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Nov 6, 2021 · Warning: There are spoilers ahead of the new Netflix holiday rom-com titled "Love Hard." Star Jimmy O. Yang (Josh Lin) spoke to Insider about his idea for a potential sequel.
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- Verdict
By Laura Sirikul
Updated: Dec 16, 2021 9:45 pm
Posted: Nov 5, 2021 2:00 pm
Love Hard debuts on Netflix Nov. 5.
It’s that time of the year again! Time to get cheesy with romance.
The countdown to Christmas, filled with tropey storylines and predictable endings from Lifetime, Hallmark, and Netflix has arrived. With the success of films like A Christmas Prince and The Princess Switch, Netflix, which has become one of the biggest churners of the genre, has released the first of its many holiday movies slated for this season, Love Hard. And there’s a lot to love in this rom-com, which succeeds in embracing the genre in all its corny glory.
Directed by Hernán Jiménez and written by Danny Mackey and Rebecca Ewing, Love Hard follows disaster dating columnist Natalie (Nina Dobrev) as she believes she has finally found the man of her dreams through a dating app and decides to fly across the country to surprise him for Christmas. But when she arrives to meet “Josh” (Jimmy O. Yang), she finds out that she’s been catfished. The photo Josh used is actually of his completely unaware friend, Tag (Darren Barnet). Josh proposes a deal to Natalie: if she pretends to be his girlfriend in front of his family for the holidays, he will help her win Tag’s heart. Desperate for her “fairytale happy ending,” she agrees to the ruse. Of course, as Josh and Natalie play pretend boyfriend and girlfriend in front of his adoring parents and egotistical older brother, Owen (Harry Shum Jr.), they inevitably start falling for each other.
Following the predictable rom-com formula of “average joe and the hot girl” and the fake couple trope, Love Hard doesn’t offer much of anything new, but still finds a way to be charming. It’s also refreshing to see Yang, who is often cast as the funny side character, be the romantic lead. Unfortunately, Hollywood has frequently treated Asian men simply as foreigners or stereotypical nerds who never get the girl. Though it’s been nice to see gorgeous leading men like Henry Golding and Barnet himself get more time in the spotlight, it’s left little middle ground for the average Asian guy to find love on screen. That’s part of what makes Love Hard so interesting. Though Josh may not look like the standard love interest, the catfish reveal is not played up for laughs, which is such a relief. Instead, Josh is given some empathy and a chance to show Natalie that he’s still the guy she fell for through their many texts and phone conversations. Despite Josh’s lie, it’s hard not to root for him as Yang plays him with such humor and sincerity.
Alien Xmas
A Christmas Prince
The Princess Switch
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
The Christmas Chronicles
Other -- let us know in the comments.
Although Love Hard follows the typical formulaic plot and clichés, Nina Dobrev and Jimmy O. Yang are charming in their roles as two imperfect people trying to find love. The film checkmarks all the boxes for standard rom-coms. But, instead of trying to move away from it, Love Hard embraces the genre by adding cheesy tropes from other movies into it...
Nov 5, 2021 · Netflix hasn't confirmed a Love Hard sequel, but Jimmy O. Yang already has the perfect pitch for a second movie.
- Kelsie Gibson
Nov 10, 2021 · Sequel or no, Love Hard is a must-watch. Love Hard is about Natalie. Nina Dobrev plays this young dating column writer, who lives in Los Angeles. After a rough dating journey, Natalie falls in love with a man named Josh Lin and travels to a small town on the East Coast to surprise him for Christmas. ADVERTISEMENT. Article continues below this ad.
Love Hard is a holiday Romantic Comedy directed by Hernán Jiménez for Netflix. It was released on November 5, 2021. Natalie Bauer (Nina Dobrev) is an unlucky-in-love writer based in Los Angeles who turns her Dating Service Disasters into a column. After her best friend sets her match radius to the entire country, Natalie quickly connects with ...
Nov 5, 2021 · Nina Dobrev, Jimmy O. Yang and Darren Barnet, stars of Netflix's Love Hard, share the iconic rom-com scenes they want to recreate in a potential sequel, as well as an idea for its title.
People also ask
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Is Love Hard a good Christmas rom-com?
Nov 8, 2021 · Love Hard is probably one of the more entertaining holiday movies Netflix has to offer. However, it doesn't have the requisite depth to be a proper rom-com.
