PLOT: A realtor is pulled back into the life he left behind after his former partner-in-crime resurfaces with an ominous message. With his crime-lord brother also on his trail, he must confront his past and the history he never fully buried.
REVIEW: If you’re a movie lover, then chances are you were rooting for Ke Huy Quan during last year’s Awards season. Hollywood loves a comeback story and there are few more deserving than Quan, who has countless memorable side roles and never got that leading man opportunity. But now it’s time for him to take center stage in his own Jackie Chan-style action movie. And how exactly does he fare? I’d say he comes out of it a lot better than the movie itself.
Love Hurts follows Marvin Gable, a realtor who’s life is turned upside down when his past comes back to haunt him. Rose, a target he was supposed to take care of, is now causing havoc and he has to contend with his old life. It’s a basic enough story and follows that typical “average man turns out to be a deadly assassin” trope popularized recently by Nobody. It’s not breaking any new ground but I personally never go into these kinds of films expecting them to. Having a likable lead and some good action set pieces should be enough to satisfy any audience member buying a ticket.
Ke Huy Quan really great as Marvin, and he’s not far from the golden retriever we often see him play. But it’s when the new life he’s built is clearly over that Quan shines. You feel his absolute devastation as he watches everything crumble around him. It’s this desperation that makes some of his decision making a little less absurd. Ariana DeBose had a rough 2024 with Kraven the Hunter, but gets a bit more to do here. I wasn’t entirely convinced of her hand to hand combat as she can be a bit sluggish but Rose is charismatic enough even if slightly annoying. The age gap between her and Quan is certainly noticeable but they do their best to make it work. Just seems like they could have gotten someone a bit more age appropriate.
Oddly enough, the charismatic Marshawn Lynch practically gets outshined by his scene partner, André Eriksen who has a fun arc involving getting his wife back. I think most of us expected Lynch to be his larger than life self but he’s more subdued here. Though he does manage a laugh or two. We get a bit of a Goonies reunion between Quan and Sean Astin but it’s sadly short lived. Astin is great as the jolly Texan boss of Marvin’s who has one of the best scenes of the movie. I wasn’t sure what to make of Daniel Wu’s Knuckles (though it’s hard not to think of the Sonic character whenever his name is said) but I think that had to do with so much of his dialogue being replaced in post production. It’s not quite Madame Web villain levels of bad but it’s noticeable. At least they didn’t do any weird AI voice match. And I have to give mention to Property Brother’s Drew Scott, who has one of the funniest and out of nowhere moments in the film.
The narrative for Love Hurts can feel a bit all over the place. Marvin narrates most of the film with these weird interludes from Rose that feel a bit too expository. And we don’t really get any satisfying payoffs outside of some small character arcs. They don’t really build Marvin and Knuckles and their history enough to make any impact in the end. There are some fun scenes and I liked the characters, but it just doesn’t come together.
Surprisingly, Love Hurts is more focused on its characters than its action. While the action that we do get is good, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. In fact, the action feels like a bit of a special commodity, with it mostly being done in short bursts and wrapped up cleanly. I was hoping for a little more of a showcase for Quan like in Everything Everywhere All At Once, but instead it feels more like racing with training wheels. There’s one scene where Marvin stabs a guy repeatedly and I was hoping we’d get more like that but it’s mostly basic slashing and stabbing and gunshots. In fact, there are shockingly few deaths in the movie which is sure to disappoint many who show up for the red stuff.
Ultimately, is Love Hurts the type of movie that will keep Quan as a leading man? I’m not sure, but he’s certainly proven that he can handle it. He’s very likable, does a great job with the action, and nails the emotional moments. But he may need to be more selective with his scripts as there’s nothing new here, and feels like it could have been from a decade ago. If there’s one thing I’ll take away from this experience, it’s that I’ll never look at a Boba Straw the same way again.
LOVE HURTS IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON FEBRUARY 7TH, 2025.
