[SXSW 2024] I LOVE YOU FOREVER -- Well-Meaning Film Wants To Be, but Is Accidentally Insensitive

Review by Sean Boelman

Cazzie David and Elisa Kalani clearly want to be the next great social commentators. Produced by Diablo Cody, their feature debut, I Love You Forever, wants to defy the audience’s expectations so badly that it loses sight of what’s most important: exploring its themes in a way that’s intriguing or — at the bare minimum — tasteful.

I Love You Forever is described as a “subversive romantic comedy” about a young woman in an abusive relationship. Although there is a lot of potential in this premise, it ends up feeling like a recipe for disaster, as the jarring tonal shifts lean much more on the side of insensitive than provocative and insightful.

The first half of the film is quite effective — an awkward but funny romantic comedy. There’s a ticking time bomb element, as things are clearly awry, but it’s mostly compelling. Unfortunately, when the movie attempts to make a (much) more ambitious swing in its back half, it ultimately falls flat.

There is certainly a conversation that needs to be had about domestic violence and relationship abuse, but this is assuredly not the way to do it. David and Kalani lack the tact to pull off the delicate balance they’re trying to strike. The result is some scenes feel like they’re being played off as jokes when, in reality, they should be treated with incredible seriousness.

The characters’ arcs also don’t make much sense. The timeline becomes erratic, and characters begin to turn on a dime. Perhaps this is entirely purposeful, intended to illustrate how unpredictable people can be in toxic relationships. But this also makes the cautionary tale aspect of the movie completely stall out.

However, the script is not the only culprit for the film’s failures — David and Kalani’s direction is equally misguided. Some of the cheap looks can be forgiven because of a clearly small budget, but the editing and overproduction of the sound do the movie absolutely no favors when it comes to tone.

The performances in I Love You Forever aren’t very good — well, at least in the second half — but more blame has to be put on the script than the actors. You can see Sofia Black D’Elia and Ray Nicholson's potential in their roles, but their delivery in the second half is atrocious. The only person who’s completely innocent is Jon Rudnitsky, who’s consistently fun to watch as the comedic relief/sidekick.

Cazzie David and Elisa Kalani clearly meant well when making I Love You Forever, but the result is so bad and borderline offensive that it’s hard even to respect what the film was going for. It is baffling how many wrong choices the filmmaker duo made, creating one of the most infuriating misfires in recent memory.

I Love You Forever screened at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival, which ran March 8-16 in Austin, TX.

​Rating: 1.5/5