In SXSW Player “Love Language,” a young woman left at the altar finds a side job writing wedding vows for brides-to-be.
The film’s lead actress, Chloë Grace Moretz, has also pivoted for more than a decade, in her own way. He’s played in venerable indies (Luca Guadagnino’s Suspira and Greta opposite Isabelle Huppert) and in the world of bare-knuckle action (Shadow in the Cloud).
“Love Language” marks a comeback for Moretz, who has played a modern young woman in a romance genre title since 2014’s “If I Stay.” Writer and director Joey Power brought her back as an offering to the rom-com gods, who he says are underserved in the current market.
“These kinds of movies are what I watch the most as a viewer, especially those from the ’80s and ’90s. They’re very soothing, they hit you somewhere deep inside. You feel seen, you feel heard, you laugh a little, you cry a little,” Moretz said.
The actor plays Lou, a struggling social media copywriter for a tortilla chip company who is brutally dumped on her wedding day. When Lou gives her world-class wedding vows to her best friend (the ever-scene-stealing Billie Lourd), she finds herself in the middle of a new cash cow that brings tearful moments to the hopeful couple.
When a new client (Isabelle May) hires Lou, things get complicated when Lou learns that her fiancé is his college friend and longtime crush (Manny Jacinto). As with Lou’s other eligible bachelor (Anthony Ramos) in Dash, mixed feelings arise. This dynamic creates a rare romantic relationship, as all parties sort out who they are and what they want.
Power conceived the project while experiencing “a writer’s existential dread,” wondering if he would ever be able to get films back on track after his two previous features. As I walked through my bedroom, my eyes caught a framed copy of my wedding vows on the wall.
“I was standing there thinking about my life for a long time, and then I started reading the vows and thought they were pretty good. I thought, if this writing thing doesn’t work out, I might go back to asking people to pay me to write their wedding vows,” he said.
Moretz said he was encouraged by Power’s script and the fact that Lou is “not the perfect rom-com girl. She’s kind of messed up. She means well, but she’s really misguided. And she’s a little bit of a narcissist. Just a little bit.”
The character’s journey is determined by what Power called a “little epiphany” he experienced as he entered his 30s.
“Many of the mistakes I made in my 20s had to do with believing that something had to be hard for it to work. I had to sweat to make it work, and that created a gap between what I wanted and what actually felt good,” Power said. “Chloe’s character has a hard time recognizing what’s right in front of her because she’s thinking about what she wants.”
Moretz currently has a project in Spain called “Mr.,” an action comedy in which she and Walton Goggins follow a father-daughter adventure. Back in Texas, “Love Language” will premiere in the Stories Spotlight section on Monday. This film is distributed on behalf of CAA.
