The "pretend to be a couple and then actually fall in love" trope has been done many times. But Love Jacked manages to inject some different elements, and made for an enjoyable movie.
I must warn, the first 15 minutes or so were confusing, I think because it was not clear which man was destined to become the main male character. But eventually we get to the setup: Maya has dumped her African fiance but has told her family she is still engaged, while Malcolm is on the run from a bad guy and needs to hide. Solution: Malcolm pretends to be the African fiance and stays with her family. So in with the "pretend to be a couple" movie we've got the "pretend to be a foreigner when you're not" and "on the run from someone who wants to kill you" movies.
And somehow, it works. The plot delivers plenty of laughs, a bit of suspense, and has a few twists on the way to its mostly predictable happy ending.
I must warn, the first 15 minutes or so were confusing, I think because it was not clear which man was destined to become the main male character. But eventually we get to the setup: Maya has dumped her African fiance but has told her family she is still engaged, while Malcolm is on the run from a bad guy and needs to hide. Solution: Malcolm pretends to be the African fiance and stays with her family. So in with the "pretend to be a couple" movie we've got the "pretend to be a foreigner when you're not" and "on the run from someone who wants to kill you" movies.
And somehow, it works. The plot delivers plenty of laughs, a bit of suspense, and has a few twists on the way to its mostly predictable happy ending.