A heartbroken pop star (Jennifer Lopez), slated to marry her pop star fiancé (Maluma) on stage, instead marries a stranger from the audience – a high school math teacher (Owen Wilson). Against the odds, their relationship develops into something real…but can their love survive the limelight?
For in-depth thoughts on Marry Me, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment brings Marry Me to Blu-Ray with an excellent 1080p video presentation. The image is clean with the bright color palette popping off the screen. The film employs splashes of vivid colors within the clothing and production design, which makes for a very striking image. The presentation provides a significant amount of depth on display, especially in the interior shots. When this film goes into Charlie’s house or explores the various lavish hotels where Kat stays, the details present as impressively sharp in all lighting conditions. The film often employs an unappealing softness around the edge of the frame, but this disc is accurate to the look that was in theaters. The black levels are appropriately deep and inky, but digital noise does prove to be a minor issue at certain moments in the film. The flesh tones are natural with gentle nuances showcased well in close-ups and medium shots. This is as gorgeous of a presentation as any modern movie should provide on Blu-Ray. Universal has treated this one very well with this release.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that is quite excellent without being overbearing. Music plays a pivotal role in establishing the mood and trajectory of the narrative, and this track does a great job of filling the room in a truly enveloping way. Dialogue comes through clearly without ever falling victim to overlapping voices or a bombastic soundtrack. Everything is mixed perfectly with directionality accurately rendered across all channels. The sounds of the celebrity life provide a good amount of activity in the rear channels, such as paparazzi camera clicks, and music stirs up some intense activity in the low end. This track honors the spirit of the movie with an immersive journey that ranks as something worthy of praise.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Kat Coiro and Producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas deliver a sturdy commentary track which features pretty extended patches of silence, but there are some intriguing insights into the production process, filming before and during COVID, the scenes that were cut from the film, what Jennifer and Maluma brought from their real-life concert productions and more. This is not the most captivating listen, but die hard fans will probably appreciate it.
- Deleted Scenes: Eight scenes of unused material totaling nearly six minutes are provided here featuring Kat rehearsing for her show, Kat and Bastian planning for the future, Charlie in line to get into the concert that would change his life and more. There are some good moments here worth checking out if you are a fan.
- Gag Reel: A two-minute collection of laughing fits, malfunctioning props, flubbed lines and more.
- Jennifer Unveiled: A 12-minute piece featuring behind-the-scenes footage which gives you a glimpse at all of the hard work Lopez put in as an actress and a producer. There are some revealing interviews which go to show why this project was so personal for her.
- Behind The Camera – The Making Of Marry Me: A nearly six-minute piece which shows how the cast and crew came together to bring romance back to the silver screen in a way that has been missing for a while. The creative team discusses what makes this material so endearing and relevant.
- Turn It Up – The Music Of Marry Me: A six-minute featurette which takes a look at the original songs from J.Lo and Maluma, discover what they wanted these songs to achieve, the stories and meanings behind them, and how they collaborated even when they were countries apart.
- Live At Madison Square Garden: A five-minute look at the relationship between Kat and Bastian, and more importantly how they used real-life elements to capture some movie magic.
- Married With Style: A five-minute exploration of the efforts that were put into making the planned wedding as extravagant as the characters deserved from the set design to the choreography and more.
- “On My Way” Lyric Video: A three-minute lyric video set to moments from the film is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Marry Me is the type of smart and lovable romantic comedy that major studios have largely eschewed in recent years only for streamers to try to pick up the slack. Sure, you have to suspend your disbelief over certain plot elements, but the story is told with an open-hearted earnestness that makes up for any deficiencies in logic. Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson make for an endearing pair, and it shows that a little bit of star power can help elevate your film experience ever so slightly. Universal Picture Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray that sports fantastic A/V presentation and a few brief special features. This one is definitely worth a look if you miss well-made, big studio romantic comedies. Recommended
Marry Me is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
