Office Romance Review
Director: Ol Parker
Date Created: 2026-06-06 00:23
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Office Romance Review: Directed by Ol Parker and co-written by Brett Goldstein and Joe Kelly, the Netflix show stars Jennifer Lopez as airline CEO Jackie Cruz and Brett Goldstein as corporate lawyer Daniel Blanchflower. The film also features Betty Gilpin, Bradley Whitford, Edward James Olmos, Amy Sedaris and others. The movie has a runtime of 1 hour and 54 minutes.
Office Romance Review
Indeed, romantic comedies used to reign supreme in Hollywood. It felt like a new story of love would hit theatres every couple of weeks, bringing with it the promise of romance, jokes, funny misunderstandings, and declarations of love. But recently, this genre has found it hard to make its mark. That’s probably why I was pleasantly surprised by Netflix’s Office Romance. This film may not offer any innovations to the genre or revolutionise its conventions in any way. Instead, it sticks with many rom-com clichés and adds a modern twist to them.
Jackie Cruz is portrayed as the CEO of AirCruz, a very successful airline which she inherited from her father. She is portrayed as someone who is extremely career-oriented, ambitious, and determined, but unfortunately, it all comes at the expense of her personal life, an area she does not pay much attention to, contrary to what her co-workers believe. The story takes a new twist when the law firm that Jackie hires, represented by Daniel Blanchflower, starts affecting her personal life.
It is an expected love story based on regulations within the work environment, secret relations, and the struggle between professional and personal commitments. The movie is not trying to hide its intentions at any point in time. Since the initial encounter of Jackie and Daniel, it has become clear that they will eventually end up together. It is not a question of if they will fall in love, but about the number of obstacles to be faced first.
Despite the lack of surprises in the story, there were moments during the trip which I thoroughly enjoyed due to Brett Goldstein. After watching Ted Lasso, I admired his sense of humour and vulnerability mixed with sarcasm. The same is true of Daniel here. He often becomes the most enjoyable character in the movie, adding a touch of British uniqueness to some typical scenes.
Much of the humour arises from the cultural clashes between Daniel and his fellow Americans in the film. One constant joke that runs throughout the movie is the fact that Daniel’s relaxed attitude does not match what is expected of him in the corporate environment. Specifically, one funny incident regarding HR has made me laugh more than I thought it would.
On the other hand, Jennifer Lopez gives exactly the sort of performance that one expects from her. She can easily slip into the character of the successful but emotionally troubled romantic protagonist. While I would not say that she gives her best performance here, she still retains her charisma on screen. Even when the screenplay falls short, Lopez always manages to bring something to the performance.
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All the same, there is no doubt that the chemistry between Lopez and Goldstein might polarise the audience. I can say that, as an individual, I felt entertained by their scenes, but in the back of my mind, I did not believe that Jackie could take such risks for Daniel. This is because the love grows fast, at some point taking the easy route through rom-com clichés rather than developing naturally.
Also, the other actors involved deserve credit as well. The one I found to be exceptionally hilarious is Betty Gilpin, who is always a riot to watch anytime she is on the screen. She provides impeccable comic timing and adds colour to what would otherwise be dull scenes. At the same time, she is also usually the sane voice amidst all the chaos.
Another thing that did not really click with me about the Netflix film Office Romance is that it tries to market itself as a little bit racier version of a romantic comedy. What the marketing says sounds interesting enough; however, the movie is still quite tame compared to what I expected based on the marketing material. There are certainly some elements of humour, bad language, and a few awkward encounters; however, it does not seem all that daring or different from what you would expect from a typical romance.
The humour is also not entirely consistent, as some of the jokes do indeed manage to succeed due to the dynamics between characters, but others do not ring true, as if the script writers were trying too hard to prove their point regarding the film’s supposed humour. In other instances, it feels like certain scenes have been purposely made to be humorous without the desired effect being reached.
One other aspect is that the Office Romance movie expects you to believe in a reality that conforms to the logic of romantic comedy as opposed to the real world, where actions and their consequences take place according to the rules of office politics and professional ethics. This doesn’t pose much of a problem in this kind of film, but sometimes, in Office Romance, things get carried away just a bit.
However, I do not believe that this film has any aspirations to be anything but an enjoyable fluff piece. This film is meant to be viewed at the end of a long day, when all one wants is something lighthearted and without any effort involved. And in that respect, this movie succeeds. This movie is well shot, and the actors seem to be enjoying themselves.
Netflix Office Romance Review: Summing Up
At the end of the day, though, Office Romance film is simply a likeable romantic comedy. The film doesn’t really have any unique take on its genre or any new ideas to offer, and its efforts to be a contemporary romantic comedy don’t succeed entirely. What saves the movie from being an entirely disposable movie is the performances of Brett Goldstein and Jennifer Lopez.
