There’s no doubt that A Perfect Pairing is going to have a built in audience, with Victoria Justice and Adam Demos starring in the Netflix films. We know that it’s going to honor the formula of successful Netflix romantic comedies and give us the cheesy romantic tropes that we have grown to know and love. We know that the tropes will be wholesome and appropriate.
And we know that we’ll walk away with a feeling of cheesy joy in our hearts.
We’ve been excited for A Perfect Pairing since it was announced. Victoria Justice and Adam Demos in a comedy that gives us more Hallmark vibes than Sex/Life vibes. Well, we’re into it. We need to have the wholesome escape. Filming down under in Australia? Give us that escape. Boss bitch vibes? Yes please.
In the movie, Lola Alvarez (Justice) quits her job and decides to establish her own wine import company. She decides to take a chance and head to Australia to try and launch a brand that wants to make a name in the states and luckily, is really good – Vaughn Family Wines.
While we admire the fact that she’s making boss babe moves, things become a little overwhelming and she decides to prove herself by sticking around to work on the farm. She wants to show that she’s a go getter and will do anything for Vaughn Family Wines.
It’s during the stay that she bonds with the station master, Max (Adam Demos), and sets out to prove that she is willing to go the extra mile. But, this is a romantic comedy so we can guarantee that nothing is going to go as it seems. But you can guess what happens between the two of them and you would probably be right.
The thing is that the movie is not necessarily bad, but it’s missing something. It’s missing chemistry between Demos and Justice, and that takes away from the escape that any romantic comedy is supposed to offer.
Granted, Demos’ accent keeps you entranced and his beautiful hair and abs keep you mesmerized. Justice seems to not be different than any character that she has played in a romantic comedy type role. She does great in rom-com’s and we’re always excited to see her in them. Both don’t do bad in their roles, but the two just don’t work as a couple that you can get invested in. We’re not sure if we’re blaming that more on the writing because it feels like it is and then it feels just like these two are just better off as friends.
The moments between Lola and Max feel forced, even though there are moments that you would expect in any romantic comedy. We wish that the two of them felt more natural and at ease together, but they came across as more of a brother/sister relationship.
But when it comes down to it, you realize that Demos and Justice may not have romantic chemistry, but they do have a natural friendship that feels authentic on the screen.
We were, however, more invested in whether or not that Baarbara (the sheep) would survive. The friendship between Lola and the sheep are some of the best parts of the film. But thats a different story.
The cut of the movies feels weird and the pacing feels off. There are secondary storylines that don’t seem to propel the movie forward and as we see them, we wonder, what all these stories are for. We don’t know enough about the side characters enough to care.
This all leads us to be more involved in the storyline surrounding Lola and her finding herself, as well as standing up for who she is. We are cheering for her as she makes choices that show us all, that we can make better things happen, and when the time comes in life to pivot, we should allow ourselves to do just that.
Overall, A Perfect Pairing offers an escape from life and a good drinking game (don’t play one like we did – every time there is sheep talk take a sip) or you won’t be walking. It’s not a bad movie, but if you’re coming for romance, we suggest finding it elsewhere.
But hey, at least there were lots of cute sheep.