Technically, this is a film review, but if we’re being pedantic, it feels more like a review for a role-playing game (RPG). Borrowing from predecessors like Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend, Choose Love is an interactive rom-com which lets viewers choose the outcome. It can be from something as simple as how to play a game of Taboo, to the serious life decision of which man our protagonist should choose.
Choose Love doesn’t develop our protagonist beyond her romantic relationships, which doesn’t allow much space for introspection and growth. However, it’s very much aware of that, with Cami (Laura Marano) making tongue-in-cheek comments along the way about the implausibility of the premise. The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, and neither should you.
Cami has been happily attached to her boyfriend Paul (Scott Michael Foster) for 3 years. Coincidentally, my husband’s name is also Paul, so you can probably guess who he was rooting for the entire film. However, during a tarot card reading, Cami realises that her life doesn’t feel quite complete yet. Is it because of Paul, who maybe isn’t the right man for her? Or is it due to her unrealised dreams of becoming a singer? To make things even more interesting, two other men enter the picture. There’s Cami’s first love Jack (Jordi Webber), whom she considers the one that got away, and a shared passion for music with rock star Rex Galier (Avan Jogia).
From the get-go, it’s clear that we’re not on an even playing field. While Jack is presented as an option, he doesn’t get much space in the film. Webber and Marano also don’t have as much chemistry, so we already know that the true champion of Cami’s heart will either be Rex or Paul. Paul has the history, the stability – he’s the kind of guy you buy a house with. Rex, on the other hand, travels so much he doesn’t even have a house.
Marano has chemistry with both Foster and Jogia, but her scenes with Jogia are just more fun to watch. He’s got this whole British rock star persona thing going on, which is pretty entertaining. Things are fun and sexy between them, while Paul and Cami talk about things like batteries.
The most fascinating thing about Choose Love is what your choices reveal about you and your preferences. My first few play throughs, I ended at the same conclusion, only reaching a different outcome after I actively went back to make different decisions. The film encourages the viewer to play along, by having Cami break the fourth wall and address us quite a fair bit throughout the film’s runtime. She also articulates her true feelings when the decisions we make for her are fairly insane and causes her life to go off the rails.
And even when we think we’re making a life-changing decision between these three men, as the film plays out, we have the opportunity to change our mind if we feel differently. The actors also deliver their lines differently based on the context of a previous decision. It really allows you to feel the weight of every decision made, especially when you need to backtrack quite a fair bit if you want things to play out a different way.
While the plot of the film is nothing to write home about, and all the characters feel a little paper-thin, the interactive element is fairly engaging. I also found myself looking for little hints and details that would show me which ending is the intended one for the film.
So yes, not much value as a film, but highly entertaining as a game.
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