Let it never be said that Ke Huy Quan, the longtime actor and stunt artist whose career was given new life by the smash hit “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” isn’t able to carry a film on his own. Though his latest, the often good fun yet still scattered action-comedy “Love Hurts,” continually puts that to the test, he manages to rise above the material at every chance he gets. Even as the film itself is only tenuously held together by the narrative equivalent of chewing gum, all of which is so perfunctory it’s comical, Quan brings a winning charm and unwavering commitment to the action that makes it work infinitely more than it should. Throw in yet another scene-stealing supporting turn by the running-back-turned-actor Marshawn Lynch (also stellar in 2023’s “Bottoms”) and you’ve got an experience that’s far greater than the sum of its parts.  
With that being said, if they were anything less than great, the film would likely collapse as those parts are mighty creaky and, most disappointingly, often lacking in the high-octane action one would hope for with a project like this.
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This is a shame as the film’s director, stunt artist Jonathan Eusebio, is clearly in his element in said action sequences. The trouble is that his feature directorial debut is frequently hamstrung by a woefully shaky script, written by Matthew Murray, Josh Stoddard, and Luke Passmore, which places an odd insistence on the moving narrative parts while offering less room for the action sequences that keep everything moving. It comes together in fits and starts with the fights we get proving to be kinetic joys (a testament to the talents of the spectacular team of stunt artists), though “John Wick” this is not. That’s a high bar to clear, but “Love Hurts” is not up to even grabbing hold of it. It’s a sporadically fun romp, but still nothing more than just okay. 
This all centers on a man who finds himself having a very much not-okay day. Marvin (Quan) is a charismatic Milwaukee realtor who cares most about getting people the home of their dreams, but is now having to contend with the violent life as a brutal enforcer of sorts he thought he’d left behind. After getting a red letter from Rose (Ariana DeBose), his former partner who everyone thought was dead, he gets dragged back into a conflict headed up by his crime lord brother Knuckles (Daniel Wu), who is trying to hunt her down. Still with me? Well, there’s still much more. 
Marvin will then have to keep up appearances in front of his oblivious colleagues while fighting off an imposing, poetry-loving hitman known as The Raven (Mustafa Shakir) plus the definitely not a halfhearted extended “Pulp Fiction” reference in the bumbling duo of King (Lynch) and Otis (André Eriksen) who also come knocking on his door. It’s a surprisingly busy film, with characters consistently interjecting to remind you of the layers of backstabbing and betrayal that is happening all over the place, but all of this mostly leaves you waiting for the action to kick off. 
When it does, you thankfully forget about all the more mundane machinations of the narrative and just get swept up in the thrills of the inventive fights. The initially more simple confrontation between Marvin and The Raven at his work relies on the reliable gag of office supplies being used as weapons plus the humor that comes from our seemingly hapless hero having to keep things as quiet as he can, though it’s the one that follows where “Love Hurts” starts to have more fun. 
At home, Marvin will have to take on Otis and King alone. As both actors tower far over Quan, the scene gets plenty of mileage out of seeing him be thrown around this way and that. “Love Hurts” stops short of throwing the kitchen sink at you, but it isn’t afraid of doing so with the fridge in the delightfully choreographed and executed fight. Even as Marvin is a little rusty, the fun comes in seeing him find his footing and then begin to turn the tables on the men, making for a genuinely great exchange that gets you to sit up and pay attention. With Lynch bringing plenty of well-delivered quips throughout, it’s the type of action-comedy moment you wish the film had more of. 
Instead, following this is where the film slows way down and starts to struggle through more exposition about what is happening in the narrative. It has some playful enough jokes scattered throughout this stretch, with everything from Knuckles having a borderline cartoonish bubble tea addiction to Martin’s assistant Ashley (Lio Tipton) becoming infatuated with The Raven with all the comical speed of the Kristen Stewart SNL Totino’s sketch earning a chuckle, though “Love Hurts” still nearly buckles under the weight of its plot machinations. Rather than be about just getting everything in motion to set up the next fight, the film keeps insisting on filling in the plot with extraneous characters and information about what is driving Rose on her vaguely sketched mission of retribution. While DeBose does the revenge thing just fine and is clearly having fun chewing up the scenery, it’s still tough to care when there is such an extended period where we are left without much of any action. It’s a film that feels like it’s constantly fighting itself. 
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What keeps “Love Hurts” from being completely disposable is when it finally gets back to the action. This, rather humorously, seems to be back at the exact same set where Marvin fought Otis and King the first time (because why not use the same location twice by just dressing it up again) though now everyone gets in on the fun. Both Quan and Lynch make for great screen presences in this fight, standing out not just amongst the cast, but managing to overcome what is an inescapably odd reference to the Property Brothers that falls flat. You almost wish the film was built more around them, but alas, we must get to a final confrontation between the two brothers. 
This action sequence is again good fun, with Quan really selling all of the stunts, even as you couldn’t really care a whole lot about what is happening. Yet even as there is a strange closing flashback that spells everything out, it can’t fully stop the momentum that “Love Hurts” manages to build up to. It’s hard to say that the film is as great as the performers, both those acting and the stunt team, though it’s not one that can be dismissed either. It is a film you won’t fall head over heels for, but one you can’t help loving many parts of. You’ll just have to do your best to fondly recall the good parts, namely Quan and Lynch, while hopefully forgetting all the rest. [C+]
“Love Hurts” opens in theaters on February 7 via Universal.