Office Romance Review: This Jennifer Lopez Netflix Rom-Com Is An Absolute Delight

Everyone has a movie genre or two they're willing to forgive under most circumstances. As long as the right beats are hit and a film does what it's "supposed to do," whether it was actually any good becomes almost irrelevant – it's getting a thumbs up. The genres most often on the receiving end of such grace are the ones that streamers, TV networks, and direct-to-video producers jump on, because they know they can make them cheaply and easily and still leave the target audience satisfied enough to stick around.

The romantic comedy is not one of those genres for me. I enjoy them when they're good; some of the great ones are among my favorite films. The bad ones make my teeth hurt. I'm always a little wary of just throwing one on, especially from Netflix, who have stepped up to deliver rom-coms after they sadly disappeared from theaters, but do so with more of an eye for quantity than quality. Not even the presence of recognizable, charismatic stars is a guarantee that anything interesting will be done with them.

So, when I say that Office Romance is delightful, you can trust that I mean it. The filmmakers, and co-writer, producer, and star Brett Goldstein in particular, clearly have a sense of what it is that makes studio rom-coms so appealing, and they've built this one to actually deliver on it. It's a little shaggy, perhaps, and I inevitably found myself missing the shot-on-film glow that did so much for the movies of that bygone era. But I can't really complain. My default state watching Office Romance was a giddy smile.

Office Romance benefits from establishing some very clear obstacles for its romantic leads. Daniel Blanchflower (Goldstein) is a British attorney who has moved to New Jersey to help his sister Lizzy (Jodie Whittaker), who's gotten herself imprisoned there. Despite being overqualified, he's taken a job as the second-string in-house counsel for Air Cruz, a small but growing airline. Its CEO, Jackie Cruz (Jennifer Lopez), is simultaneously feared by her employees and not taken seriously by her company's board. She's the daughter of founder and current board member Captain Jack (Edward James Olmos), and they still see her that way, no matter her success.

Air Cruz has a zero-tolerance policy on workplace relationships, but more importantly, neither character starts the film as someone who would want to break it. Jackie is virtually married to her job, and contentedly so. Daniel hopes to find someone, but believes in the strict separation of one's work and personal life, to the extent that his American colleagues' need to overshare baffles him. When the two first meet to work on fending off a frivolous lawsuit from a rival airline, their only desires are to be good at their jobs.

This is basic stuff, but oh so important. Even if you intend to respect a genre's patterns, rather than try and subvert them – Office Romance, despite some risky choices, is very much coloring within the lines here – they only really work when grounded in character. We don't just want them to get together for the sake of it, but because we want to see them grow into who they're supposed to be through the relationship. When they inevitably hit a rough patch, we want to watch them choose to overcome the forces keeping them apart.

This movie gets that part of this equation exactly right, at every step. The hallmark of any great romance is that buzzing energy that forms between two characters when they're either drawn to each other as the world pushes them apart, or pushing away from each other as the world draws them together. It's often chalked up to the intangible chemistry between two actors (which Lopez and Goldstein do have), but it's as much a product of the writing and filmmaking. By genuinely investing in their professional lives and gradually upping the stakes of having a relationship, as if curious to see where Jackie and Daniel will draw the line, Office Romance successfully creates that feeling.

Equally important, the movie gets the comedy right – and this is where it establishes some of its own identity. Though it sports the bones of a more traditional rom-com, and typically sits comfortably in that tone, the Judd Apatow-era of Hollywood comedies is also an influence. Goldstein channels some of the she's-out-of-your-league dynamic in his performance, but doesn't lose himself in it, and the film is unafraid to push a joke further than you might've expected it to go. The feeling of being suddenly yanked in a surprising direction gives the story a much-needed jolt, which is often immediately followed by a bit that reestablishes normalcy in a hilarious and satisfying way.

The supporting cast is also wonderful. Office Romance is filled with recognizable comedic talents, each of whom is given something to nail, even in the smallest parts. Betty Gilpin has the most to do as Sydney Bloom, Jackie's right-hand woman and arguably the greater workaholic, who spends most of the movie very pregnant and refusing to take off work. She's consistently funny in the role, avoiding the best friend trope by forming an antagonistic, unhinged relationship with Daniel. But, honestly, pretty much everyone delivers when called upon.

Despite my praise, the film is hardly perfect. The direction and image-making generally feel serviceable, when you'd hope they'd aim for special. The story meanders a little in the middle, and I don't know that Daniel's sister, as one of the storylines that's a little more out there, is ever fully integrated with the rest of the plot. But I can hardly bring myself to care about the flaws. Office Romance does what it's supposed to do, and, more importantly for me, does it well. I hope to see many more like it.

Office Romance is available to stream on Netflix from Friday, June 5.

Release Date June 5, 2026

Runtime 94 Minutes

Director Ol Parker

Cast

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