The 2016 Dutch film SMS fur Dich, based on the novel by Sofie Carmer, gets the Hollywood treatment with Love Again, written and directed by James C. Strouse in a rough attempt to bring romantic comedies back to the silver screen.
Mira (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) is a children’s book illustrator whose boyfriend is tragically killed in a car accident and decides to continue texting his old number to process the grief. That is until music critic Rob (Sam Heughan) receives these old number texts and ropes Celine Dion into finding the mystery texter and overcoming his own commitment issues.
It’s a confusing and tonally discombobulating experience that features over-the-top moments and completely nonsensical character arcs. Chopra Jonas struggles to manage the emotions required for the role while Heughan is so one note, he struggles to register on the screen. It doesn’t help that other English actors like Russell Tovey and Celia Imrie pretend to be American to no avail. Dion does what she can with the limited material and most of the charm rests on her as a public figure.
Despite this, it’s a film that will thrill those seeking the more traditional romantic comedy formula that Hollywood has avoided in recent years. And with an ending to Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now”, the final scenes will bring a smile to even the most unwilling of fans.
Eden Caceda 