For Love Or Money – An Unromantic Comedy Review

Director: Mark Murphy
Cast: Robert Kazinsky, Samantha Barks, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Ed Speleers, Tony Way, Anna Chancellor, Ivan Kaye
Rating: 15
Running time: 95 mins

The romantic comedy often falls within a certain template, but on occasion, it does subvert the process to deliciously black comedic results. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner did it in a highly effective way in THE WAR OF THE ROSES (1989), directed by Danny DeVito.

Now it looks like the brand-new British film FOR LOVE OR MONEY – AN UNROMANTIC COMEDY is treading a similar knife-edge, with the emphasis firmly on the knife.

Directed by Mark Murphy, from a screenplay co-written with Sabrina Lepage, FOR LOVE OF MONEY is the tale of old school friends Mark (Robert Kazinsky) and Connie (Samantha Barks) who – after more than a decade – reconnect at her husband’s funeral. Mark (you see) was in love with Connie at school, but whom was the target of his husband-as-a-kid as a bully.

Mark offers Connie a card as a form of support and condolence, which she initially rebuffs, but when she learns from her lover Johnny (Ed Speleers) that Mark has got an apparent £20m fortune, she agrees to go out with him. Before long, he is all-but-proposing to her, but then his flat-mate Tim (Tony Way) warns him against his better judgement. Could this seemingly-perfect union be about to go South….well, sort of….?

Samantha Barks, who recently replicated the Julia Roberts role on Broadway in the Bryan Adams / Jim Vallance-penned musical adaptation of the 1990 rom-com classic fairy tale PRETTY WOMAN, proves herself to be more than just a top musical voice and evolves here into a wonderful comedic talent as the spoilt and money-obsessed Connie.

Robert Kazinsky also is a revelation as the bumbling ‘Smart Alec’ Mark and the dynamic of the relationship here between the two of them as the film progresses is terrifically balanced. Actors Tony Way and Rachel Hurd-Wood also provide able and good support as, respectively, Tim and Connie’s estranged childhood friend Kendra, who’s a crucial figure in the development of Mark and Connie’s relationship.

As with WEDDING CRASHERS, which this film does have a knowing nod to, FOR LOVE OR MONEY is about alternate perceptions in love and about being brutally honest about the essence of true love. In cinematic terms, we also like to have a laugh along the way, a trait that the very best classic rom-coms have done over decades, be it WHEN HARRY MET SALLY or FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL in recent times.

An added bonus can be found with a FOUR WEDDINGS reference here in the form of DuckFace herself, Anna Chancellor, as Connie’s mother Carol, who does provide a few hilariously discomforting moments later on in the film alongside Ivan Kaye as Connie’s father, Patrick.

The film also has something to say about the nature of how men and women relate to one another, not just in terms of their love goals, particularly in these uncertain times when the issue of male ego and masculinity is being questioned, especially in the context of #MeToo and the Weinstein controversies.

Still, for its’ subverted nature and sideways look at love, FOR LOVE OR MONEY still hits those notes on occasion that we all know and love in the rom-com genre, whilst in the process allowing a few hits – and slaps – against the characters who inhabit this particular world. Giggling adolescents will find something to appeal to them, as there is a touch of the very first AMERICAN PIE here.

FOR LOVE OR MONEY – AN UNROMANTIC COMEDY will certainly be one to watch. Whether or not it will inspire a new generation of Summer Romance or School Disco snogging remains to be seen, but it might just be the perfect sort-of-date movie the public demands – and will add much to Samantha Barks’ stock as a lead actress in film, following her success in Tom Hooper’s big-screen adaptation of LES MISERABLES.

For Love or Money will be available on Digital Download from July 8 and can be bought here

Have you seen the movie yet? What did you think of it? As always, we like to know your thoughts, so leave a comment below, tweet us @filmandtvnow or drop us a comment on our Facebook page.

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