Love Hurts (dir. Jonathan Eusebio)

By: Adam Freed

There is no denying the massive visual appeal of a finely choreographed fight sequence.  Over the past several decades the art of stunt coordination has ascended to new heights and was even openly celebrated via David Leitch’s stunt focused blockbuster film, The Fall Guy (2024).  Notable among those who have pushed the boundaries of practical stunt work is Jonathan Eusebio, a stunt innovator credited with dynamic work on The Fall Guy, Black Panther (2018), John Wick (2014) and 300 (2006).  In his directorial debut Love Hurts, Eusebio applies his extensive knowledge of stunt mechanics to an action comedy that is long on savagery but short on substance.  Love Hurts follows Marvin Gable, a Milwaukee area realtor played by the universally loved Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Goonies).  Gable has made a nice life for himself, providing genuine care and service to his clients bathed in a warm midwestern sensibility. Unsurprisingly, given the film’s rather divulgent marketing campaign, Gable is using the world of real estate as an escape for a dark and violent life that he is attempting to leave behind, the clear demarcation of where Love Hurts officially goes off the rails.

The incongruent action comedy features a number of welcome faces beyond Quan, including fellow Oscar winner Ariana DeBose (West Side Story, Argylle), Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings, Rudy) and the inclusion of former NFL standout Marshawn Lynch. The most glaring shortcoming of the Valentine’s Day themed action romp is that Love Hurts is a film that feigns complexity, framing a shadowy underworld that exists in the dark corners of Milwaukee (of all places) yet spends none of the film’s meager 83 minute runtime making an attempt to substantiate the underbelly that Marvin is attempting to escape. The criminal mastermind behind the family for whom he used to work is none other than Gable’s brother, Knuckles, a boba tea addicted, narcissistic sadist, who is given such a paper thin existence that audiences are left disliking the antagonist without ever really understanding why.  DeBose is positioned as Rose Carlisle, a somewhat dangerous yet confusing ally in Marvin Gable’s quest to finally free himself from the shroud of his past transgressions.  Rose’s character, like that of the film’s primary antagonist, is frustratingly underwritten, as her backstory may have aided in the substantiation of having a reason to lean into her success.

Sifting carefully through the outwardly absurd nature of Eusebio’s film reveals a small collection of moments that are worthy of note.  Specifically, some of the action sequences are inspired, never quite reaching the breakneck pace of the John Wick franchise, but certainly enough to satiate the hunger pangs of a starving action lover.  Love Hurts clearly operates impactfully on a comedic level as the film generates numerous moments of genuine laughter, most successfully when it uses humor to contrast the startling nature of the brutal violence depicted on screen. Very rarely does an action film feel that it would be better served without an R rating, but in the case of Love Hurts, toning down the gratuitous gore in favor of leaning into the film’s, lovable leading man, and it’s attractive comedic qualities, would have avoided the tonal confusion that resides deep within the candy shaped heart of Jonathan Eusebio’s Love Hurts.

Target Score 4/10 - Love Hurts is rich in pulse pounding hand to hand combat while suffering from a tonally confused and bankrupt plot.  Star Ke Huy Quan is an enjoyable choice as leading man but cannot save a story that is dead on arrival.