“Love Hurts” (2025)
The bad news: “Love Hurts” is one of the worst 2025 releases I’ve seen. The good news: I still gave it a 3/5 and it’s only February 6.
The film is being marketed as an action comedy, but it really is just an action movie that sometimes veers into both comedy and romance.
Ke Huy Quan stars as a man who has turned his life around from being involved with the criminal underworld to become the leading realtor in Milwaukee. The film takes place on Valentine’s Day, when his new life comes crashing down around him as folks from his past keep popping up.
Quan is undeniably charming, even in this sometimes messy film, and he carries the movie with convincing star power.
I love Ariana DeBose, but much like in the disaster that was “Kraven the Hunter” (legitimately one of the worst films of 2024), she is somewhat wasted here in a part that is rather one-note. I hate how this seems to be a trend with many folks, especially women, after they have breakout Oscar-winning roles like she did in “West Side Story.” I hope to see better projects from her soon.
The two of them don’t have the greatest chemistry, but I’m betting they did the best they could with the lackluster script full of plot holes and questionable choices.
I know Quan is known for his action chops, but with the glimpses of it we see here and perhaps a better match for a leading lady, I would love to see him lead a romcom. His romantic scenes with Michelle Yeoh in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” were some of my favorite parts of that movie.
Until then, I would recommend “Heart Eyes” as your romantic trip to the movies this Valentine’s Day season, so long as you can stomach a film that blends romcom elements with bloody horror.
I will say, too, that some of the bloodier action scenes in “Love Hurts” were on par with what you might expect from a horror film, particularly some creative scenes involving boba straws as a character’s weapon of choice.
Ultimately, I had some fun with “Love Hurts,” but it’s not going to be a movie I highly recommend nor will intentionally watch myself again.