Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Lovebirds’ on Netflix, Starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani Surviving One Crazy Night

Originally meant for theaters, The Lovebirds became a Netflix film thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Paramount sold this Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani action-comedy to the streaming service, and Netflix released it on Friday as an “original.” Directed by Michael Showalter, and written by Aaron Abrams and Brendan Gall, The Lovebirds has the feel of a mid-budget studio comedy—in a good way!—because it is one. 

THE LOVEBIRDS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: We meet Jibran (Nanjiani) and Lelani (Rae) on the day they fall in love. They flirt sweetly over cocktails, take a romantic stroll through a New Orleans park, and share a perfect kiss. We flash-forward four years into their relationship, where the shine of new love has dulled. Jibran thinks Lelani spends too much time on Instagram. Lelani thinks Jibran is snobby and judgemental. And she doesn’t understand why he refuses to show her his documentary film.

They have a particularly nasty fight on the way to a dinner party, and the couple mutually agrees to break up. Mere seconds later, Jibran hits a cyclist with his car. But it’s OK! He’s alive! And mostly fine! At least, he is until a man who says he’s a cop (Paul Sparks) hijacks their vehicle in the name of the law, and runs the cyclist over. Several times.

Jibran and Lelani are caught by passersby standing over the dead body. Jibran has blood on his coat from trying to help the man earlier. They admit they hit him with their car. It doesn’t look good. The white witness who calls the police (Catherine Cohen, who makes her two minutes of screentime count) tells the cops, “I don’t like, think they’re murderers because they’re minorities. But Jibran and Lelani know that, statistically, they have a far greater chance of being falsely convicted than a white couple would. So they run. Their only hope of clearing their names now is to track down the real murderer, using the clues he left behind. Let the wacky, action-crime-comedy hijinks begin.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: So, yes, the set-up of The Lovebirds is essentially the comedy version of the critically-acclaimed romantic drama, Queen & Slim, which stars Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith as a couple who kill a white cop in self-defense, and are forced to go on the run. But the more apt comparison is to the many other one-crazy-night comedies like Date Night, Superbad, and Game Night.

Performance Worth Watching: I couldn’t possibly choose between Rae and Nanjiani, who have such an effortless back-and-forth that they practically operate as one giant super-comedian. Instead, I’ll shout out to Moses Storm who plays, to use Lelani’s nickname, “Date Rape.” (His character’s name is actually Steve, according to the credits.) I’ve had my eye on Storm, a stand-up comedian from my hometown, since his breakout role in NBC’s Sunnyside. His short scene in The Lovebirds was my favorite of the film. Storm lets Nanjiani and Rae do their thing, providing a straight man for their rantings, but also sneaks in a few hilarious lines of his own, like, “I have been 100 percent cooperative!” I hope to see him in many more roles moving forward.

Memorable Dialogue: Both Nanjiani and Rae had many great one-liners, but my favorite came from when Nanjiani and Rae were interrogating Storm, who mentions that his employer is a weird environmentalist. Nanjiani asks, using his best intimidation face, “Is environmentalism weird? Or is it absolutely necessary?”

“I recycle everything,” Rae says, not missing a beat. Then Nanjiani takes the joke home:

“Yeah, sometimes she’ll recycle eggshells and banana peels, and I’ll be like, that’s more compost.”

Sex and Skin: There is a charged moment where Nanjiani takes off his shirt, but, interestingly, Showalter chose not to go to the wide shot to reveal those newly chiseled, Marvel-sanctioned abs. I respect that artistic choice, to be honest. Superhero abs have no place in a mid-budget romantic comedy.

Our Take: The difference between a good action-comedy and a bad action-comedy usually comes down to the effort invested in making the characters feel real. The Lovebirds puts in the effort, and it pays off. Much of that effort is carried by Nanjiani and Rae, whose chemistry and charm make it easy to fall in love with Jibran and Lelani. Kudos, also, to writers Aaron Abrams and Brendan Gall (and Martin Gero, who has a story credit), for taking the time to invest us in that relationship, even if it came at the expense of the crime plot. That part doesn’t quite come together in a satisfying manner. (Who exactly was Anna Camp again? Why was a Congressman involved? It is explained, but not very well.)

But Showalter, who also directed Nanjiani in The Big Sick, wisely lets Nanjiani and Rae take the reins. Nanjiani sneaks in some observational stand-up material about milkshakes and cigarette lighters, and it’s great. The setpieces, despite the fact that they don’t really have much to do with the larger plot, are fun. Who wouldn’t want to watch these two comedians at the top of their games play off of each other for 90 minutes? I laughed quite a bit.

I do wish I could have seen The Lovebirds in the theaters before streaming it at home. I suspect, like many comedies like it, it would have benefited from an audience enjoying it together. The best jokes would have gotten belly laughs, while the just-OK jokes would have gotten chuckles. At home, with no one to feed off of, the best jokes get chuckles and the just-OK jokes get smiles. That makes a difference. Luckily, Nanjiani and Rae are funny enough to make it work under the circumstances. The Lovebirds is not a new classic, but it is a lot of fun.

Our Call: STREAM IT. And if you can, get your roommates to watch it with you. Or grab a few beers and host a virtual Netflix watch party with your friends. You’ll have a great time.

Watch The Lovebirds on Netflix