Have you ever found yourself wishing you could dive through your TV screen and stop a character from making a stupid choice? Well, Netflix’s newest rom-com can get you pretty close.
The movie titled “Choose Love,” is the streaming site’s latest foray into choose-your-own-adventure media. The movie joins other titles such as “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” and “Escape the Undertaker” in Netflix’s selection of interactive films.
“Choose Love” centers around successful recording engineer Cami Calloway — played by Laura Marano, of “Austin & Ally” fame — who’s in a long-term relationship with Paul (who has plans to propose). Cami likes her life, but she feels like she’s missing something, so when she meets old flame Jack Menna and British rockstar Rex Galier, she sees a chance to find out what it is.
I have to confess that from the start of the film I was on Team Paul. Paul is nice, funny, and, as illustrated by an early charades victory, has a connection with Cami. My roommate and I were yelling at the screen whenever Cami considered dating someone else.
Despite my immediate bias, Cami did have chemistry with all three of her suitors. Scott Michael Foster, Avan Jogia, and Jordi Webber (Paul, Rex, and Jack respectively) were very believably interested in Cami, who Marano plays as someone who — relatably — doesn’t know what she wants out of life. I bought into her struggle, even though it did come across as a little one-dimensional.
Despite the actors’ success in creating chemistry between their characters, we don’t really get to see who any of them are outside of their romantic lives. In particular, Cami’s love interests are barely developed beyond how they appeal to her.
But the movie isn’t trying to win an Oscar. “Choose Love” is the kind of film you put on the night before a test to try to turn your brain off. The ability of the viewer to decide the storyline makes it a particularly good distraction, and the chance to change the ending depending on your mood makes it sure to work for any situation.
This is not the movie to watch if you’re in the mood for an intellectually stimulating movie experience, but it’s not trying to be. “Choose Love” knows what it is, and it accomplishes its goal very well.
The cuts between different scenes are almost unnoticeable, and the story flows cohesively no matter what choices you make.
Whether you want Cami to pursue her childhood love, commit to her boyfriend, or travel with a rockstar, “Choose Love” is a fun watch, and has an ending you’ll love.
