An airline executive and her lead attorney share a forbidden workplace romance in Office Romance, now streaming on Netflix worldwide. This polished romantic comedy boasts some appealing performances and genuine chemistry between leads Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso), but a lack of any engaging narrative momentum beyond the central premise, and some surprisingly misplaced grossout humor, ultimately sends the film into a bumpy ride that never quite sticks the landing.
Lopez stars as Jackie Cruz, the hard-driving CEO of Air Cruz, a successful airline she inherited from her father but continues to run with relentless dedication. Facing legal challenges that threaten both her reputation and control of the company, Jackie finds herself increasingly reliant on Daniel O’Connell (Goldstein), an in-house attorney suddenly thrust into a more prominent role after the company’s senior legal counsel Peter Vance (Bradley Whitford) exits the picture. Only problem: Air Cruz’s strict policy prohibiting workplace relationships.
The setup feels tailor-made for a classic studio romantic comedy, and for a while, Office Romance delivers exactly that. Lopez and Goldstein are immediately likable together, and the film wisely spends its first act establishing why these two lonely workaholics might find comfort in each other. Jackie is married to her career, while British expat Daniel struggles to connect with colleagues or build much of a life outside the office. Their relationship develops naturally enough, buoyed by a shared sense of isolation and a mutual understanding of what it means to prioritize work above everything else.
Unfortunately, once the romance is established, the screenplay has remarkably little else to offer. Every major story beat arrives exactly when expected and unfolds exactly as anticipated. The secret relationship blossoms, complications emerge, the couple separates, and eventually reunites through a grand romantic gesture that feels lifted from a dozen better examples of the genre. By the time Goldstein is effectively recreating Dustin Hoffman’s famous interruption in The Graduate, Office Romance has long since exhausted any sense of surprise.
Part of the problem is that the film never develops meaningful stakes outside the romance itself. A potentially entertaining subplot involving a scheming rival airline executive and his attorney, played by Roger Bart and Rick Hoffman, is quickly abandoned only to be resurrected when the screenplay requires a convenient obstacle. These characters are introduced with the promise of corporate intrigue and industry rivalry, but they spend most of the runtime standing on the sidelines waiting for the plot to remember they exist.
Office Romance relies on the chemistry between its leads to carry the weight of nearly two hours of storytelling, and they’re up to the task. Lopez remains effortlessly charming in a role that plays directly to her strengths, bringing a confidence to Jackie even when the narrative leaves her little room for development. Goldstein may not quite have the screen presence to match her, but together they generate enough spark to make the relationship believable, even if the screenplay rarely gives them anything unexpected to do.
The supporting cast also helps elevate the material. Betty Gilpin steals nearly every scene she appears in as Sydney, Jackie’s heavily pregnant right-hand woman. What could have been a thankless best-friend role becomes one of the film’s biggest pleasures thanks to Gilpin’s impeccable comic timing and total commitment to the material. Sydney’s pregnancy becomes an ongoing source of humor throughout the film, and Gilpin consistently finds fresh ways to make the character feel funny and endearing.
Edward James Olmos brings warmth and gravitas to his limited screen time as Jackie’s father, while Whitford leaves a memorable impression despite disappearing from the narrative far earlier than expected. Both actors elevate material that often feels thinner than it should.
The strangest aspect of Office Romance is its repeated flirtation with grossout comedy. An early scene involving Daniel’s highly visible physical reaction to meeting Jackie feels wildly out of place in what is otherwise a glossy, mainstream romantic comedy. More surprising still is a later childbirth gag featuring an astonishingly graphic visual that lasts less than a second but feels designed to provoke gasps from unsuspecting audiences. Neither moment is necessarily offensive, but both seem imported from an entirely different movie. The film deserves some credit for taking unexpectedly outrageous swings, but these moments also highlight how conventional everything else around them feels.
Director Ol Parker (Ticket to Paradise, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) keeps the film moving at a brisk pace, and the production benefits from attractive location work that gives the story a welcome sense of scale. New Jersey locations overlooking the Manhattan skyline provide an appealing backdrop, while several scenes set in tropical destinations add visual variety. Even the sleek corporate headquarters of Air Cruz feels more interesting than the generic office environments that typically populate workplace comedies.
The production design is glossy without becoming sterile, and the cinematography embraces bright, attractive visuals that make the entire enterprise feel more expensive than many streaming-exclusive releases. The film understands the appeal of aspirational romantic comedy settings, and it successfully creates a world audiences may enjoy spending time in even when the narrative itself struggles to justify its length.
Office Romance works best whenever Lopez and Goldstein are allowed to simply enjoy each other’s company on screen. Their chemistry is genuine, the supporting cast is frequently delightful, and the production values exceed expectations for a streaming rom-com. But beneath the slick presentation lies a screenplay content to coast on familiar formulas, offering few surprises and little dramatic substance on its way to a bumpy landing.
