When horror movies hit multiplexes pre-Halloween, they usually churn nice profits. Shouldn’t the same occur for romantic flicks in theaters by Valentine’s Day?

That seems logical, and the pattern works sometimes – but not always, as we saw with 2022’s Marry Me. Despite that prime release date and the presence of stars like Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson, the movie sputtered at the box office.

Oft-married pop star Kat Valdez (Lopez) plans to wed fellow famous singer Bastian (Maluma) in a decidedly public way. As they tout their new hit single “Marry Me”, they intend to exchange vows on the concert stage in a ceremony broadcast to millions.

However, Kat learns of Bastian’s lack of fidelity, and this occurs during the big concert. Humiliated and vulnerable, Kat decides to take a big risk.

When she sees schoolteacher Charlie Gilbert (Wilson) in the audience with a “Marry Me” sign his co-worker pal Parker Debbs (Sarah Silverman) hands to him, she goes out on a limb and agrees to wed the total stranger. This impetuous move sends both pop star and educator down unexpected paths.

Or maybe not, as beyond the “high concept” idea behind the Kat/Charlie connection, one seems unlikely to discover much here that will surprise. Honestly, I get the feeling those involved with Marry came up with the basic conceit and hoped it would do all the heavy lifting for them.

One problem: while its primary plot device becomes the movie’s main selling point, it remains ludicrous. No matter how hard the film attempts to stretch credulity, it starts ridiculous and never quite bounces back from that.

Actually, after this inane open, Marry follows a persistently bland path, as it struggles to fill its 112 minutes. Essentially the movie consists of one cute “falling in love” scene after another, with contrived drama tossed in along the way.

Some of this works, aided by the basic charm of its leads. I’ve long thought Lopez works best in comedic roles, and while Kat doesn’t force her to stretch her legs much, at least she ends up in her wheelhouse and delivers a reasonably engaging turn.

For the most part, Wilson plays the fumbly Owen Wilson Character, albeit in more of a downer vein. Marry wants to paint Charlie as something of a stick in the mud to contrast with the more free-spirited Kat, and that leans away from Wilson’s usual easy-going likability.

However, the film allows Charlie to loosen up pretty quickly, so Downer Owen doesn’t stick around too long. He and Lopez don’t ignite the screen, but both connect in an engaging enough manner.

As much as the film’s producers hope otherwise, however, the basic charm of the Lopez/Wilson partnership can’t hide all of the movie’s many holes. Actually, I won’t allude to actual plot flaws, as the entire movie offers one massive silly leap of logic.

The problem stems from the monotony of Marry. Like I mentioned, an awful lot of the running time just delivers supposedly endearing scenes of Kat and Charlie as they get to know each other.

No one ever heard of a montage? We find ourselves stuck with so many redundant scenes that Marry turns into a draggy experience, as it can’t find much creativity to fill all 112 of those minutes.

To be sure, I’ve seen worse rom-coms than Marry Me, and it remains painless enough. It just fails to find the inspiration it needs to occupy the viewer in more than a moderate, passive manner.

Marry Me appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This turned into an appealing presentation.

Sharpness satisfied, with nary a sliver of unintentional softness. The image went with some stylized photography at times that meant decreased definition, but those instances made sense for the tale, and the movie otherwise seemed accurate and well-defined.

The image lacked shimmering or jaggies, and it also demonstrated no edge haloes. Print flaws remained absent as well.

For the most part, the presentation presented an amber and teal palette, though concert scenes veered toward purples and reds. The Blu-ray executed them in an appropriate manner.

Blacks looked dark and dense, while shadows felt smooth and concise. I thought we got a well-rendered transfer.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Marry Me mainly came to life during scenes at concerts or other places that involved music. Those used all the channels in an involving manner, with plenty of songs and atmosphere around the room.

Other sequences became less dynamic, but they added some useful information. Though I couldn’t find anything exciting in these moments, the soundfield worked for the film.

Audio quality satisfied, with dialogue that came across as natural and concise. Music showed nice range and warmth.

Effects didn’t have much to do, but they stayed accurate and lacked distortion. I thought the mix suited the story.

As we hit the disc’s extras, we start with an audio commentary from director Kat Coiro and producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, and related topics.

Don’t expect much from this chat, as it tends to feel superficial. We do get occasional nuggets, such as the revelation that the script didn’t originally give Charlie a daughter.

Unfortunately, much of the track sticks with praise for those involved – especially Jennifer Lopez – and general narration. Throw in more than a few empty spots and this turns into a lackluster discussion.

Eight Deleted Scenes span a total of five minutes, 27 seconds. Expect a lot of minor character bits and additions, some of which work, some of which don’t.

A Gag Reel goes for one minutes, 45 seconds. It delivers the usual goofs and giggles but nothing more.

Some featurettes follow, and Jennifer Unveiled runs 11 minutes, 49 seconds and offers notes from Coiro, Goldsmith-Thomas, and actors Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson.

We get a focus on Lopez here, with some of the expected happy talk about her. However, “Unveiled” offers more behind the scenes footage than usual, and those tidbits make it above average.

Behind the Camera lasts five minutes, 28 seconds and brings material from Coiro, Lopez, Goldsmith-Thomas, Wilson, production designer Jane Musky, director of photography Florian Ballhaus, costume designer Caroline Duncan, and actors Maluma, Chloe Coleman and Sarah Silverman.

“Camera” examines story/characters, cast and performances, sets, locations and costumes. A few nuggets emerge but most of this brings fluff.

Next comes Turn It Up, a five-minute, 52-second reel with info from Lopez, Goldsmith-Thomas, Coiro, Maluma, and concert creative consultant Tabitha Duomo.

“Up” discusses the movie’s music. More praise and puffery emerges here.

Live At Madison Square Garden fills four minutes, 41 seconds with Coiro, Maluma, Lopez, Goldsmith-Thomas, unit production manager Pamela Thur and actor John Bradley.

Via “Live”, we look at the casting of Maluma and some character elements as well as the concert shoot. We fail to find much substance here, though it’s bizarre Goldsmith-Thomas thinks Madison Square Garden holds 50,000 people!

After this, we find Married With Style, a five-minute, three-second piece that features Lopez, Coiro, Goldsmith-Thomas, Duomo, Musky, Duncan and choreographer Kiel Tutin.

“Style” digs into aspects of the concert performances. Mostly superficial content results.

Finally, we get a lyric video for “On My Way”. It mixes movie clops with the song’s text to become wholly forgettable.

The disc opens with an ad for Redeeming Love. No trailer for Marry Me appears here.

One can certainly find many rom-coms weaker than Marry Me, but that fails to act as an actual endorsement. The movie benefits from the charm of its leads but it runs too long and lacks the inspiration it needs to become better than mediocre. The Blu-ray offers excellent visuals along with appropriate audio and a mix of bonus materials. Expect a watchable but not especially involving romantic comedy from this one.