05/06/2026
Netflix has dropped another glossy rom-com, but viewers are already saying it feels less like a love story and more like the world's most expensive HR presentation.
Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein team up in 'Office Romance', a workplace comedy that looks like it should be packed with sparks. Instead, it plays things so safe that it barely leaves a mark.
Lopez stars as Jackie Cruz, the hard-nosed CEO of a major airline who finds herself working closely with the company's new lawyer, Daniel Blanchflower, played by the Ted Lasso favourite. The setup practically writes itself, powerful boss, office rules, secret relationship, but somehow the film never really takes off.
The biggest surprise isn't the predictable story. It's the lack of chemistry between the two leads. Goldstein, known for his rough-around-the-edges charm, spends much of the movie hiding behind an awkward upper-class British accent that never quite fits, while Lopez does her best with material that rarely gives her much to work with.
The film hits every rom-com checkpoint you've seen a hundred times before. There's the initial clash, the unexpected attraction, the secret meetings, and the inevitable grand declaration. The problem is you can see every turn coming long before it happens.
Even stranger is the movie's identity crisis. One minute it's a glossy office romance, the next it's throwing in surprisingly crude jokes and bizarre side plots that feel like they belong in a completely different film. Instead of adding edge, they just make the whole thing feel confused.
That's not to say Office Romance is a complete disaster. It's watchable enough if you're after something easy to throw on for a couple of hours. But with two hugely likeable stars leading the charge, you'd expect a lot more than a movie that simply ticks boxes.
In the end, 'Office Romance' isn't terrible. It's just forgettable. And in a genre built on making people fall in love, that's probably the biggest disappointment of all.
'Office Romance' is now streaming on Netflix.