What's Love Got to Do with It?

PG-13

Released May 5, 2023

1 hr. 30 min.

Romance

Comedy

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List

71%

110 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

How do you find lasting love in today's world? For documentary-maker and dating app addict Zoe (Lily James), swiping right has only delivered an endless stream of Mr. Wrongs, to her eccentric mother Cath's (Emma Thompson) dismay. For Zoe's childhood friend and neighbor Kaz (Shazad Latif), the answer is to follow his parents' example and opt for an arranged (or "assisted") marriage to a bright and beautiful bride from Pakistan. As Zoe films his hopeful journey from London to Lahore to marry a stranger, chosen by his parents, she begins to wonder if she might have something to learn from a profoundly different approach to finding love.

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Critics Consensus

What's Love Got to Do with It? is a standard issue romantic comedy in many respects, but a pair of appealing leads help make this love story more crowd-pleasing than not.

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Sahar

Such wrong representation of a culture. Also yet again, a white savior saving a family from a ‘supposedly’ repressed culture!! This cliche has been used so many times that it has lost its uniqueness! Very predictable ending!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/09/23

Full Review

Nad A

A terrible clichè - the lack of empathy and willingness to understand the cultural differences. The cowardly nature of the main male lead verses the bullish poor attempts of a protagonist female lead makes for an awful take on "assisted" marriages. Not to mention the awful script coupled with stereotypes.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

04/03/24

Full Review

Kyle M

Is there some sort of connection between the general appeal of the romantic genre and real-life romances for those who absorbed themselves in love stories? Those narratives establish the personas to be matched then evaluated through personified obstacles, unveiling the flaws till the mutual realization of the love in between. No matter how cheesy nor how often the cheesy formula gets reused with slight deviations and same predictability, they've proven themselves as feel-good, or guilty, pleasures for those with similar pursuits. What signifies as compelling is a truly intriguing attempt at putting different spins that actually challenge the genre – or if applicably relates to positional stances. Shekhar Kapur asks, "What's Love Got to Do With It?", conclusively answering in a standard fashion after the dimensional "will they, won't they" thing. Beneath the eponymous question, it's also been asked about how do you find lasting love in today's world? Zoe (Lily James), renowned documentary filmmaker, has been an addictive presence in the dating app platform swiping right on Mr. Wrongs, much to her eccentric mother's (Emma Thompson) dismay. Zoe's childhood friend and neighbor Kaz (Shazad Latif) opted in following his parents' example in traditional arranged (or "assisted") marriage to a bright and beautiful bride from Pakistan. Zoe decides to document his journey through heritage culture and getting to know the stranger he's going to marry. Her initial proposal shifts to learning from this experience for herself in finding love. The inevitably blossoming bond between the two childhood friends as the main pair-up already gets thought of as a safe bet towards the outcome considering how most stories gone for the usual "happily ever after" effect with cheesy ignorance. What really compelled its watchability is based on prior knowledge of the strict setup regarding arranged marriages – though honestly not much afterwards which should've been explored here. It nicely plays with the "will they, won't they" pondering throughout the dimensional scope akin to film-within-film subject-wise under generic, narrative limitations between both settings. Started conversationally strong with a firm grasp on the discourse sweetly advocating those romantic traditions, till it loosens as it regresses to standardized, cheesy norms. The main shared perspective that ideally resonates is Zoe's pursuit relatedly grounded in spoken volumes, while expressing traditional forms of love that can be generally applied in certain rooted aspects. Zoe's documentarian skills seek cultural insight as the beneficiary factor adjacent to the stranger romance, having a similar effect to that as a regular documented topic providing a secondary exploration. All the angles been considered and seemingly questioned, especially the Pakistani culture being well-covered to exhibited designs, albeit awkwardly approached due to her friend's reluctant participance in allowing personal access for coerced gain that transitionally lead to confronting her supposed understanding of love if she's been sheltering herself cynically with filters getting narrower. If it weren't for her subjective thoroughness that involves re-opening a family's estranged wound, refusing to leave out possible countermeasures to the topic that furthers enlightenment, we wouldn't get a sweet payoff at the end for a whole other reason. Performatively built by a nice cast with emotionally-immersed conviction, and few well-delivered monologues, in portraying their characters to their faults, charmingly led by Lily James as Zoe. Their collective efforts and paired chemistry put on enough gloss to attract amid its themes. So, "What's Love Got to Do With It?" Well after watching this romantic gesture, the simple answer remains indifferent as it's only been obligated to eventually fall into the familiar routines rather than fleshing out in commitment to its discourse. Was it supposed to advocate in supporting arranged marriages, or suggesting one's own path without a solid, realistic lead? Even so, it remains thoughtful and typically enjoyable if you're into such cheese. The recommendation's debatable since it doesn't quite stand out much among other decent rom-coms, but overall a pleasant dating endeavor. (B)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/24

