Love Hurts: Fighting for Love’s Sake

Marvin Gable (Ke Huy Quan) is a lovable, happy-go-lucky realtor who loves his job. Like, loves his job. He finds joy in putting people in homes and is more than content with his life. Content, that is, until Rose (Ariana DeBose) enters back into his life. Rose, an ex-partner of Marvin’s during his crime days, and a woman he fell in love with, is back to reclaim her life from Marvin’s brother, Alvin, a crime boss who believed she was dead because he had sent Marvin to kill her. When Rose returns, Marvin is sucked back into a life he thought he left behind, as he fights to survive the wrath of his brother.

Sometime last year, I heard the phrase ‘love is the greatest motivation for change’ (and actually spoke about it in relation to Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Mai, shoutout to #Maiko). In Love Hurts, all of Marvin’s actions are because of his love- for his job, which makes him bring his best to it every day; and for Rose, which makes him run back into danger. Marvin’s employee, Ashley, finds something she loves that brings motivation into her life. Rose is back because she loved her life and, if she’s hiding, she’s not really living (a word), and even the assassins are navigating being led by love in their lives, with their spouses, friends and craft.

I should say here that Love Hurts is a comedy, in an almost cartoonish slapstick kind of way. The action is just slightly too exaggerated, which in a strange way, makes its gore more palatable, in my opinion. Ke Huy Quan shines in a role like this, his character being the combination of the skills of a dangerous killer and the body of an endearing man is only played up by just how lovable he is in real life. Like surely, this man was not putting bodies in the ground. The film is fun to look at too, with director, Jonathan Eusebio, really making use of brightness and colour.

But going back to Rose’s word, she specifically says, “hiding ain’t living.” I think a lot about what it would look like for me to be thriving in my life, and I’ve realised that keeping my head down and just getting through the day isn’t enough. I’m definitely the type to get caught up in what I need to do to get by, but I’ve realised I actually want to experience life. So, I guess I’m making this a more public challenge, for us to love ourselves enough to face life and not let it just pass us by.

Love Hurts is in theatres on Friday, February 7th, 2025.