Marry Me (2022 film)

Marry Me is a 2022 American romantic comedy drama film starring Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, and Maluma. Superstar Kat Valdez (Lopez) decides to marry Charlie Gilbert (Wilson), a math teacher holding a "Marry Me" sign, after learning that her on-stage bridegroom, Bastian (Maluma), has been having an affair. It is directed by Kat Coiro based on a screenplay by John Rogers, Tami Sagher, and Harper Dill. Based on the 2012 webcomic of the same title by Bobby Crosby.^[1]

The film was announced in April 2019, with Lopez and Wilson set to star and Coiro joining the project as director. Universal Pictures acquired the film distribution rights in July 2019. Principal photography took place in Manhattan in October and November 2019. A soundtrack album of the same name by Lopez and Maluma was also produced. The lead single, titled "Pa' Ti", was released on September 24, 2020, and debuted at number nine on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs, marking Lopez's highest chart debut in the United States since 2017.^[2]

Marry Me premiered in Los Angeles on February 9, 2022, and was released in the United States theatrically and simultaneously available on Peacock Premium on February 11. It was delayed twice from an original February 2021 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film received positive reviews from critics, grossing $56.5 million against a budget of $23 million.^[3] On streaming, Marry Me became the most-streamed day-and-date title on Peacock.^[4]

Superstar Kat Valdez is a well-known figure in the Latin community who has had four failed high-profile marriages. After "Marry Me", a song by Kat and her fiancé, Bastian, becomes a chart-topper across the world, they plan to hold their wedding ceremony in front of a streaming audience at one of Kat's concerts.

As Kat’s life seems trouble free, a divorced, more simple math teacher Charlie Gilbert is having problems lately connecting with his daughter Lou who is starting seventh grade. She is transferring to the same school her father works and is reluctant to join the math club despite the fact she made it to the Mathalon finals at her last school. Meanwhile Charlie’s friend, Parker the guidance counselor of the school has been supportive of the situation but she doesn’t approve of the fact that the more he tries connecting with Lou, the more desperate he becomes.

In the meantime despite Bastian and Kat’s relationship seemingly being perfect, Kat is wondering if a concert wedding would be worth it. She wonders if she could just spend time with him at the beach. Bastian believes she deserves the best, especially as 20 million people will be watching the marriage unfold. Meanwhile the public and the media are making jokes about Kat’s marriage history. Despite this, they are excited for the big day.

The day of the big concert, Kat and her team are excited for the event. Meanwhile Parker who had planned to take her girlfriend Roxy and another woman to concert, just got rudely dumped over text. Parker confides in Charlie and decides to invite him instead. Charlie is reluctant to accept the invitation because he doesn’t know much about the media and the star, as well as not being a big concert. Since Parker has three tickets, she suggests for Charlie to take Lou with him so they can bond for once.

That night, millions of people are streaming and attending the concert. Kat performs her songs first before Bastian has his turn. When they perform together is when they will exchange vows. Meanwhile Lou has a blast and Parker who is also having fun makes a video on social media rubbing it in her ex girlfriend’s face. Charlie who doesn’t always understand the concert is having fun and he’s happy to see his daughter smile for the first time in a while.

Just as Kat prepares to go to the altar while Bastian performs, a showbiz gossip website publishes a video of Bastian's infidelity with her assistant Tyra. Kat's manager, Colin finds Tyra in Bastian’s dressing room. While some people in the audience are enjoying Bastian’s music, some people are looking at the gossip website in shock. Eventually Kat finds out what’s going on after Bastian tries to compliment her and Colin moves her away from him. Colin shows Kat the video as she is about to go on stage, causing her to have a breakdown by the time she gets on stage. As she announces to the audience about her situation, Bastian who has no remorse finds out he has been busted. As people in the audience are chatting and filming, Kat notices that Charlie appears to be level headed, even listening to her speech. Since Charlie is holding Parker’s sign reading “Marry Me”, Kat decides to pick him much to the surprise of the crowd.

Unsure and anxious Charlie gets pushed through the crowd to the stage. Then they impulsively exchange vows and kiss in front of the world. Lou and Parker watch Charlie proudly and they cheer. Then Lou goes to her mom’s house after the ceremony.

After the ceremony, as Charlie and Kat leave backstage, Tyra and Bastian try to follow them. They both try to make excuses of their actions. First Tyra attempts to explain herself, but Kat is not having it and refuses to speak to her. Then Kat and Bastian get into an intensive fight as Bastian gets defensive. When Charlie breaks it up, Bastian suddenly insults Charlie’s appearance in a prejudice manner. As Colin steps in to help de escalate the situation and guide Charlie and Kat out, Bastian gets into a physical fight with security.

Charlie manages to escort Kat to a car they’re riding in. The two are awkward and polite to each other. On their way to Kat’s home, Charlie who has been baffled by the whole thing comforts her as he understands Kat must’ve cared about Bastian. They apologize to each other for what happened before Kat goes home with a broken heart. Colin checks up on Kat as she confides in him.

