Love Accidentally

Love Accidentally is a very modern-day romcom starring Aaron O’Connell and Brenda Song which plays upon the “wrong number” trope. It’s quite like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with a bit of a technological twist. Song and O’Connell play two rival co-workers vying for the same position at their advertising firm when their hearts get broken on the same day. Alexa (Song), wanting to rant to her best friend, accidentally texts Jason (O’Connell) instead, sparking the beginning of their anonymous friendship. The film takes as its starting point the comfort people find in venting to strangers and moulds it into something romantic.

Opening with the vibrating sound of the phone and showing text messages onscreen, Love Accidentally sets the stage for its premise right at the very beginning. Like with any romantic flick, the characters fall a little bit too fast with each other – speech texting for no more than just a few conversations before feeling themselves invested in a possible romantic relationship. Symmetry is a prominent visual style, with the picture crosscutting between differing conversations between Jason and Alexa and their friends to highlight each individual’s initial opinion of the other.

Production frames both characters side-by-side to showcase their parallel thoughts on their interactions. The cinematography also makes use of symmetry by working the camera angles to make it seem as if the two are talking across each other despite only conversing via phone. These angles also help add to the mystery, tiptoeing around the identities of Jason and Alexa. Quirky and upbeat music accompanies the antics of the visuals, filling the otherwise mundane script with a little bit of life.

There are plenty of plays on words such as “him” and “her” as the film leaves nice little breadcrumbs from Jason and Alexa’s conversations to help the characters piece together the truth behind their text pal. That might be one of the better parts of the script – although the bar is not set high. Song works well with what she’s given but Alexa’s character is not likeable at all. She’s bland with no development, and her hatred for Jason can come across as irrational. The ending is very lacklustre; it isn’t so much a resolution as it is a rush to finish the film. This is a shame because there’s actually plenty of untapped potential for the premise that just never gets the execution it deserves.

Mae Trumata

Love Accidentally is released on 15^th July 2022.

Watch the trailer for Love Accidentally here: