The Lovebirds - Genuinely Funny

Finding a modern comedy film that is genuinely funny is like trying to find the one flavor of Jelly Bean you really like amidst a giant bowl of other Jelly Benas. You know it's there, but it's difficult to find because of how similar it looks to some of the others. Plus, the ones you do try thinking it's your favorite only to discover that it tastes like something awful. You wind up looking for so long that you eventually give up and stop caring. Only for that one little Jelly Bean bursting with your favorite flavor at the end of your search. The Lovebirds may not be my new favorite comedy, but it is, in all honesty, the best modern comedy film I have seen in quite a while. This is great because, let's face it, we all need a good laugh right now.

The story follows a young couple, Leilani (Issa Rae) and Jibran (Kumail Nanjiani). They've been dating for four years but have hit a rough patch in their relationship and are considering breaking up. That is until, on their way to a friend's party, they accidentally hit a bicyclist who rides off shortly after the event. Only to immediately have their car commandeered by someone claiming to be a cop chasing a criminal. Which seems legit, right up until the "cop" corners the guy and runs him over with the car while Leilani and Jibran are still there. Fortunately, the "cop" runs off, leaving our couple holding the bag. Afraid of being wrongfully convicted of the crime, they run off together and decide that the best course of action is to figure out what just happened and bring evidence to the authorities. That is if they can work together without arguing the whole time.

This set up is a bit of a, shall we say, traditional one, and has mostly been used well in the past. In fact, The Lovebirds reminded me of another good comedy film titled Date Night. Which is basically the same idea and also equally well executed. What makes The Lovebirds work, and indeed what makes any variation of this situation work, is the chemistry between the two leads. These two are amazing together. They feed off each other's energy, have pitch-perfect comedic timing, and seem to be having an absolute blast with this material.

The comedy is absolutely genuine. Most of the time, modern comedic movies seem to think that gross-out humor, or sophomoric potty jokes, is enough to last an entire feature-length runtime. Needless to say, it is not! The Lovebirds seems to have some genuine comedic talent behind it. Not just in the cast but the writers as well. The jokes land, the mystery is intriguing, and the dialogue feels natural and is well delivered. All of which makes for a well-penned script that should put many other Hollywood comedy writers to shame.

The Lovebirds is the kind of comedy film we need more of. If you need something for a lot of laughs, check this one out. At the moment, it is available on Netflix.

Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm, thank you all for reading.