In 2023, Ke Huy Quan won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Since then, he’s had no significant leading roles, something that Love Hurts aims to change going forward. An action rom-com from John Wick production company 87North, Love Hurts aims to provide a showcase for Ke Huy Quan‘s affability as well as his physical prowess. Unfortunately for all involved, Love Hurts is the kind of film that should’ve gone straight to streaming; an actioner without punch and a comedy without the laughs.
A tale of two brothers… sort of
Marvin Gable (Ke Huy Quan) is living his ideal life. As a realtor, he truly believes in the work he does, bringing a good attitude every morning he steps into the office. Whenever an old flame from his past life as a hitman, Rose (Ariana DeBose) shows up, Gable realizes that because he helped her escape the clutches of his brother Knuckles (Daniel Wu) years ago, now they’re both going to be hunted down.
Matthew Murray, Josh Stoddard, and Luke Passmore all share script credit on Love Hurts, which is baffling due to the lack of human touch anywhere. There aren’t any good jokes or punchlines anywhere to be found, just half sketches of lightly humorous premises. The supposed “wackiness” of Love Hurts boils down to little touches like Knuckles constantly drinking boba, or Marvin attempting to keep his Regional Realtor of the Year Award from being destroyed.
The closest Love Hurts comes to a genuine laugh is when Marvin’s assistant (Lio Tipton) starts to fall in love with a hitman (Mustafa Shakir) out to kill Mr. Gable. Even that quickly overstays its welcome. Director Jonathan Eusebio so badly wants a wacky, energetic time for audiences without putting the effort into it.
Double goes for the crime storyline. Despite being brothers, Marvin and Knuckles have no chemistry to speak of. There’s no sense of shared history or even what their dynamic might have been other than vaguely antagonistic.
Moreover, whereas that part of the plot is undercooked, Love Hurts tries to build out some intrigue by having a double-cross of sorts from Knuckles’ lackey played by Cam Gigandet. It’s an unnecessary complication that draws attention away from what should be important, the love story between Marvin and Rose. What’s there of the romance aspect utterly fails to convince audiences why these two have feelings for each other without flat out telling us “these two have feelings for each other”.
Ke Huy Quan tries to save what he can of Love Hurts
A key component to that romance not working is that Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose have no chemistry. Ariana DeBose is a very talented actress who keeps getting cast in roles that amount to her being a snarky badass, and it just never works. Furthermore, the two just feel physically awkward around each other, like somewhat friendly co-workers more than anything.
On his own, Ke Huy Quan tries his best to hold Love Hurts together. Quan has never played a character that comes off as anything less than delightful. His turn as Marvin continues this trend, with a smile that’s just plain infectious and a fight-scene physicality that’s believable, even for how heightened in tone it is. He has that star quality you look for to lead an action-comedy. In another project with similar aims, he would nail the “good-hearted man forced to whip some butt” role.
Now, I don’t know whether this is the fault of these actors or the movie, but all of the supporting cast, save for an oddly committed and all too brief Sean Astin, do absolutely nothing for the movie. Cam Gigandet just sort of exists as a secondary antagonist. The main antagonist, played by Daniel Wu, is as flimsy as his boba straw. Usually dependable comic actors like Marshawn Lynch and Rhys Darby are astonishingly unfunny in ways they haven’t been before.
Lack of commitment to action hurts the most in Love Hurts
Of course, what hurts the most in Love Hurts is its flimsiness in the action department. Cinematographer Bridger Nielson establishes a glossy, TV commercial-like look from right out the gate, but there was always the hope that at the very least the action would hit as hard as it needed to. The action is neither good nor awful, but the worst thing it could be: mediocre.
There’s a commitment to a cartoony sensibility when the fight sequences start that’s almost enticing. The hits are exciting, the martial arts performers are skilled, what’s the problem? Quantity. There’s a disturbing lack of big action sequences in a movie billed like this, and the one’s that are there cut around the fighting so much it feels like a glorified highlight reel haphazardly thrown into the movie.
With a lackluster approach to action, a romance that doesn’t work, and no truly humorous moments, what does Love Hurts leave us with? A broken heart. Ke Huy Quan is clearly passionate about every role he undertakes, so this heartbreak is two-fold. Maybe one day the project will come along that properly utilizes his unique leading man talents. In fact, I’m sure it will. For now, Love Hurts is nothing but a bump in the road that all the talent involved are likely to leave off of their CV going forward.
Love Hurts is currently playing in theaters. Have you seen this film? What did you think? Let us know on social media @mycosmiccircus!
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