Marry Me review - Jennifer Lopez vehicle delivers

Romcom is sweet but not saccharine

Lots of drama follows well-worn paths; just as we expect that in a tragedy that Chekhov's gun (or variants of it) will deliver the denouement, so we know that in a romcom the two leads will end up together. So – no spoilers, but you know the drill – Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson's characters overcome all sorts of obstacles that could thwart their romance.

My New York Year review - lacklustre portrait of an ingenue

★★ MY NEW YORK YEAR Old-fashioned romcom aimed at a young female audience

Old-fashioned romcom aimed at a young female audience misses its mark

This pallid chick flick limps out on release having changed its title since its Berlinale 2020 debut; in the US it's known as My Salinger Year, but perhaps market research in Blighty decreed that name-checking the author of The Catcher in the Rye wouldn't play as well here.

Rare Beasts review - Billie Piper as triple threat

★★★★ RARE BEASTS Self-described 'anti-romcom' is nervy and edgy

Self-described "anti-romcom" is nervy and edgy

Emotions don't come in half-measures in Rare Beasts, with which Billie Piper makes a commendably edgy debut as writer-director onscreen while affording herself a stonking star part. Dedicated., we're informed, to "all my friends and all their woes", this self-described "anti-romcom" may be too stylistically indulgent for some.

Good Grief, Platform Presents online review - a little more, please

★★★ GOOD GRIEF Sian Clifford and Nikesh Patel do their best with a mercurial show

Sian Clifford and Nikesh Patel do their best with a show that's as mercurial as grief

Good Grief, a new show from American screenwriter and playwright Lorien Haynes, can’t work out what it wants to be. It’s billed as an “online filmed production”.

Baby Done review - romcom done right

★★★★ BABY DONE Funny, sincere, charming Kiwi comedy about unexpected pregnancy

Funny, sincere and completely charming Kiwi comedy about unexpected pregnancy

Romcoms. We all know the tried and tested formula: immature guy, uptight girl, they meet, they like each other, hate each other, and end up in love. It’s as reliable as it is unrealistic, and sometimes it takes a film like Baby Done to remind you there is a better way.

Dolly Alderton: Ghosts review - a love story beyond romance

★★★★ DOLLY ALDERTON: GHOSTS A light but enjoyable examination of the life of the new thirty-something

A light but enjoyable examination of the life of the new thirty-something

There’s something simultaneously cringey and also addictive about Dolly Alderton’s prose. Ghosts is definitely feminism lite, a palimpsest for young women in London who are into yoga and small plates. But that is not to detract from the fact that it is eminently readable, and frequently charming.

Louise Alder, Roger Vignoles, Wigmore Hall review - German Romanticism meets French eroticism

★★★★★ LOUISE ALDER, ROGER VIGNOLES, WIGMORE HALL German Romanticism meets French eroticism

Music by Berg, Bizet and Poulenc makes for a heady lunchtime amuse-bouche

We may have started out among the wholesome pleasures of nature, but we ended up in the bedroom – once, that is, we had recovered from the flying breasts… Soprano Louise Alder’s recital – the last in the Wigmore Hall’s month-long lunchtime series – had a twinkle in its eye and the weekend firmly in its sights.

The Best Films Out Now

THE BEST FILMS OUT NOW theartsdesk recommends the top movies of the moment

theartsdesk recommends the top movies of the moment

There are films to meet every taste in theartsdesk's guide to the best movies currently on release. In our considered opinion, any of the titles below is well worth your attention.

Enola Holmes ★★★★ Millie Bobby Brown gives the patriarchy what-for in a new Sherlock-related franchise

Sunnymead Court, Tristan Bates Theatre review - a lovely lockdown romance

★★★★ SUNNYMEAD COURT, TRISTAN BATES THEATRE A lovely lockdown romance

Socially distanced dramedy is short and sweet, with a knockout performance from Remmie Milner

The first words of Sunnymead Court, a new play at the Tristan Bates Theatre, are ominous. “We are transitioning from human experiences to digital experiences.” Oof. Thankfully, this isn’t another gloomy lockdown drama about the evils of Zoom quizzes – it’s the story of an unlikely romance between two women who live metres from each other, but have never spoken.