Every wedding has a speech that silences the room. In Love Language, the person who writes it is the one least ready to hear it. Chloë Grace Moretz plays Lou, a newly dumped Chicago writer whose novel has stalled and whose day job involves dreaming up jokes for a crisp brand, until a talent for ghost-writing wedding vows turns into a surprisingly lucrative side hustle.
Joey Power’s film is a grown-up, wistful romantic comedy with a terrific hook and a lovely sense of place. It is also a film better at describing feelings than igniting them, which is an ironic flaw for a story about a woman whose gift is putting love into words.
Love Language knows exactly what to say about love; it just struggles to make us feel it.
Movie at a Glance
- US release: 23 October 2026, in select cinemas and on digital
- UK release: No UK cinema or streaming date has been announced yet
- Distributor: Vertical
- Writer and director: Joey Power
- Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Manny Jacinto, Anthony Ramos, Isabel May, Billie Lourd and Lukas Gage
- Runtime: 104 minutes
- Genre: Romantic comedy-drama
Viewer Match
- Best for: Fans of thoughtful, slightly melancholy romcoms and anyone who has ever written a speech for somebody else’s big day.
- Maybe skip if: You need sizzling chemistry and a swoon-worthy finale to make a romance work.
- Mood and pace: Breezy, warm and conversational, with a reflective streak.
- Cinema or streaming? An ideal night in; the US digital release makes it an easy at-home watch once it reaches the UK.
- Spoiler level: Spoiler-free: we only discuss the premise and the central triangle.
The Cyrano of Chicago
The set-up is irresistible. After quietly polishing her best friend Tilda’s vows, Lou finds that other brides want her services, and the money is better than anything her novel has earned. Then a new client, the poised and slightly frosty Olivia, turns out to be engaged to Warren, the college crush Lou never quite got over. Taking notes on the couple’s love story becomes a very thin cover for reopening an old door.
It is a clever update of the cynic-profits-from-romance formula, and Power’s script is at its sharpest on the small humiliations of creative life: the deadline avoidance, the ridiculous marketing meetings, the hunger for anyone to care about your writing. Those details give Lou a recognisable, rueful reality.
Moretz Comes Into Her Own
Moretz is very good here, playing Lou with a cool, guarded intelligence that occasionally flares into something warmer. She is not afraid to let the character be selfish, jealous and petty, and the film is braver for it. The trouble is that the script rarely gives us the other side of Lou, the charm and loyalty that would make her friends and suitors so devoted, so it becomes harder to root for her than it should be.
Manny Jacinto is the stronger romantic partner, bringing an easy, conflicted tenderness to Warren as he takes a long look backwards before the wedding. Anthony Ramos has natural, sincere charm as Dash, Tilda’s cousin and Lou’s other option, but he is underserved by a role that hints at hidden depths without exploring them. Billie Lourd and Lukas Gage are a delight as Lou’s friends, funny and properly drawn rather than sidekick furniture, and Isabel May finds sympathy in a bride who could easily have been a cartoon.
Chicago at Twilight
The film looks lovely. Andrew Wehde’s photography gives Chicago a dreamy, golden-hour glow, and the obligatory magical-date montage is handled with real grace. Production and costume design are quietly precise, and Jeff Morrow’s score keeps the mood gentle without tipping into syrup.
Where Love Language stumbles is in the final stretch. The emotional epiphany that should feel inevitable instead arrives abruptly, and the big romantic gesture feels more like a nod to the genre rulebook than a release of feeling we have watched build. Some viewers will read the ending as a refreshing twist on romcom expectations; others will feel short-changed.
A Return to Form, Nearly
Mid-budget romantic comedies with adult concerns are rare enough that this one deserves a warm welcome. It has a strong lead, a witty supporting ensemble and a premise worth stealing. It simply needed more heat in its central relationships to turn a good idea into a great date-night film.
Spoiler-Free Verdict
Love Language is smart, attractive and well acted, with Chloë Grace Moretz on fine form, but its love triangle never generates the spark needed to make the finale soar.
- Performances: 7/10
- Direction: 6.5/10
- Screenplay: 6/10
- Score: 6/10
- Cinematography: 7.5/10
- Entertainment Value: 6.5/10
- Overall score: 6.5/10
Star rating: 3/5
Verdict badge: Stream It
One-line verdict: A clever, good-looking romcom that has all the right words and not quite enough feeling.
Watch the Official Trailer
Meet Lou and her unusual side hustle in the official trailer.
Would you trust a stranger to write your wedding vows? Share your spoiler-free thoughts on Love Language.