We’re slowly seeing a resurgence of the classic rom-com and we’re here for it. While CGI-heavy superhero films and the endless stream of biopics are great, nothing beats a movie with two gorgeous actors, in an exotic location, stumbling towards their happy-ever-after. Throw in some high stakes and an ensemble cast that includes Jennifer Coolidge, and you’ve got an absolute winner.
This is exactly why we’ve been eagerly waiting to see Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel’s upcoming romantic comedy Shotgun Wedding.
Directed by Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect, Sisters), the movie is about a couple whose destination wedding turns upside down when a group of gunmen take everyone hostage.
“What I love about the movie and what I think (Moore) did such a great job on, was that he wasn’t afraid to make it one big romp of a movie. It felt different from anything I’ve done and that’s what I loved about it. He always talked about squeezing in a little lemon on that sugar,” said Josh Duhamel, in a global press conference for the movie recently.
Lopez added, “It’s a big romantic comedy, but it’s more of a big romantic-action movie. It’s an adventure, but the core of it, is about these families coming together and my character Darcy and Josh’s character, Tom really figuring out who they are and how and if they can make this marriage work. They start off on different ends of the spectrum of what they want, not just from the wedding, but also from their relationship.”
The Good Place actor D’Arcy Carden, who has a hilarious role in the movie, claimed that everything in the movie came together perfectly. “It was such a dream come true, in every aspect,” added Carden. “The script, the cast, the location, the director, every bit of it. I remember reading the script, and I just couldn’t read it fast enough. I love all the twists and turns. It’s fun to read a script for the first time because you’re almost like the audience. I was rooting for Tom and Darcy. It was so fun to read. I’m excited for people to see it.”
With a cast that includes biggies like Lopez, Duhamel, Carden, and Coolidge, the director knew he was taking on a big task as the stars gathered in Dominican Republic for the movie.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Moore, “It was like some sort of camp or dorm. I could feel every day [the cast] had all been together at night. I could feel like I missed a party last night. I was like, ‘Oh, they’re bonding more and love each other.’ The bonding that they had when they came in was really exceptional. It was. It was very unique and special. I’ve never had an experience like that.”
He also admitted that he was the most apprehensive about Lopez’s casting as the lead, as she is an international celebrity, “I put a lot of that pressure on myself,” he admitted. “I never got it from her. But we had such a fun collaboration that I also felt safe, It was just a wonderful collaboration. But yeah, the bar was really high, so I did a lot of meditating.”
Moore further added that the whole casting process was like figuring out a puzzle.
“It was kind of a puzzle because you needed people who could be grounded and real, but also be funny and physical,” said Moore, “They also needed to be cool to be hanging out with for eight weeks, so I made a lot of phone calls like, ‘What’s this person like on set?’ I think we had cast Jennifer Coolidge, and then we needed her husband. So, finding ways that everyone kind of related to each other was really fun. Another thing I really wanted for this movie is that like at a wedding, sometimes you look around, and you realize these people would never all be in a room together for any other reasons I kind of wanted our cast to look like that too. Obviously, we got an amazing cast, even better than I had dreamed.”
Shotgun Wedding will be available to be streamed in India on Lionsgate Play from January 27, 2023.
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