Jennifer Lopez & Brett Goldstein's R-Rated Netflix Rom-Com Office Romance Was Subtly Impacted By 2025's Biggest Meme

Alongside Goldstein and Lopez, both of whom also produced the film, the star-studded Office Romance cast includes American Primeval's Betty Gilpin, The Mandalorian's Amy Sedaris, Veep's Tony Hale, The Diplomat's Bradley Whitford and Oscar nominee Edward James Olmos, among others. Helmed by Ol Parker in a return to the rom-com genre after the George Clooney and Julia Roberts-led Ticket to Paradise, the R-rated movie made its premiere on Netflix on June 5.

Ahead of the film's release, ScreenRant's Liam Crowley interviewed Jennifer Lopez, Brett Goldstein, Ol Parker, Betty Giplin and Tony Hale to discuss Office Romance. When asked about putting together the scene of Jackie and Daniel's first kiss, Parker confessed it "was kind of a punt," having found "a brilliant musician for the band that is playing when they go out to dinner" and asked him to cover Mazzy Star's 1993 classic "Fade Into You."

Having not played the recording of the cover for Lopez and Goldstein prior to the day of filming the Office Romance scene, the director further confessed that "it was a scary moment" going into the actual shoot, concerned his producers/stars might feel that "wasn't how I saw it at all":

Ol Parker: It was my plan to do the dance and to shoot it all in one; all of that was kind of planned. And then on the day, I was like, "Okay, so this is what we're going to do. Here's the song." Luckily, they were into it, and it was a brilliant night, and I'm really glad it worked.

Turning the conversation to the film's stakes, in which Jackie and Daniel's relationship goes against general company policies and risks undoing everything she built, Parker explained that a key to romantic comedies is "an obstacle," citing everything from "age to class to race" as ones that previous films in the genre have touched upon. However, as "the world gets easier in some ways," he stated that "those obstacles are being eroded," and thus things like money, race and sexuality are "not going to be such an issue anymore."

With the difference in power dynamics for Jackie and Daniel, in which a boss is dating their subordinate, Parker revealed that they were in the midst of filming when 2025's biggest meme — the kiss cam at a Coldplay concert exposing a relationship between Astronomer execs Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot — happened, which had a surprising subtle impact on Office Romance:

Ol Parker: Friendship is When Harry Met Sally. I thought this was a really brilliant one, really natural, really organic. And actually, while we were shooting the Coldplay Kiss Cam happened. It's part of the conversation that obviously people are having in offices all around. It felt really organic and really natural and valid.

Lopez & Goldstein Know The Perfect Double Feature For Office Romance

ScreenRant: Brett, I heard that you wrote this film with Jennifer in mind. Her saying yes is obviously half the battle, but the second half is making sure you have genuine onscreen chemistry. When did you both know that this connection was going to work on screen?

Brett Goldstein: Right away. On the first Zoom, I think. The very first time she appeared on a Zoom and —

Jennifer Lopez: What happened when ... I'll tell you what I thought.

Brett Goldstein: You tell me.

Jennifer Lopez: No, you first.

Brett Goldstein: No, you first.

Jennifer Lopez: Okay. When I came on the screen, they were already on the Zoom, and I did my camera, and the minute my camera came on, he had this big smile, and I was like, "Oh, how cute he is. Okay, this is going to be fun." I just knew.

Brett Goldstein: I think I said, "Jennifer Lopez, as I live and breathe."

Jennifer Lopez: Did you say that? First, you just smiled. Yeah, because I think you know how you have to settle for a second. It's like when somebody comes on, you have to wait to talk.

ScreenRant: Ol said that you guys all got dinner together, and he just sat back and let you two talk. Is that where you really developed what these characters were going to be like?

Jennifer Lopez: I remember Ol and I talking a lot and Brett across the table.

Brett Goldstein: It was very easy immediately, and I didn't know. You never know. It's a gamble. You never know what it's going to be like with someone. And we got on immediately, and we laughed a lot very early on, and I was like, "Oh, this is going to be great."

ScreenRant: You guys got a killer poster. I love a good rom-com poster. Was it a screenshot from the film? Was it a shoot day? How did you guys take that picture?

