The Lovebirds

The Lovebirds is a 2020 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Showalter from a screenplay by Aaron Abrams and Brendan Gall, and a story by Abrams, Gall, and Martin Gero. The film stars Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani, as well as Paul Sparks, Anna Camp, and Kyle Bornheimer, and follows a couple who goes on the run after witnessing a murder.
Originally scheduled to be a theatrical release by Paramount Pictures on April 3, 2020, the film was removed from the release schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic closing theaters worldwide. Its rights were then sold to Netflix, which released the film digitally on May 22, 2020. The film received mixed reviews from critics, although Rae and Nanjiani's performances were praised.
==Plot==
Jibran and Leilani are a couple who have been together for four years. Their relationship is fraught, and the two argue constantly about a variety of topics. While driving to a dinner party, the two mutually agree to end the relationship. Distracted by the breakup, Jibran runs a red light, hitting a cyclist with their car. The man refuses help and flees the scene. A man with a mustache suddenly commandeers their car, claiming to be a police officer and that the man on the bike is a criminal. He pursues the cyclist, but after catching him runs the cyclist over with their car several times, killing him. Mustache prepares to kill Jibran and Leilani with a gun but flees after hearing police sirens. Jibran and Leilani then flee the scene themselves.
Jibran wants them to turn themselves in, but Leilani argues that their unbelievable story and racial profiling will ensure they are blamed for the crime. Having taken the dead bicyclist's phone, they see he had planned a meeting at a bar with a woman named Edie. Leilani reasons that Edie will know who the man is, which will allow them to find out who the killer is and clear their names. The two meet Edie at the bar, only to find that it is a setup; the two are knocked out and tied up by Edie and her husband Brett. Edie mistakenly believes that Jibran and Leilani work for Bicycle, and alludes to blackmail being committed against Edie and Brett. As Edie prepares to torture Leilani, the pair manage to escape. The two travel to an address taken from Edie which they believe is Bicycle's home, only to find an apartment full of frat boys. They overpower and interrogate one of the boys, who admits he works for Bicycle as part of his blackmailing scheme. Before the two can learn more, Mustache arrives, killing all the boys in the apartment.
Jibran and Leilani escape with one of the blackmail envelopes, which contains photos of the intended recipients attending what appears to be a meeting of a secret society. They travel to the dinner party they were originally supposed to attend, tricking Leilani's co-worker Keith into unlocking Bicycle's phone, which contains an address to a black tie event. Leilani and Jibran travel to the event, where all the attendees are wearing masks identical to those shown in the blackmail photos. The meeting turns into an orgy, but is interrupted when the leader of the meeting discovers that there are impostors present. He tricks Jibran and Leilani into revealing themselves, but moments later an alarm sounds due to a police raid; Jibran and Leilani are taken into police custody.
The two meet with Detective Martin, who reveals that Bicycle's pursuit and murder were caught on traffic cameras, and the two were being sought as witnesses, not suspects. The police were aware of the secret gathering and planned to shut them down, but the group was somehow tipped off to the plan. Jibran and Leilani are being driven home, but their driver is revealed to be Mustache, who truly is a police officer, but is also paid by the society to shield them from law enforcement. Mustache also ran the blackmailing scheme with Bicycle, who was killed due to a dispute over payment. Mustache restrains Jibran and Leilani and prepares to kill them, but the three get into a struggle, and Leilani manages to shoot Mustache, who is then taken into custody. Jibran and Leilani make amends and kiss. One year later, Jibran and Leilani participate in The Amazing Race, which tests their relationship once again.
==Cast==
* Kumail Nanjiani as Jibran
* Issa Rae as Leilani Brooks
* Anna Camp as Edie
* Paul Sparks as Mustache
* Kyle Bornheimer as Brett
* Andrene Ward-Hammond as Detective Martin
* Moses Storm as Steve
* Mahdi Cocci as Keith
* Narendra Singh Dhami as Nimesh
* Nicholas X. Parsons as Tom "Bicycle"
* Barry Rothbart as Mr. Hipster
* Catherine Cohen as Mrs. Hipster
* Phil Keoghan as himself (voice)
Category:2020 films
Category:2020s American films
Category:Romantic comedy films
Category:Netflix original films
Category:Films not released in theaters