I’m a sucker for romantic comedies and Jennifer Lopez. When I heard about Office Romance (2026) hitting Netflix in my birthday month. I just had to check it out!

WARNING: This post contains spoilers !

Plot

Iron-fisted President and CEO of Air Cruz Jackie Cruz runs the company with rigid control, including a no-fraternization policy for all. However the rule is put to the test when a charming British lawyer starts working for her. While Daniel quickly develops an undeniable crush on his intimidating boss, both workaholics try their best to keep things strictly professional.

Thoughts

I always keep an eye out for romantic comedies, especially when a it stars Jennifer Lopez. I admit, her latest rom-coms haven’t been paticularily good, but I still wanted to give this movie a shot. I mean, the trailer even uses that Keane song Somewhere Only We Know, similar to one of my favorite fantasy romantic movies The Lake House (2006). I just had to see if would be a dud again.

On paper Office Romance seems perfect. It has two attractive leading characters and an interesting setting. I met my partner at the office, so I definitely understand love can blossom on the work floor. Unfortunately I didn’t quite feel a great chemistry between Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein. The plot hits all the story beats, but there wasn’t enough to make me truly care about the couple. It all felt very superficial.

Jennifer looks stunning, but Brett pales in comparison. It felt like the male lead was more of a prop, even though they tried to give his character a bit of a backstory to make him more interesting. I did however quite enjoy the performance of Betty Gilpin who plays Sydney in Office Romance. She also has a role in The Social Reckoning (2026), I’m definitely curious about her performance in that upcoming movie.

Betty Gilpin as Sydney in Office Romance

I had to look up the Office Romance soundtrack on YouTube Music again, because I forgot about it. It’s very much a by the numbers score that does not elevate the movie in any way. Overall I do think the movie wasn’t as bad as Marry Me (2022), which actually does have a pretty good soundtrack. The plot is way more crazy than Office Romance, but a better romantic comedy with Jennifer Lopez is Shotgun Wedding (2022). That movie has way more comedy with a great supportive cast, such as Lenny Kravitz who plays the.. uhm.. ex. I don’t want to spoil things in case you haven’t watched it yet.

Romantic comedies always have this little thing where you have to suspend your belief to fully enjoy it. Usually a good romantic comedy softens you up which makes it easier, but I just couldn’t really get into the right mindset. At all times I felt like I was watching a movie that pretended to be a romantic comedy. Which is truly an utter shame!

Verdict

Even though Office Romance (2026) looks good on paper with two attractive leads and a potential salacious setting, the movie fails to capture true romantic comedy magic. Without that special spark the movie becomes more of a pretend rom-com not worth your time.