The Love Punch Parent Guide

Considering the sheer number of baby boomers with cash to buy movie tickets, it is not too surprising we are seeing more films that feature characters from that age demographic. Examples include It’s Complicated, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Something’s Gotta Give, On a Clear Day and Last Chance Harvey.

The Love Punch also specifically targets the 50+ crowd. Yet sadly it turns out to be a clichéd and trite attempt at adult humor even though it does have plenty of star power. Emma Thompson and Pierce Brosnan play Kate and Richard Jones, a divorced couple that is thrown together in a wild escapade that will surely see them reunited. (I know that sounds like a spoiler but the direction of this movie is so painfully obvious, even from the opening moments, that you know where it will end up.)

The catalyst for their reunion is a shady corporate takeover that gobbled up all of their retirement funds along with those of many of Richard’s coworkers’. As all are edging toward the end of their careers, they aren’t about to sit back and watch someone else spend their hard-earned cash—especially after witnessing the Enron debacle and other financial scandals that cost people their life savings.

Richard’s company has been stripped of its assets by French businessman Vincent Kruger (Laurent Lafitte), a corporate bloodsucker with no remorse for his questionable ethics. He even has Kate and Richard forcibly removed from his office tower when they show up in Paris and confront him. So just like the disgruntled employees in Tower Heist, this pair resorts to illegal activities of their own to recoup their money. Their first move is to steal the $10 million diamond Vincent has just hung around the neck of his fiancée (Louise Bourgoin). To do that, they will have to sneak into the wealthy socialites’ exclusive wedding.

They plan to get an official invite by kidnapping two couples from Texas who are on the guest list. It takes only one call to their friends back home to convince Jerry and Penelope (Timothy Spall, Celia Imrie) to help out with the heist. If that seems implausible, wait for the rest of the shenanigans this foursome works their way into.

I know romantic comedies are supposed to be lighthearted, even silly at times. Still there is nothing even remotely believable about this screenplay that tries to jam every stereotypical rom-com/crime caper element it can into the 90 minute plot. Even the great tunes in the musical score can’t save it. Watching these baby boomers skirt their way across a ledge on the outside of a building, don scuba diving gear, scale a rock cliff and impersonate rich Texans by wearing big hair and talking loudly, unfortunately feels more like a Mr. Bean Holiday than the Bond adventure I think it is meant to be.

Release Date: 23 May 2014 Limited/ 6 June 2014 Wider

About author

Kerry Bennett

Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for over 15 years. As a parent herself, she believes parents play a powerful role in teaching media literacy in their homes.