Full Review

Herbert F

A really enjoyable story about how different cultures view love and relationships. A bit predictable but with a few curves. Only suggestion is to stream with subtitles as the dialog is heavy with cultural accents. Currently streaming for free on Kanopy.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

Full Review

Brigitte D

An honest story about honest love. Great actors, especially Emma Thompson at her funniest as Zoe's mother. A story of childhood neighbors of different cultures declaring their love at the most critical points in their life. A sweet Valentine movie, highly recommended!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/06/24

Full Review

Jonah B

Predictable writing and shallow relationships and acting makes for a lukewarm film.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/01/23

Full Review

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Shekhar Kapur

Director

Lily James

Zoe Stevenson

Shazad Latif

Kaz Khan

Emma Thompson

Cath Stevenson

Shabana Azmi

Aisha Khan

Taj Atwal

Sumaira Khan

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What's Love Got to Do with It?: Trailer 1

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Whelan Barzey

Time Out

The non-judgmental message – that there are endless routes to finding love and that no one owns the map – may not be revolutionary, but Jemima Khan’s modern, personal spin on the concept gives it a likeable new freshness.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 25, 2023

Full Review

Udita Jhunjhunwala

Livemint

Written by Jemima Khan and directed by Shekhar Kapur, ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ is an easy-breezy romantic comedy infused with warmth and lightness.

Jun 1, 2023

Full Review

Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

It's pure formula, but both of these actors are so attractive and likable that they carry you along/

May 17, 2023

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

What’s Love Got to Do With It? fares best in its breezy, entertaining first half...

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 30, 2023

Full Review

John Serba

Decider

What’s Love’s entire emphasis is on finding a happy medium between differing philosophies, and it does so with the quiet, assured conviction that so many similar rom-coms lack.

Sep 26, 2023

Full Review

Shilajit Mitra

The Hindu

Love, contractually...

Sep 12, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

How do you find lasting love in today's world? For documentary-maker and dating app addict Zoe (Lily James), swiping right has only delivered an endless stream of Mr. Wrongs, to her eccentric mother Cath's (Emma Thompson) dismay. For Zoe's childhood friend and neighbor Kaz (Shazad Latif), the answer is to follow his parents' example and opt for an arranged (or "assisted") marriage to a bright and beautiful bride from Pakistan. As Zoe films his hopeful journey from London to Lahore to marry a stranger, chosen by his parents, she begins to wonder if she might have something to learn from a profoundly different approach to finding love.

Director: Shekhar Kapur
Executive Producer: Sarmad Masud, Ron Halpern, Anna Marsh, Joe Naftalin, Sarah Harvey, Lucas Webb, Katherine Pomfret
Screenwriter: Jemima Khan, Jemima Khan
Distributor: SHOUT! STUDIOS
Production Co: The Searchers NV, Instinct Productions, Working Title Films, StudioCanal
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Drug Material|A Sexual Reference|Some Suggestive Material|Strong Language)
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 5, 2023, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $75.0K

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