In the meantime Charlie and Kat are all over the media. The following day, there is a need to respond to the frenzied media coverage and speculation about Kat’s mental state. Colin explains about Charlie’s background and how he’s the least problematic. To put a positive spin on the situation as well getting to know Charlie, she decides to stay married to him even if it is for a few months. Colin and especially Charlie are reluctant. Charlie doesn’t want to cause a stir either of their personal lives and Colin believes Kat would look even crazier. Despite this, Colin is on board. Meanwhile it takes longer for Charlie to settle in.

In the meantime, Kat genuinely thinks Charlie is cute as he and Parker meet her. Charlie also finds Kat to be beautiful despite his hesitation. Kat’s team initially aren’t understanding. Parker and Kat’s other assistant Melissa motivate him boldly to go for it. However it was Kat’s calm demeanor toward him and her confidence when she notices his discomfort during the press is what puts Charlie at ease despite the discomfort. After the press conference, Kat’s team finally becomes more understanding.

Over the past few weeks, Kat and Charlie are getting to know each other. Lou believes this will be good for Charlie to come out of his shell. Charlie still believes the whole thing is crazy but he is willing to stick with the plan. After filming for the Today Show, Kat decides to jump into Charlie’s world by getting a tour of his home. Once Kat’s crew leaves and Kat skips her usual social media content for that evening, Charlie finally opens up. He and Kat reveal about their relationships with their respective exes. While Charlie has lost hope when it comes to marriage after a divorce, Kat believes in marriage after 3 previous toxic marriages. She even reveals about how challenging it was for her to get nominated before she met Bastian. As they take a walk around the block, they declare they are zoo mates.

Although Charlie is still having to run away from Paparazzi Charlie finally jumps into Kat’s world to see what her life is like. Not only Charlie’s relationship with Kat grows, he also begins to become closer to his daughter once again. Lou finally decides to join the math club. As Charlie and Kat talk more often, he finally reveals that Lou is going through more than adolescence and why she was against joining the math club. Despite being phenomenal at math to the point she made it to the Mathalon finals, Lou has anxiety when it comes to public speaking and being on stage. The kids in the competition and in her previous school would also bully her relentlessly. During the finals the previous year, Lou’s anxiety was so bad that she froze causing her to lose the Mathalon.

One day during math club, Kat shows up much to Charlie and the class’ surprise. The student ask her questions. Kat finally gets to meet Lou. As Charlie is about to go back to the Mathalon training and has Lou come up to do a problem. The kids ask if they can ask Kat more questions and a student reveals what Charlie had previously told Kat about Lou’s anxiety when it comes getting up in front of people. Lou is embarrassed but Kat reveals to her that she also gets stage fright as she forgot a song once in a concert. To help Lou as well as her classmates, Kat teaches the students a dance to help take their mind off when they get anxious. Once Charlie asks Lou a question, Lou answers with confidence much to his excitement. Eventually the kids, Kat, her team and the teachers in the room all dance. Charlie watches with pride.

Later on, Lou and Charlie visit Kat at her home. As Kat struggles to write her song, she bonds with Lou. Lou explains that whenever she struggles with homework her dad would tell her “If you sit in the question long enough the answer will find you.” However they both agree that they don’t sit in the question long enough. Lou asks if Kat really loves her dad despite his quirks. Kat tells Lou that Charlie has told her that Lou is the best thing about her, much to her agreement. Kat decides to give Lou one of the bags from the rack of merchandise for a donation company called Dress for Success she works with, much to Lou’s delight.

Afterwards Charlie and Kat sit down to chat. Charlie compliments her natural beauty and Kat tells him he’s a wonderful teacher. Charlie eventually asks Kat to a school dance as a date, and she accepts. The school dance is a ball. Everyone had so much fun and glee club does a performance of Marry Me. Later that night Charlie shows a song he loved especially when his mother was alive because they would watch musicals. Charlie and Kat dance to the song and eventually they genuinely kiss for the first time, even sleep together.

Over the next few weeks, Kat and Charlie are in a real romantic relationship. However when Bastian shows up to announce that "Marry Me" has been nominated for a Grammy, Kat's first nomination, Charlie becomes wary again. Charlie is wary of the fact that Kat and Bastian will have to perform together again, but she insists it is over between them. However, Charlie becomes unsure that he can compare to Bastian and fit into Kat's world: reasoning that their marriage was never real to begin with, he breaks up with her.

Kat writes a love song, "On My Way", that becomes more successful than "Marry Me". While filming an appearance on The Tonight Show with Bastian, Kat realizes it is the night before the mathalon, where she promised to support Lou and Charlie. She corrects rumors, stating that she and Bastian are not back together and she did not write "On My Way" for Bastian but for Charlie, she then abruptly departs the show.

