When watching the R-rated comedy, The Lovebirds, it starts out with a very romantically casual mood, but that mood is soon smashed like a cockroach under a boot as a loving couple (a.k.a. lovebirds) is launched into a dangerous mystery of dead bodies, hot bacon grease, and a secret sex cult.
Director Michael Showalter (The Big Sick, 2017) is no stranger to comedy films, and his experience shows through the balanced pace of the film and the funny moments of smooth comic timing. The Lovebirds is in the same sub-genre of other comedies like Date Night (2010), Game Night (2018), and The Out of Towners (both 1970 and 1999) each with an ordinary, dissatisfied couple placed in extraordinarily stressful situations. In an attempt to add some realism and emotional variety, the film has a few moments of calm human connection that aren't entertaining or terribly natural. And the logistics of the actual mystery are clearly not important to the screenwriters.
But there's a few great one-liners that will get viewers laughing. I don't think anyone's stomachs will be sore after watching The Lovebirds, but viewers will at least have some moderate fun. The Lovebirds was initially scheduled for a national release in movie theaters on April 3rd this year. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was released through Netflix on May 22nd. Newly released comedy films aren't exactly thriving right now, but at least they're still alive.
