). But mostly, it's the nuances of Lopez's performance, which, while not her career's best, nonetheless feels uniquely important because it allows us to watch her bridge the gap between the more standard roles she's been cast in and what she's truly capable of.
While This Is Me... Now was a bit of a mess, Office Romance shows that Lopez is still determined to create work-life balance on her own terms, and that's enough to stick around to watch Jackie and Daniel get married.
Rating: B-
Office Romance will begin streaming on Netflix on Friday, June 5.
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