Rushing to reunite with Charlie, who is helping Lou overcome her stage fright with the dance Kat taught her. The other teams in the competition start mocking Lou and their teachers are allowing it to happen, much to Charlie and his students’ disgust. The kids eventually stop their disrespect once they see Kat Valdez enter. In the Mathalon, despite finally answering confidently, it was at the same time as the buzz, causing Lou once again to lose Mathalon. Despite this, her classmates are very supportive and she accepts it when her dad embraces her. Kat also tells Lou how proud she is before holding up a sign asking Charlie to marry her again, to which Charlie agrees. Charlie and Kat embrace.

Over time, Lou officially has two step parents in her family. One on her mom’s side and one on her dad’s. Lou is seen bonding with her dad and Kat on the couch. In the credits, a series of couples and their stories of how they met are shown.

• Jennifer Lopez as Katalina "Kat" Valdez
• Owen Wilson as Charlie Gilbert
• Maluma as Bastian
• John Bradley as Colin
• Chloe Coleman as Lou Gilbert
• Sarah Silverman as Parker
• Utkarsh Ambudkar as Coach Manny
• Michelle Buteau as Melissa
• Jameela Jamil as Anikah

In addition, Today host Hoda Kotb and The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon make cameo appearances, as hosts of their shows.

In April 2019, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson would star in the romantic comedy film Marry Me. Kat Coiro would direct, from a screenplay by John Rogers, Tami Sagher, and Harper Dill, based upon the webcomic of the same name by Bobby Crosby, and STX Entertainment would distribute.^[5] In July 2019, it was announced Universal Pictures would distribute the film instead of STX.^[6] That same month, Sarah Silverman, John Bradley, and Maluma joined the cast of the film.^[7] Michelle Buteau, Jameela Jamil, and Chloe Coleman were cast in October.^[8][9][10] Principal photography began in and around New York City in October 2019,^[11] and concluded on November 22.^[12]

Marry Me had its world premiere in Los Angeles on February 9, 2022.^[13] It was released in theaters on February 11, 2022, by Universal Pictures.^[14] It was previously set for February 12, 2021, but was delayed to May 14, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, until it was moved to February 11, 2022, because of another shift in the release schedule.^[15][16] It was available for streaming on Peacock the same day.^[17] Universal spent $15 million in television commercials promoting the film by the time it premiered in theaters. According to social media analytic RelishMix, the film had a large social media reach of 546.5 million interactions, a number larger than other musicals like 2021's West Side Story at 211.8 million interactions, 2017's The Greatest Showman at 313.2 million, and 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody at 242.1 million.^[18]

Marry Me was released on digital platforms and on Amazon Prime Video on March 13, 2022, and on Blu-ray and DVD on March 29, 2022, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.^[19]

Marry Me grossed $22.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $28.0 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $50.5 million,^[20] against a budget of $23 million.^[21] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an 80% positive score, with 66% saying they would definitely recommend it.^[22]

In the United States and Canada, Marry Me was released alongside Death on the Nile and Blacklight, and was projected to gross $6–11 million from 3,642 theaters in its opening weekend.^[21] The film went on to debut to $7.9 million, finishing third behind Death on the Nile and holdover Jackass Forever.^[23] On Valentine's Day, the movie earned first place at the box office with $3 million, making it the first romantic comedy to lead the Valentine's Day box office since 2014's About Last Night.^[24][25] The film finished third in its second weekend, with $3.7 million, sixth in its third weekend, with $1.9 million, then was cut back to 1,211 theatres for its fourth weekend, dropping out of the domestic box office top ten when it earned $0.6 million.^[23]

Outside the U.S. and Canada, the film grossed $16.5 million in its opening weekend from 65 international markets. The film earned $5.2 million in its second weekend,^[26] $2.7 million in its third,^[27] and $1.1 million in its fourth from 67 markets.^[28]

Marry Me became the most-streamed day-and-date film on Peacock, according to Comcast CEO and chairman Brian L. Roberts.^[4][29][30] In April 2022, Deadline Hollywood reported that over six million Peacock accounts had streamed the film.^[31] In June 2022, it also became a hit on Amazon Prime, staying at number one for about 2 weeks.^[32]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 61% of 216 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Marry Me's silly storyline is heavy on the 'something old' and 'something borrowed,' but the movie's well-matched leads make it easy to say 'I do.'"^[33] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[34]

Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Those hoping the film might push the genre to its most extravagant limits may be surprised at how (relatively) low-key their love story ends up being. But sometimes that's the most pleasurable kind of fairy tale — one so close to convincing, you can forget for a spell that it's all just a dream."^[35] Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote that "[the] bar for rom-coms is not high, and this one, ludicrous as it often is, inches over the bar. But I would no more call it a good movie than I'd pretend fast food is high in nutrients."^[36]

• Official website
• Marry Me at IMDb