Not a fan of romantic comedies because they usually lean in one direction and never fully master the genre. Some are fully of comedy and not enough romance, while others have too much drama and romance instead of having comedy. Love Don’t Cost A Thing plays with the second notion…too much corny drama and romance instead of playing up the comedy.
The Good
Steve Harvey, Steve Harvey and Lori Harvey’s step father. He is funny, original and gives some great dramatic scenes in the 3rd act. Not only is he the comedic relief he also offers a role of guidance for Alvin (Nick Cannon). Yes this is a teen movie but for a film that felt like a MTV special it was surprising to see a performance like that from Mr. Harvey. The soundtrack of this movie was great, it made you feel like you were in the early 2000s with endless Murphy Lee, Nelly and some Ashanti. The costume designer deserves a major raise because he/she made the characters dress like the early 2000s without making it corny.
The Bad
Everything else. Nick Cannon and Christina Milian are not actors, yes they act but they can not act and that goes for a lot of the supporting cast. Some scenes felt so forced you feel second hand embarrassment…at times you wonder “why’d they let this slide?”. The pace of this movie was also weird…unlike great romantic comedies like Coming to America or Boomerang, Love Don’t Cost A Thing struggles with choosing to be a comedy or romantic drama. The second half of this film was fantastic because they dialed down the comedy and focused on a good story. One of the best scenes of this feature was a poetry club montage that could have set the tone for the 3rd act but instead the director decides to take it back to a silly MTV sex special.
The Final Take
This was not a good movie, not because of the acting, the pace or even the inconsistent direction. This was not a bad movie, because of the acting from Steve Harvey, soundtrack and costume design. This was an OK movie at best.
2.8/5
The Bytown Blog 