Jennifer Lopez: There are these scenes in the elevator that are quite memorable, and so it just made sense. I think the very first opening, it's like the two of us walk into two separate elevators before the opening credits. It's just part of the movie. So it was great that the marketing team decided to go with that.

ScreenRant: Perfect double feature movie for Office Romance. What you got for me?

Jennifer Lopez: I was just going to say probably Monster-in-Law or Maid in Manhattan.

ScreenRant: Especially with the New Jersey connection in this film.

Jennifer Lopez: That's a good idea.

Brett Goldstein: Yeah, we're Maid in Manhattan heads.

Ol Parker, Betty Gilpin & Tony Hale Saw Something Special In Office Romance's Script

ScreenRant: I was shocked to find out that this is a career first for you, the fact that you're directing a script you didn't write. Yeah. What did that feel like as a director this time around?

Ol Parker: Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. Completely odd, genuinely disconcerting because I've never thought of myself as a director. I was just finishing the idea that I'd had in my bedroom. It was just a control freak thing. And so, to be hired and then to realize that they're really good writers, there wasn't much needed to do the script. And then the lead guy also wrote it, so he's going to have a key voice in that. So there was really no need for whatever skills I have as a writer at all. And so yeah, there I was suddenly doing the thing that I didn't think I could do.

Betty Giplin: Just so positive. The whole work experience was so positive.

Tony Hale: Super encouraging too. Yes.

Betty Gilpin: Yeah. Conducive to a real comedic environment. I mean, the script was so good and we also improvised a ton. Yeah, it was a lovely experience.

Tony Hale: Yeah. He also, just the way he talks about his family and his life, you can just see that his work is not his main priority. It's all about relationships, and how are you doing? And you're right, it's just always kind of positive. And it's very easy to go to the default of long hours and getting tired and critical and stuff, but you always stayed positive.

ScreenRant: It helps when your leading man is someone who knows the script through and through. He knows it's DNA. What was that collaboration with Brett like?

Ol Parker: Lovely. I mean, really we talked quite a lot at the beginning because it could have its challenges, because obviously, he knows it really well, and he has a set idea of how it's going to go and how things are going to be. It was intensely fun and collaborative, and he was thrilled to be making a movie. He loved it. For me, I was really happy.

ScreenRant: Something you bring as a director is that you're able to elevate the comedy to a level that feels truthful. What is the secret to making comedy feel truthful and not just like a bit that we're seeing on screen?

Ol Parker: I appreciate that. I don't know what the secret is. You just have to believe it. You just find the thing, even if it's Mamma Mia, even if it's nonsense and people are suddenly walking towards the window and music plays now starting to sing, you just got to find something that's real and credible about it, that's kind of grounded in that that's what the character would do at that point and not completely let's just do this for the laugh. It's weird, Mamma Mia, isn't it, because it's bonkers. It's completely bonkers, but you still just find the honesty in it. And if you find that, then you can be as absurd as you want.

ScreenRant: What did Jennifer bring to this film that you felt you learned as a director?

Ol Parker: I just sat by the monitor and ate biscuits. She can do anything. She's the queen. And so her instinct, I've been lucky enough to work with Julia Roberts as well, and both of them, their instincts are so good, and they're so truthful that it makes it incredibly easy for me. I just hang out.

ScreenRant: Brett had mentioned that he wrote the script with Jennifer in mind. She has to say yes, for starters, but there's got to be on-screen chemistry because even if she says yes, and they're clashing as personalities, it just won't work. When was the first moment on set where you realized this was a magnetic duo, Brett and Jennifer?

Ol Parker: I realized it before we had lunch together. I met them both separately and liked them both very much, which hopefully means they'll like each other, but not necessarily. But then the three of us went and had lunch in LA a few months before we started, and I didn't say anything for three hours. I just sat and watched them laugh together. I was like, "Oh, this is going to work." It was the best. I drove away from the lunch just thinking, "Yeah, my job has just got a whole lot easier." You can have the best script in the world, but if you don't want to see them kiss, then it won't work. It just, however funny, however great the supporting characters are, I have a great everything about the bits. In the end, if you don't want to see the two of them get together, then you're lost. And luckily, I think on this, we got lucky.