Jennifer Lopez has had a long and wildly successful career as both an actress and global pop star. She’s once again returned to screen in Jason Moore’s action/comedy flick Shotgun Wedding, which is going to be released on Amazon shortly. She stars opposite Josh Duhamel, who recently spoke to CinemaBlend about being tied to JLo (literally) throughout so much of the movie’s runtime.
Shotgun Wedding (opens in new tab) is a bonkers premise, where the destination wedding of Darcy and Tom (Lopez and Duhamel) is hijacked, and the guests are taken hostage. It’s up to the bride and groom to save their loved ones, while also being tied together with zip ties. As you can see in the video above, I had the privilege of speaking with the cast of Shotgun Wedding ahead of its release, where I asked Josh Duhamel (who replaced Armie Hammer shortly into filming) what it was like working in such close physical proximity to JLo throughout filming. As he shared:
Thankfully those things were easy release, so anytime we were resetting or whatever we could take them off and just carry them around with us. There were a lot of physical challenges to this movie, but that was part of the fun of it for me. I knew this thing was going to be heightened comedically. It’s not a subtle comedy, although there are a lot of subtle moments. These set pieces of are big and broad and over the top in a great way.
He’s not wrong. Shotgun Wedding goes from quirky rom-com to an over the top adventure as soon as a battalion of armed foes descend upon Darcy and Tom’s wedding. And one of the ongoing gags throughout this is the fact that the bickering couple have their wrists tied to each other as they attempt to work together. As you can imagine, this makes for plenty of clumsy action scenes and funny moments throughout even the most dire of circumstances, with the trailer showing off a taste of the movie.
Later in our same conversation, Josh Duhamel further explained his collaboration with Jennifer Lopez, and wha the found to the be most important challenge while bringing Shotgun Wedding to life on set. Because while the movie is chock full of hilarious moments, it’s ultimately about the love story shared between the two protagonists. He said:
She and I both embraced that. For her it was an opportunity to really do something she hadn’t done. And for me too. And that was just one aspect. Then there was all the big explosive action stuff. It’s scary at times. I think the most important thing though is: does the audience belive that we’re meant to be together and should be together? Because if we don’t have that the movie’s not going to work.
Emotions are usually high at any wedding, including awkward interactions and stress for the two people at the center of it. Shotgun Wedding elevates those proceedings, but the story’s heart is ultimately about two people coming together, and their loved ones rallying around them. Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Lopez’s challenges are often metaphors for their relationship, maintaining the heart of the story.
Of course, Shotgun Wedding is ultimately an ensemble cast, with plenty of familiar faces joining Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel. That includes recent Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jennifer Coolidge, the great Lenny Kravitz, The Good Place’s D’arcy Carden, Cheech Martin, and Sônia Braga.
Shotgun Wedding will arrive on Amazon Prime January 27th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. And both Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel have a number of exciting projects coming down the line.
