Love Hurts Review
Marvin Gable lives a simple but enjoyable life. He is a successful realtor, he is well-liked by his co-workers, and he loves fulfilling the dreams of his customers to own homes. His job gives his life meaning.
But one day Marvin receives a mysterious Valentine’s Day card that shakes him to his core. It is from Rose, a woman from his dark past. She has been in hiding for years, but now she’s back and apparently out for revenge. Matters are complicated by the fact that Marvin was secretly in love with Rose.
Marvin’s concern is immediately validated as a hired killer named The Raven appears in his office demanding to know where Rose is. He was sent by Marvin’s crime boss brother to kill her.
Unwilling to cooperate with his brother or his assassins, Marvin attempts to go on the run. But soon enough he realizes he must stand and fight to save himself and the people he loves.
The most notable thing about Love Hurts is the action. It has a real Jackie Chan feel to it and it features a great mix of comedic pain and brutal fight moves. Like Jackie, Ke Huy Quan as Marvin Gable is not an invincible fighter. He’s usually trying to run away, frequently gets hurt as bad or worse than his opponents and utilizes whatever is in the room as a weapon. That gives the fight scenes a bit of uniqueness beyond your typical action movie.
Ke Huy Quan is decent as Marvin Gable. While he excels at the action scenes, his serious scenes are rather cheesy as he bubbles with excitement. However, seeing as how that’s how Quan is in real life, maybe it’s not so outlandish.
While he and Ariana DeBose as Rose Carlisle don’t have romantic chemistry together, they are both fun to watch on the screen in their own ways. DeBose is tough, sexy and energetic as Rose. But between her roles in Love Hurts and Kraven The Hunter, it’s apparent she is not being used to her full potential. Hopefully, she will get better roles soon.
Love Hurts also has some fun cameos and supporting cast members. Sean Astin appears as Marvin’s cowboy-themed boss Cliff Cussick and we get a mini Goonies reunion. Property Brother Drew Scott also appears as Jeff Zaks, a rival realtor with delusions of grandeur as a martial artist. I won’t spoil his moment here, but it’s quite apparent he had fun in the role.
Football player Marshawn Lynch is also solid as the assassin named King and Flight of the Conchords agent Rhys Darby has a memorable yet disturbing role as accountant Kippy Betts.
While the action scenes are a lot of fun, everything else is very dull or by-the-book. You count the minutes until the next action scene. And while the movie is a relatively short 83 minutes, it feels a lot longer due to the long spans of no action.
There is also a side story where Marvin’s assistant Ashley, played by Lio Tipton, falls in love with Mustafa Shakir as the assassin, The Raven. It’s a great idea with a lot of comic potential, but as the relationship unfolded it started becoming unclear if they were trying to be funny or serious. Towards the end of the movie, the audience was laughing at what seemed to be a serious moment. It was a bit confusing.
I wouldn’t go so far as to recommend Love Hurts as a date movie, but it is fun to watch and worth viewing on TV at home at some point. And if you like Jackie Chan, you’ll love seeing Ke Huy Quan bring his style to new audiences.
LOVE HURTS REVIEW RATING: 5.5 OUT OF 10
Universal Pictures will release Love Hurts in theaters on February 7, 2025. Directed by Jonathan Eusebio, the film has been rated R for strong/bloody violence and language throughout.
