‘Love Again’ Review: Far-Fetched Romance Finds Celine Dion Ready for Her Close-Up … and Her Comeback

Weve all heard Celine Dions My Heart Will Go On, but if you really listen to the lyrics Love can touch us one time / And last for a lifetime Near, far, wherever you are / I believe that the heart does go on the tragedy they describe applies to more than just comely Rose learning to live without her blue-eyed cabin boy. Eighteen years after Titanic made her a mega-star, Dion lost her husband and manager, Ren Anglil, and the singer has made no secret of her struggle to move on since.

An old-school, straight-faced studio romance featuring five new songs from Ms. Dion, writer-director Jim Strouses Love Again is all about such healing to the extent that if it were a book instead of a movie, it would be filed in the self-help section. Liberally adapted from the 2016 German film Texts for You (SMS fr Dich), the more-creepy-than-cute plot focuses on a grieving New York childrens book illustrator who sparks up a relationship with the complete stranger whos inherited her dead boyfriends phone number. Truly, Madly, Deeply this isnt.

From the consumer electronics company (I mean, movie studio) that brought you The Emoji Movie comes a feature-length advertisement for the power of cellphones to bring people together. Cynical as that may sound, the movie is at least genuine about its emotional journey, making it an inspired choice to enlist Dion as both chorus and mascot for romantic leads Mira (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and Rob (Sam Heughan).

Two years after watching the love of her life struck down by a self-driving car, or else crushed by a fleet of scooters (well never know, since said accident occurs right in front of Miras eyes but outside our view), Chopra Jonas character is having a hard time letting go. Without realizing that Rob is on the receiving end, she starts flooding his new work phone with wincingly intimate texts messages about how she misses the smell of her soul mate, and her desire to be naked together.

Robs a (severely underworked) music critic, heartbroken in his own way, whos still getting over being dumped by his fiance on the eve of their wedding. Instead of being annoyed by the messages, hes touched by their sincerity, to the extent that he may even be falling for whoevers sending them. So, like any ordinary guy, he decides to stalk their source, using clues from Miras texts to intercept her IRL. In one scene, he looks on while she suffers through a disastrous blind date with an inside-joke guest star.

Enter Celine Dion, whom Robs been assigned to profile for the only-in-the-movies newspaper where he works. Played by the Scottish Outlander star with a disconcerting, what-is-he-hiding stare, he brings a strange energy to the role. Rob could be Alexander Skarsgrds serial-killer sibling. The only difference between this guy and all the chiseled-abs dudes Mira swipes past on Bumble is that Rob wears shirts though they dont appear to have been washed in a few days.

Edgier than the films target audience as he is, Rob doesnt think much of Dion, dismissing her lyrics as sentimental and trite which even a Celine Dion super-fan (like myself) would concede to be true. Dions power is in her delivery: the pure, chest-thumping conviction with which she howls lines like, Where does my heart beat now? / Where is the sound / That only echoes through the night? Slouchy and unshaven, Rob shows up to interview the singer, and she turns the tables: You have the presence of a pair of used underwear, she quips, her Canadian accent undercutting the comic timing and bite of that barb. (Wheres Cher when you need her?) The movie would be more interesting with some of that Devil Wears Prada venom, whereas Dion comes off well, decent. Hence, the self-help vibe.

Theres not much chemistry between Chopra Jonas and Heughan and how could there be, since theyre stuck in a one-way conversation for half the movie? Plus, Miras texts are just so sad. At one point, after Rob spends the night, Mira wakes up to hear him talking with her younger sister Suzy (Sofia Barclay), and it seems for a second that perhaps hes found a better match someone with the capacity to smile. But Mira must surely find a way to love again, and there seems to be potential, if they can just get past their One Big Secret, which will require an absurdly unprofessional demonstration of love.

Again, thats where love guru Dion comes in handy, playing a barely fictionalized version of herself as she shares details from her real-life relationship with Ren. Though we see her strong survivor side, Dions vulnerability remains one of her most endearing assets the very same quality that makes her persona too much for some people to take. Love Again was never intended for the skeptics, whereas admirers will appreciate the comeback aspect of her first film role. Its a big-screen romance that aspires to making fans feel the way Dions music does, like their hearts can go on.