Sam Claflin plays an uptight novelist on a Mexican book tour in a romantic
comedy short on romance and comedy
Ever since it was insisted that
Netflix had single-handledly resurrected the romantic comedy despite the general hideousness of the romcoms they were releasing, streamers have churned them out by the dozen, quality be damned.
As Valentine’s Day looms, with Netflix still basking in the success of last month’s The Royal Treatment, the next week will see the teen sequel Tall Girl 2 and
Turkish offering Love Tactics also added to its catalogue. At the same time,
Amazon will launch the Jenny Slate-Charlie Day comedy I Want You Back and Universal will give Marry Me, J-Lo’s glossy return to the genre, a hybrid cinema-Peacock launch. It’s a theoretical feast for fans, but here’s naively hoping that they’re a damn sight better than this week’s misfiring trifle Book of Love (dropping on Amazon in the US and on Sky in the UK), a colourless background watch that never once attempts to make itself worthy of more focused attention.