LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Starring: Haley Lu Richardson, Ben Hardy, Jameela Jamil, Rob Delaney, Tom Taylor, Dexter Fletcher, and Sally Phillips
Director: Vanessa Caswill
KATIE
I struggled to find many redeeming qualities about this film. The script spends no time showing us why the fated lovers, Hadley (Haley Lu Richardson) and Oliver (Ben Hardy), are meant to be together since they lack chemistry and don’t seem well-matched. It also makes no sense. Why does a statistics-obsessed mathematics student make so many obvious mistakes?! And most notably, while Richardson's performance is charismatic and sweet, I found Hardy downright sinister. If you got rid of the soft pink lighting and tweaked the score, this would have been a better horror film than it is a rom-com.
PHILL
Love at First Sight is a bizarre romance film. It’s by no means bad, but it’s very by the numbers – literally. It insists on spouting 5-6 different statistics at you in every other scene, which starts off as a cute and fun gimmick, but becomes more irritating as the film goes on. All of the actors are charismatic enough to carry the film, though, and since they are backed with a decent soundtrack, they hit the emotional beats pretty well. Despite seeing every single story beat coming from a mile away, Netflix has certainly produced worse rom-coms.
PAIGE
Netflix delivers a surprisingly heartwarming rom-com with its latest drop, Love at First Sight. This movie is such an adorable and sincere flick that it is worth checking out, especially if you just have some time to kill. The script is a wee bit corny, but that doesn’t take away from the charming and authentic performances from Haley Lu Richardson (Hadley) and Ben Hardy (Oliver). It’s about fate and chances, and if you're looking for a light and gentle watch that will have you swooning, I recommend this movie.
