What’s Love Got to Do With It? Parent Guide

Zoe (Lily James) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, who is under pressure to come up with another project. Her distributors insist on a switch from her gritty explorations of social ills, requesting instead a cheerful, character-driven story. Luckily for Zoe, she’s got the perfect solution right next door.

Zoe and her mother, Cath (Emma Thompson) have always been close with the neighboring Khan family. The Khans are from Pakistan but their children were born in England and Zoe is friends with all of them – especially Kazim (Shazad Latif). The self-assured, handsome physician is ready to settle down and has decided to let his parents work with a matchmaker to find him a wife – one who’s “English enough” for him and “Pakistani enough” for them. Zoe persuades Kaz to let her film the entire process, giving her a bird’s eye view on the unfolding relationship between Kaz and Maymouna (Sajal Ali).

Romantic comedies are a difficult genre to get right. Writers often fall into lazy cliches and trite plot devices as they wander down the oh-so-familiar path to “happily ever after”. Not in this film. What’s Love Got to Do with It? is one of the best romantic comedies I’ve seen in years. The story is rich, warm, and full of heart. The writing is crisp, with jokes that land, and excellent pacing. From a critic’s perspective, it’s a minor miracle to watch a rom-com take surprising plot directions that left me guessing – I was never entirely certain where this story was going to end up. Main characters are complex, exasperating, fallible, and appealing and even secondary characters are given traits that make them stand out from the crowd. Critically, the multicultural aspect of the film is handled with an all-embracing affection – the Khan family’s commitment to Islam is never questioned and their beliefs around faith and family are treated with respect. Neither culture’s convictions are denigrated but are examined with open-minded curiosity that explores the good and bad found in each.

Not only does this movie tell a great story and tell it well; it packs it full of positive themes. At its core is the power of family ties; our need to belong to our families and cultures. The script examines the tension between cultural belonging and personal independence, the challenges faced by immigrant parents, and the immense benefits of forgiveness and reconciliation. On a more personal level, it shows characters who undergo painful self-assessment, reconsider their goals, and face the pain of being honest with themselves.

The only downside here is the movie’s negative content, primarily substance use. Alcohol features in many scenes with Cath frequently over-imbibing and Zoe getting decidedly tipsy on occasion. More troubling is a scene where Zoe decides to numb her feelings and goes to a club where she winds up drunk (or possibly stoned) and has a one-night stand, which she immediately regrets. In another party scene, a large number of people smoke marijuana and drink Coca-Cola laced with a stimulant. When you add in some sexual innuendo, and a sexual expletive, this isn’t a movie to watch with the kids.

That said, if you want to watch a story where people face love, joy, pain, self-inflicted wounds, confusion, forgiveness, and grace, will find much to love in What’s Love Got to Do with It? Best of all, you’ll get to enjoy the charming story and capable cast against the backdrop of a vibrant, colorful, and exciting Pakistani wedding. This is a movie that is guaranteed to have you laughing out loud in your seat and smiling as you leave the theater. It doesn’t get better than that.