THE BROKEN HEARTS GALLERY REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Many romantic comedies struggle to leave a lasting impression as they're predictable and the characters are boring. Prior to watching The Broken Hearts Gallery, my expectations weren't high. 

The Broken Hearts Gallery focuses on Lucy (Geraldine Viswanathan) who is a young gallery assistant and collects mementos from her past relationships. She discovers that she must let go of her past to move forward and comes up with a lovely artistic way to help herself and others who have suffered heartbreak.

The Broken Hearts Gallery beat my expectations and was a pleasant surprise. While The Broken Hearts Gallery is very predictable, that didn't prevent me from enjoying it. Those who have seen any romantic comedy will know exactly what's going to happen, however, most of the enjoyment comes from watching the characters interact with each other, especially Lucy and her love interest, Nick (Dacre Montgomery). The pair awkwardly meet after Lucy mistakes Nick's car for an Uber, following an evening where she embarrasses herself at the art gallery. This leads to her getting fired and dumped by Max (Utkarsh Ambudkar). Lucy is left heartbroken, however, she soon befriends Nick who is in the middle of creating a boutique hotel. This is where Lucy gets the idea to make a unique gallery filled with mementos she has collected from past relatiKonships. While the mementos are nothing special, Lucy thinks that the gallery is a great way for people to find closure and overcome their heartbreak. This idea is what makes Zoe a likeable individual. A lot of people, following the end of a romantic relationship, are left heartbroken and struggle to move on, however, Lucy's new gallery helps them. I found The Broken Hearts Gallery to be at its best when it was focusing on Lucy and the gallery. It's clear that she's very passionate about getting the gallery as she believes it will help people overcome their heartbreak. While the story is predictable, it's more original than a lot of films that usually get released.

The Broken Hearts Gallery works better as a romance than a comedy. I enjoyed the scenes that focused on Lucy and Nick and watching their relationship develop. Both Viewanathan and Montgomery share chemistry and are convincing as their characters. The former recently appeared in films such as Bad Education, alongside Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney, and the comedy, Blockers, which was released two years ago. As Lucy, Viewanathan leaves a lasting impression and makes her a likeable character. Montgomery is best known for starring the latest series of fantasy series, Stranger Things, as Nick, he delivers a charming portrayal. 

Most of the comedy comes in The Broken Hearts Gallery from Amanda (Molly Gordon) and Nadine (Phillipa Soo) who provide support as Lucy’s friends. While a lot of supporting characters in romantic comedies are forgettable, both Amanda and Nadine steal a lot of the scenes they appear in as they frequently bet over Lucy's relationships and their outcomes. A fun scene takes place at a bar on Amanda's birthday where the trio sing Ava Max's hit single, Sweet But Psycho. An issue with a lot of films in general is the lack of characters in the LGBTQ community. Nadine is a lesbian, however, what I liked most was that it was treated like it was no big deal. Too many characters, who identify as a homosexual, are stereotypes and portrayed as camp and over the top. I'm glad that this wasn't the case with Nadine. 

The Broken Hearts Gallery is one of the latest films to be released in cinemas since they reopened two months ago. While I'm not sure it's the type of film that needs to be seen on the big screen, like Christopher Nolan's latest action packed thriller, Tenet, it's still worth a watch, especially for those of you who, like me, enjoy romantic comedies. 

Pop singer, Selena Gomez, is one of the executive producers of The Broken Hearts Gallery. I can imagine a lot of her fans seeing the film as it has her name attached to it and I can't imagine them being disappointed. The soundtrack features a lot of hit songs, like Elton John's Don't Go Breaking My Heart, Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA and Little Mix's #1 single, Woman Like Me. These songs are some of my favourites so their inclusion only increased my enjoyment of The Broken Hearts Gallery.

Overall, because it features memorable characters and an interesting premise, The Broken Hearts Gallery is one of the best romantic comedies to be released recently.

7/10