Lopez/Duhamel action romcom is a banger; cursing, violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Assault weapons fired frequently. Innocent people are in peril. Villains are blown up, set on fire, fall from high locations, and get head injuries for comedic purposes. Grenades. Bloody cut. Some injuries are intentionally gross, but their impact is offset with humor. Fighting, pushing, and shoving.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Brands prominently featured (implying product placement) include Stella Artois and Fiji Water.
Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a little
At a wedding rehearsal dinner, adult guests drink liquor, beer, and champagne. A character talks about a regrettable decision that was made because she drank too much.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
Main character Darcy (Puerto Rican American entertainer Jennifer Lopez) and her wealthy family are Latino and are depicted positively. The setting is a resort in the Philippines, and the Filipino resort staff are depicted as capable and considerate. Black actor Lenny Kravitz co-stars. At 50+, Darcy is older than most women in romcoms, and she owns her age with pride (and has lots of agency). The attacking pirates are thought to be Filipino but (spoiler alert) they're actually Balinese and (another spoiler alert) aren't really the main villains.
Themes include the importance of communication in a relationship and working through problems together.
Positive Role Models
some
Darcy is brave and down-to-earth and served in the Peace Corps.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Shotgun Wedding is an over-the-top romantic action comedy starring Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel as a couple whose dream wedding is derailed by pirates. Much of the iffy behavior stems from the likable, aspirational lead characters, who celebrate killing their adversaries (how they do it is intended to be comedic in its shock value and includes some raw, bloody injuries). They also exchange some racy lines and incorporate strong language into their daily speech ("a--hole," "bitch," "s--t," and many uses of "f--k"). Adults drink at a celebration; one character talks about a regrettable decision made because she had too much. In a scene in which her character is playfully trying to bed her groom-to be, Lopez strips down to her underwear and pops her bottom for the camera. But it should be noted that this can also be seen as positive age representation, as her character is clear about the fact that she's over 50. The setting is a resort in the Philippines, and between the Latina bride and her family, Lenny Kravitz as the coolest ex-boyfriend you can imagine, and the capable, considerate Filipino characters, the cast is noticeably diverse. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
It started out slow, and then got progressively better. Pretty funny and some good action sequences.
What's the Story?
In SHOTGUN WEDDING, Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel)'s dream destination island wedding in the Philippines starts starts on shaky ground when Tom becomes a groomzilla and Darcy tries to ward off clashes with family members. When a band of pirates storms the ceremony and takes the wedding guests hostage, Darcy and Tom must work together to save themselves, their family and friends, and their future union. The cast also includes Jennifer Coolidge, Cheech Marin, Sônia Braga, D'Arcy Carden, and Lenny Kravitz.
Director Jason Moore and writer Mark Hammer craft a laugh-out-loud modern-day screwball romance with guns, grenades, and a very memorable use of a hair extension. If you squint, you could almost pretend that the rapid-fire dialogue is being delivered by Cary Grant and Irene Dunn. But, really, there's no need for that because Duhamel and Lopez banter and bicker at their best, likely leaving viewers in stitches. This is a mature love story (and thank you, JLo, for playing a character who says she's over 50 and then struts her stuff to show that years don't make you "less than" in any way), and the language, drinking, violence, and casual conversations reinforce that it isn't intended for kids. That said, it's a crowd-pleasing comedy that will probably entertain a wide range of ages, from older teens to grandparents.
Deaths and serious injuries are caused more by the aspirational main characters than the villains. How does that compare to other action or romantic comedies you've seen? How is the violence used for laughs? Does that affect its impact?
Which characters demonstrate teamwork? Why is that an important character strength?
MPAA explanation:
language and some violence/bloody images
Last updated:
October 7, 2023
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Tara McNamara
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
