We first meet Leilani (Rae) and Jibran (Nanjiani) after their first night together, and they just can\u2019t bear to say goodbye. It\u2019s adorable. Flash forward four years, however, and the couple is in dire straits. Leilani can\u2019t stand how picky and indecisive Jibran is. Jibran abhors how appearance-obsessed Leilani is. On their way to a friend\u2019s dinner party, they realize it may be time to split. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the middle of their fight, a man on a bike hits the front of the couple\u2019s car, pursued by a cop (Paul Sparks) who commandeers the vehicle with Leilani and Jibran inside. The cop runs over the cyclist, killing him, and takes off. After a couple of hipsters stumble onto the scene and immediately call the cops, Leilani and Jibran go on the run, determined to find out what happened and prove their innocence \u2013 so they can finally break up and move on with their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lovebirds<\/em> borrows a lot from other movies \u2013 many of them better. It\u2019s got elements of Date Night<\/em>, Game Night<\/em> and Eyes Wide Shut<\/em>; it even borrows a bit from Nanjiani\u2019s 2019 action comedy Stuber<\/em>. The pairing of Rae and Nanjiani feels fresh, but not much else does. Still, the elements that The Lovebirds <\/em>borrows are there because they\u2019re proven to work, and they mostly do here, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Showalter, the State alum who helmed The Big Sick <\/em>and the TBS series Search Party<\/em>, is a good directorial match for the material, drawing on his background both with the dark comedy series about insufferable hipsters solving a mystery, and his skill with romantic comedy. Leilani and Jibran live in New Orleans, but they wouldn\u2019t be out of place hanging out with Search Party\u2019s<\/em> Dory and her self-absorbed friends in New York. There\u2019s a portion of The Lovebirds\u2019<\/em> plot involving a Kubrick-esque secret society, with stark, unsettling visuals and sound that suggest Showalter could also do well directing horror, should the mood strike him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The central talent of The Lovebirds<\/em> \u2013 both behind and in front of the camera \u2013 is ultimately stronger than the material they\u2019re given to work with. Nanjiani and Rae have lovely chemistry when the script allows them to enjoy each other, but they spend most of the time acting silly or annoyed. Sparks, an underutilized talent who\u2019s always great to see, doesn\u2019t get enough screen time or development, resulting in a disappointing performance. Fortunately, there\u2019s enough skill on display that The Lovebirds<\/em> is still plenty enjoyable, as long as you don\u2019t think too hard about it. It\u2019s good quarantine viewing \u2013 light, interesting, and funny enough to keep you entertained without demanding a lot of attention to keep up with the plot. It\u2019s unfortunate that it isn\u2019t more than this, but as it is, it\u2019s still pretty good. ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/lovebirds2-scaled-1024x683.jpg\")
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