Why the ‘One True Loves’ Movie Adaptation Got Bad Reviews

Taylor Jenkins Reid may seem unstoppable with several New York Times best-sellers under her belt and Prime Video’s Daisy Jones & The Six, an adaptation of one of her novels, recently picking up nine Emmy nominations, but at least one of her projects isn’t gaining much fanfare. One True Loves, a film adaptation of Jenkins Reid’s 2016 novel of the same, hit theaters in April, and in the months since has been met with some pretty grim reviews.

Directed and produced by Andy Fickman, the romance film stars Phillipa Soo as Emma, who moves back to Massachusetts in an effort to mend her life back together after her husband Jesse (Luke Bracey) disappears in a helicopter crash. After running into her former best friend Sam (Simu Liu) four years later, the two become inseparable and eventually become engaged, only for Emma’s life to be thrown for a whirlwind when she receives an unexpected phone call revealing Jesse is alive, forcing her to choose between a husband and a fiancé.

One True Loves was released theatrically on April 7, 2023, before being released in digital formats on April 14 and video on demand on April 28. While Prime Video’s adaptation of Daisy Jones & The Six was met with rave reviews, and Netflix’s upcoming film adaptation of Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is already gaining plenty of attention, One True Loves ultimately failed to impress many, winding up with dozens of poor reviews from critics and viewers alike.

Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

The film adaptation of One True Loves only managed to grab a score of 35 out of 100, based on 7 critics, on Metacritic, indicating “generally unfavorable reviews.” Unfortunately, the movie didn’t fare any better on Rotten Tomatoes, where it currently holds a 23% rotten critics score, with a critics consensus reading, “Cheap-looking and tonally confused, One True Loves wastes an interesting premise on a romantic comedy that largely lacks love and laughs.”

Pacing Issues

For many, the film struggled with its pace. Writing for IndieWire, Samantha Bergeson wrote, “the pacing is all off, and what we want to see more of — the actual romance(s)! — is as MIA.”

Clichés and tropes

“Rating creative works by their ‘cringe factor’ is immature and click-baity, but in rare cases as in this film, the cringe count had to be deployed,” John Lui wrote for The Straits Times (Singapore) in a review that seemed that many seemed to agree with. Peyton Robinson added for RogerEbert.com, “tropes are a given in a rom-com and are sometimes welcome, but One True Loves executes them with the determined reliance of a ball and chain.”

No Payoff

Some critics said that the film didn’t provide any payoff, with The Guardian‘s Phil Hoad writing in his review, “There is little payoff, with Fickman running shy of the full-blooded commitment to make his film a proper weepie and instead constantly reverting to sassy, annoyingly self-aware comedy that makes light of everything.” Meanwhile, Dennis Schwartz wrote in his review for Movie Reviews, “the screenplay is not sensitive enough to flesh out answers to the question asked.

A soap opera

A recurring theme in critic reviews was a consensus that One True Loves is nothing more than a soap opera. NYC Movie Guru‘s review dubs the movie “a schmaltzy, contrived and anemic soap opera,” warning viewers to “prepare for a film that’s so saccharine that it might end up giving you a cavity.” Meanwhile, Culture Mix wrote of the movie, “the principal cast members do their best in their attempts to make this story convincing, but they are undercut by screenwriting and direction that make this sappy film look like the cinematic equivalent of a cheap and often-unrealistic romance novel.”

What does the audience say about ‘One True Loves’?

Unfortunately, One True Loves didn’t fare much better among the audience. The film’s audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is a measly 44%, which is certified rotten. One viewer wrote that the movie “tries to be a heart-wrencher and fails. Too cutesy,” with another person adding, “it was so awful. The book is amazing but the movie was just a complete wasn’t of a great plot. Like the acting was horrible and I was cringing the entire time. It I could rate this 0 I would.”