The Big Bicker

I feel like The Lovebirds (2020) was one of the first movies to skip a theater release because of COVID and to come out on streaming. The previews looked kind of fun, so we streamed it. 

It starts with Kumail Nanjiani leaving Issa Rae's apartment in the morning - their one-night stand is over, they plan to never see each other again. But maybe they should get breakfast first. Five years later they are still living together, but now seething with resentment. They head out to a dinner party, and as they quarrel on their way, they decide it's time to break up. And then they hit a cyclist.

He gets up and runs away like he's being chased, but leaves behind his phone. Then a guy comes up, says he's a cop, and commandeers their car. They chase the cyclist down - now Nanjiani and Rae are into the chase. They didn't almost kill an innocent man, he was a fugitive. Then the cop catches up to the guy, runs him down, then backs up and runs him down again. And again. They start to think that he isn't a cop. 

The cop, Paul Sparks, runs away when he hears sirens. A couple on a date see Nanjiani and Rae standing over the body, and call the cops. So they run.

The rest of this plays out pretty much how you'd expect, with the usual amount of twists and turns. They are afraid to go to the police because 1) the circumstances and 2) the shades of their skin. They have the phone, showing a calendar alert with a name and a bar. So Rae convinces Nanjiani to play detective. And so on. 

Of course, the plot is mostly McGuffin (Eyes Wide Shut sex cult plus blackmail), and a lot of the situations play out in a standard way. For example, they find someone in on the plot and threaten him - a couple of bougie types trying to act street and tough. But sometimes, there's a twist. For example, the police on their trail turn out to be lead by a sweet black woman, who knows they didn't do it - security cameras. She is only concerned for their welfare and wants to make sure they are ok. 

But mostly, this movie is about Nanjiani and Rae bickering. Nanjiani seems to be a compulsive talker, going off on rants about random thoughts. It would have made more sense if he had been a standup comedian again. Rae is a little more nuanced, bringing some real confusion and longing to the role of fed-up soon-to-be ex-lover. Also, she's the one who wants to play detective.

We found this to be fairly amusing. Michael Showalter is directing and he seems to know what he's doing. The main question is whether you find the bickering couple amusing or just irritating. It was a close call for us. 

Also, the movie is set in New Orleans for no good reason, and the setting is barely perceptible.