One True Loves features Simu Liu (Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings), Phillipa Soo (Hamilton), and Luke Bracey (Point Break) star in this modern twist on a classic love story from NY Times bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid. Emma and Jesse are living the perfect life together until Jesse disappears in a tragic helicopter crash on their first wedding anniversary. Four years later, Emma has found happiness again and is about to marry her best friend when Jesse resurfaces, turning her world upside down and leaving her torn between two great loves.

Can I take a moment to just acknowledge everyone who’s ever been trapped in the friend zone? This movie is for you.

The Good

The premise itself is just downright mesmerizing. I instantly relate to a situation I’ve never been in just on the concept. What would you do if you were married, that person died, and you met someone else just to find out your dead spouse isn’t dead and wants you back??? That’s an instant problem I think that everyone can empathize with even if we can’t directly relate. I love this story concept a lot. I had a good time seeing how Emma handles this situation and the emotional conflict within her heart. There’s so much to consider especially with time. Her husband is missing for years so what is the correct way to react to his sudden re-appearance?

One True Loves starts off really strong. I tip my hat to the production team for some strong direction and great performances here. The movie starts off very strong giving us a good view of the lives of Emma and Jesse’s perfect life. Now, this is the type of life people dream of when young of an endless vacation with a loved one. I had a lot of fun watching Emma’s love triangle develop with Jesse and Sam. One True Loves quickly brings us up to speed on Emma and Jesse’s high school romance. It grows organically and continues into adulthood and results in marriage. I really feel great about their romance and I understand their attraction in a relatable way.

One True Loves excels at being a romantic comedy with extra emphasis on comedy. This is no surprise as director Andy Fickman has a history of directing comedic films and the cast in this movie is very adaptable. Sam (Simu Liu) is incredibly funny in this movie and delivers some of the best jokes and visual gags in the entire movie. You could carve out his moments in the movie and have a believably funny sitcom but we get a sitcom in a movie. Michaela Conlin plays Emma’s sister Marie and makes for a great one-two combo of comedy with Sam. She brings some well-timed dry humor and injects them into some otherwise emotionally heavy moments. There’s a scene in the movie where she apologizes to Emma for convincing her to give up on her dead husband that had me in tears.

The Bad

The editing was rough. There are moments in the movie where scenes only last for a few seconds before transitioning to another scene. Unfortunately, the actors are giving some really good performances that are cut short. A few moments are really touching on some deep emotions that could be explored further but aren’t. What undercuts this transition is that these scenes of deeply sad emotion get cut away to scenes that tell a quick gag and then switch back to the heavy emotion. the movie could have used some more time to let Phillipa do her thing.

Some of the jokes don’t land as well as intended. It’s a combination of bad editing and some poorly delivered humor. There’s a moment where we see Sam walk into the teachers’ lounge at his job in a predictable joke. The main issue is that the scene undercuts one of the more emotional moments in the movie with Emma and her husband.

Overall

One True Loves is an adorably funny movie that had me laughing throughout the movie. Phillipa Soo is outstanding in this movie and flexes a lot of emotional range in her performance. I would have loved to see more of her scenes extended a bit longer. There are too many moments where Phillipa is acting her ass off but these scenes get cut short. Simu Liu is a highlight and delivers some of the funniest moments in the movie. I would have liked to understand this music teacher could just hijack his students for any given reason! One moment he’s using them to impress Emma on a date and another moment he’s unloading his emotional dilemma’s on them during the school day.

I also can’t help but wonder why didn’t Sam have any adult friends he could talk to?