Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein’s R-Rated Netflix Rom-Com Debuts to Brutal Reviews

Jennifer Lopez has returned to romantic comedy films with her new Netflix release Office Romance. The movie brings her back to a genre that helped define part of her career in the early 2000s, when she starred in popular rom-coms and built a strong screen presence in light romantic roles.

Before that, she was already known for acting in projects like Selena and Anaconda, and for appearing in TV shows such as In Living Color. Over time, she also built a major music career, but she has continued to return to acting projects across different genres.

In Office Romance, Lopez plays a powerful airline CEO who becomes involved in a secret relationship with her lawyer. The lawyer character, Daniel Blanchflower, is played by Brett Goldstein, known for his role in Ted Lasso. The film is directed by Ol Parker, and the story was written by Goldstein together with Joe Kelly. The cast also includes Betty Gilpin, Bradley Whitford, Amy Sedaris, Tony Hale, Rick Hoffman, and Jodie Whittaker.

The early critical response to the movie has been mixed. According to Rotten Tomatoes, Office Romance currently holds a 48% critic score based on 33 reviews. That number places it in a “rotten” range on the platform. Critics have pointed to several issues, including dialogue that feels weak, a story that is easy to predict, and uneven tone. Some reviews also mention that the chemistry between Lopez and Goldstein does not fully work on screen, which affects the emotional impact of the romance.

Alex Harrison of Screen Rant gave the film a 7 out of 10 score and said he spent much of the movie smiling. While he acknowledged that the film feels a little uneven at times, he wrote, “My default state watching Office Romance was a giddy smile.” Harrison’s review suggests that the movie succeeds as an enjoyable throwback to classic romantic comedies.

Ema Sasic of Next Best Picture was also impressed by the two leads. In her 7 out of 10 review, she said, “Seeing these two get steamy on screen is worth the price of admission (or subscription) alone.” Her comments highlight the appeal of Lopez and Goldstein’s on-screen relationship, which many viewers may see as the film’s biggest strength.

USA Today’s Brian Truitt was another critic who landed on the positive side. He gave the movie 3 out of 4 stars and noted that while the film uses many familiar romantic comedy elements, it balances them with broad humor. According to Truitt, “The film can’t escape all of the usual genre tropes or overt sentimentality, yet that’s tempered by a bawdy sense of humor and fits of wild broad comedy.”

David Ehrlich of IndieWire also offered a favorable review, giving the film a B-. Ehrlich focused on Lopez’s performance and screen presence, writing, “Office Romance suggests that Lopez is still determined to create a work-life balance on her own terms, and that’s reason enough to stick around for Jackie and Daniel’s happily ever after.”

Not every critic was convinced. Several reviewers felt the movie struggled to bring anything fresh to the genre. Brian Orndorf of Blu-ray.com gave the film a D+ and argued that the movie lacked warmth despite trying to be heartfelt. He wrote, “It’s far raunchier than it needs to be, and Parker struggles with sincerity, leaving matters awfully cold in a production attempting to produce warmth.”

The New York Post’s Johnny Oleksinski was even harsher, awarding the film just 1.5 out of 4 stars. He argued that modern romantic comedies need new ideas rather than repeating old formulas. Oleksinski wrote, “I still love the genre. But the key to saving romantic comedies is not by replicating 25-year-old movies that haven’t aged particularly well with the same stars.”

Monica Castillo of AV Club was also disappointed. Giving the film a D-, she felt both the romance and comedy failed to connect. Castillo wrote, “While the romance here feels tenuous at best, the comedy is in even worse shape, often mistaking uncomfortable oversharing for punchlines. If this was meant to be a return to form for Lopez, it’s not a satisfying comeback.”

Deadline’s Pete Hammond echoed similar concerns. He argued that the screenplay depends too much on familiar romantic comedy conventions and said the story offers little that audiences have not seen before. Meanwhile, Lisa Kennedy of The New York Times felt the writers packed too many ideas and character moments into a single film, resulting in an uneven final product.

Even with mixed reviews, Lopez’s recent Netflix track record shows a pattern of strong streaming performance. Her documentary Halftime received positive reviews with an 82% score, while her action films The Mother and Atlas had more divided reactions, scoring 42% and 17% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes. Office Romance continues that mixed trend, sitting at 42%, similar to The Mother.

Despite critical responses, Lopez’s films on Netflix have often performed well with audiences. The Mother became one of the most-watched Netflix films in 2023. Atlas also reached number one in multiple countries after its release. This suggests that even when reviews are negative, her films still attract large viewer interest on streaming platforms.

Audience response for Office Romance is currently higher than the critic score, showing a gap between professional reviews and viewer reactions. This has been a common pattern in several of her recent projects.

Lopez is also continuing her partnership with Netflix beyond this film. She is set to appear in another project titled The Last Mrs. Parrish, a crime thriller based on a novel by Liv Constantine. The cast includes Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Isabel May, and Pierson Fodé, although a release date has not yet been announced.

For now, Office Romance is available on Netflix, adding another entry to Lopez’s growing list of streaming projects that continue to divide critics while drawing strong audience attention.

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