R | 1h 54m | Comedy, Romance | 2026
There’s a big reason that producing R-rated romantic comedies is problematic. It’s simple: The target audience is 25 and older females, a demographic that generally doesn’t care for profanity or nudity.
Of the 50 or so titles that fit that description, roughly 20 percent made serious money and, of those, about half are worth our time. There’s “Pretty Woman,” “Palm Springs,” “There’s Something about Mary,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Hit Man,” and “When Harry Met Sally.” I would go out on a limb and declare these movies are recommendable not because they are R-rated, but in spite of it.
“Office Romance” has a workable premise: Dating co-workers is risky and comes with many downsides. This is especially true if a relationship involves the company CEO and an underling. To my knowledge, there has never been an R-rated rom-com with this dynamic, unless you consider “Horrible Bosses.”
So Far, so Good
Here, it’s Cruz Airlines CEO Jackie Cruz (Jennifer Lopez), and the underling being newly hired in-house attorney Daniel Blanchflower (Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso”).
Jackie is the daughter of the company’s founder (Edward James Olmos), lovingly and otherwise referred to as “Captain Jack.” Many, make that most, of the employees consider Jackie to be a “born on third base” type.
Despite her stellar track record, the Cruz board of directors considers Jackie’s success as equal parts nepotism and dumb luck. They want her gone. But this will never happen as long as Jack is still around. It doesn’t help that Jack “lovingly” addresses Jackie as “Gordita,” which in Spanish means “little fat one.”
Jackie is involved in a sticky situation because AirCruz was awarded gates at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport that were earmarked for a competitor. The competitor claims Jackie wooed the airport’s director of operations with either money or “intimacy” to get him to change his mind, something she vehemently denies.
After a medical emergency involving principal AirCruz attorney Vance (Bradley Whitford), Jackie picks Daniel to take his place. Daniel creates enough doubt to force the competitor into possibly dropping the case.
Molten Attraction
Jackie is wowed by Daniel’s acumen, and it’s clear both have trouble suppressing their mutual attraction. Try as they might to keep this a secret, Jackie’s loyal, long-serving secretary Sydney (Betty Gilpin) knows something is up. She takes clear a protective, immediate, and burning suspicious dislike for Daniel.
Had “Office Romance” been a PG-13-rated rom-com or a dramatic mystery, this premise would have been ideal, but that’s not the case—by a wide margin.
Director Ol Parker, Goldstein and his co-writer Joe Kelly instead take a premise that most rom-com fans would love and turn it into something borderline repugnant. I should be clear here. I have zero problems with profanity and sexual content, if it’s included in movies where it’s fitting and serves the narrative. That isn’t the case with this overlong movie.
It tries to pluck women’s heartstrings while including blue dialogue so frank Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino would blush.
While the two leads make goo-goo eyes, grope each other, and drop all sorts of four-letter words, Gilpin, along with Jodie Whittaker as Daniel’s sister Lizzy, deliver the comic goods.
The best thing about “American Primeval,” Gilpin generally takes on dramatic roles. But she revealed her previously hidden comic chops in the series “G.L.O.W.” and the brilliant 2020 dark comedy “The Hunt.”
Gilpin and Whittaker Help Somewhat
Gilpin’s Sydney takes no gruff from anybody, including Jackie, and protects her boss like a mama lion. Mere days away from delivering a baby, Sydney vows to return to work the day after the birth, providing the movie with its sole running joke.
The only woman to play the title character in the long-running “Doctor Who” TV series, Whittaker has about five minutes of screen time, yet she makes the most of every second.
In prison for reasons never fully made clear, Lizzy is a tad rough around the edges—think a modern take on Eliza Doolittle before the makeover. Sporting a spot-on cockney accent and lacking a filter between her brain and mouth, Whittaker’s Lizzy is the best part of the movie and she deserves her own spin-off.
At the risk of beating a dead horse, people offended by pointless and graphic profanity, easily or otherwise, should steer clear of “Office Romance.” Consider yourself warned.
“Office Romance” is now streaming on Netflix.
‘Office Romance’
Director: Ol Parker
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Brett Goldstein, Betty Gilpin, Jodie Whittaker
Running Time: 1 hour, 54 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: June 5, 2026
Rating: 2 1/2 stars out of 5
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