REVIEW: ‘Office Romance’ Has Heat And Humor But Struggles With The Story

At first glance (second, even), Office Romance, directed by Ol Parker and written by Brett Goldstein and Joe Kelly, doesn’t seem real. Frankly, it looks like a hyper-specific SNL skit. From Jennifer Lopez as a ‘I can do it all but romance’ airline CEO (and pilot), to the cringe-inducing soundbite dialogue, and a needle drop of “Somewhere Only We Know” in 2026, there’s a false air to the trailer that is both desperately dated and a product of our time.

It’s romance that’s going through the motions rather than trying to capture lightning in a bottle. The final product doesn’t so much scrub away that artifice as remind us that trailers are an art form, and the Office Romance trailer for the film does its overall quality a major disservice. 

This is, in fact, a real movie. It’s still not great. But kudos where kudos are due: Goldstein and Kelly’s script has clear reverence for Jennifer Lopez, the rom-com movie star. Outfitted with some genuine heat between leads and more outlandishly odd supporting characters than one might assume, Office Romance finds charm when it isn’t searching for purpose. It’s a solid enough after-hours hang, buzzy and dumb, meant for idle chatter rather than meaningful conversations. 

Office Romance is better than it looks, but it still suffers from a nonsensical plot.

Lopez stars as Jackie Cruz, the CEO of an airline and a licensed pilot who, despite her clear success, is still micromanaged by her father, the former CEO, and a board of directors that belittle or sexualize her. She establishes stability by choosing celibacy, and there’s a rule for her entire company: romance is off the table between coworkers. 

Enter Daniel Blanchflower (Brett Goldstein), a lawyer she hires who is instantly smitten with her (valid). And he doesn’t keep this to himself, both through her genuine verbal gasp at her appearance and, later, a mishap where he gets a little too excited over a handshake. Things progress from there as the two waste little time in getting to know one another better, moving fast past mutual physical attraction to love. 

This includes tropical island escapades and misguided elevator make-out sessions, all in an effort to prove to us that these silly kids can’t keep their hands off of one another. And Lopez and Goldstein do have genuine, steamy chemistry that comes alive not just in moments of physical intimacy but also in their playful back-and-forth. There’s a real sense that the two enjoy simply existing around one another that sells the romance far more than the overarching narrative. 

The silliness of the story works to a point. 

Office Romance is objectively silly. And silliness can be a good thing – a very good thing. Because what makes us behave as such more than new love? And the romantic comedy is a genre that has always allowed for a level of suspension of disbelief – think of all of the amazing editorial jobs female protagonists have while still maintaining a brownstone apartment in New York? The escapism is the point. And it’s enough to make us roll our eyes over Jackie’s entire room dedicated to her Anglophile desires without hitting pause. But the film is so committed to forcing tension and stakes when the fun is in how the two unlikely people come together in the first place. 

Romance in general has always tended to be too interested in what might drive a couple apart rather than what keeps them together. And, as always, there’s a third-act near-breakup driven by misunderstandings that would have been understandable if these characters were in their teens or early 20s, not in their 40s and 50s. Sure, Goldstein and Kelly make jokes about Daniel’s disgust with Americans who are too ready to share their feelings, but it still rings false when, for the most part, Jackie and Daniel have been open and vulnerable with one another from the jump.

More than anything, Office Romance suffers from a disconnect between what we believe about the characters and how they behave. Because the situations they find themselves in are nonsensical. From the inability to keep it in their pants for the five-second elevator interlude to a public broadcasting of personal details, or Jackie snooping her way into meeting Daniel’s incarcerated sister,  Lizzy (Jodie Whittaker), the film takes these wild leaps to move the characters through the journey of their relationship when, instead, they might’ve kept it subdued. 

Betty Gilpin is the not-so-secret unhinged MVP of the Netflix romance.

It’s those wild tones that dictate the best and worst of Office Romance. Because while it makes it hard to accept the narrative of the romance, it also beckons in the best comedy. Betty Gilpin, in particular, as Jackie’s right-hand woman, Sydney, delivers a fantastic and manic performance.

Pregnant to the point of popping, Sydney refuses to go home, stubbornly takes the stairs, and arrives at work the day after a hellish and stubborn bout of labor. She is, without doubt, the not-so-hidden gem of the film. So much so that it feels like Goldstein and Kelly were having more fun writing the office gags and supporting characters than the main romance. 

This is increasingly clear with other supporting characters, such as Lizzy, who, in a fun off-the-cuff delivery from Whittaker, realizes she’s been arrested for decapitation. Amy Sedaris steals the show effortlessly, while actors such as Bradley Whitford, Tony Hale, and Brian Gallivan appear in brief roles that still allow their specific brand of humor to shine. 

Office Romance fizzles out despite the steam between Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein. 

And while there’s an effort to make the same true of Lopez and Goldstein, the writing struggles to make it work seamlessly. Lopez is wonderful as always and convinces us of Jackie’s insecurities, even if we can’t help but look at her beauty, poise, wealth, and go ‘really?’

Goldstein, meanwhile, remains charming even if he continues to lack naturalism. The artificial lighting (Netflix strikes again) and passionless direction from Parker do little to help amplify the best parts of either performance, making the sparks the two ignite all the more impressive. 

Office Romance, like so many throwaway Netflix romances, is great for folding laundry, doing dishes, or for those late-night, post-midnight movies you put on but don’t fully digest in lieu of endless YouTube time-sucks. There’s charm, and there’s chemistry, and there’s no denying that Lopez can make a meal out of even the most tepid dialogue. But despite a clear intent to capitalize on and weaponize the nostalgia for a certain bygone era of romantic comedies and Goldstein and Kelly’s off-kilter, sometimes hilarious sense of humor, Office Romance struggles to keep our attention. 

Office Romance is streaming now, exclusively on Netflix.