On a crisp June evening, a group of hopeful corporate singles gathered for a speed dating event. Men unbuttoned their blazers as they settled into the green velvet chairs. Women in heels shuffled between peony-laden tables. Jackie Cruz (Jennifer Lopez), the exacting airline CEO at the center of romantic comedy Office Romance, would certainly approve of the scene.
The daters exchanged the usual pleasantries of a first meeting: hometowns (a few high-fived over shared New Jersey counties), weekend hobbies (more than one mention of pickleball and Citi Biking), and favorite restaurants in Lower Manhattan (Thai Villa and Via Carota, to name a few). But, behind the scenes, there was something quite unusual afoot.
Two participants, Sri and Sònia, wore hidden earpieces. In their ears were the voices of none other than the queen of rom-coms, Lopez, and her Office Romance co-star Brett Goldstein, whispering advice. Sri and Sònia gamely delivered every line they were fed — no matter how outlandish — but they had no idea who their dating gurus actually were.
Office Romance, directed by Ol Parker (Ticket to Paradise), puts a raunchy twist on the genre’s early 2000s style. When Jackie and lawyer Daniel (co-writer Goldstein) start working together, their attraction is immediate and impossible to ignore. The only thing getting in their way? AirCruz has a staunch policy against office relationships.
Lopez and Goldstein describe Office Romance as a love letter to workaholics like the speed dating attendees. “You need a partner that understands and can make space for both things,” Goldstein shared as the singles mingled at a happy hour. “They’ll probably need the same in their own life.”
To celebrate the new workplace-set rom-com, the speed dating event aimed to help real-life workaholics find their perfect match — with a little help from Lopez and Goldstein. The New York City space was transformed into a blush-pink office, complete with themed decor and prompts ranging from romantic (“What's your ideal office meet cute?”) to risqué (“Pants on or off when working from home”).
“The key to having love and success is learning balance,” Lopez added. “Workaholics tend to forget about everything else and sometimes use work to not get close to people. You have to really open yourself up to the possibility of things that could happen.”
Tiff Baira, host of the Street Hearts account, moderated as the head of HR (human romance). As she wove through the couples in a sparkly suit and signature cowboy hat, she laid out the rules: Each pairing gets three minutes together. At the end of their time, they indicate whether they would like to continue the connection by checking “take this to HR” (i.e., yes) or “back to work” (i.e., no) on their clipboards. While Sònia and Sri both have backgrounds in improv, they’re real corporate singles — Sònia is a co-founder and CEO, and Sri works in fintech — looking for love.
As the Office Romance stars settled in to deliver anonymous advice, Lopez snagged a pack of Doritos — the show had begun. She and Goldstein started strong, encouraging Sri to sing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” — even as the woman across from him nodded along in horror. Lopez, a Grammy-nominated singer, couldn’t help but join in for a few notes behind the scenes. When neither Sri nor his date checked “take this to HR” at the end of their three minutes, Lopez popped a chip in her mouth and exhaled, “This is brutal.” Even a global megastar and rom-com queen can recognize just how painful it is to put yourself out there. Lopez was quite sympathetic, considering she endured a similar stunt on The Ellen DeGeneres Show years ago.
Goldstein told Sri to say to his next date, “If your co-workers had to describe you in two words, what would they say? For me, it’d be cubicle crier.” When she scrambled to deliver a response, Sri followed up with, “It’s the same in bed.” Then, all on his own, and with no knowledge that she was mere feet away, Sri shared that Lopez is his celebrity crush.
In other instances, the candidates provided their own comedy — no wacky earpiece instruction necessary. One participant named Nick asked Sònia whether she preferred the Backstreet Boys or NSYNC. Sònia offered NSYNC, which was apparently Nick’s cue to launch into song. Moments later, Nick told Sònia he was a finalist in a push-up-with-no-feet competition, and he dropped to the ground to crank out a few reps. Impromptu karaoke, feet-less push-ups, and all, Sònia still matched with Nick.
What else did Lopez and Goldstein encourage Sri and Sònia to say? Sri read his date’s palm and told her the lines indicate she’s a Gemini. When she insisted she was a Libra, Sri retorted, “Your parents lied to you about your birth,” under Goldstein’s advisement. Another look at the woman’s hand allegedly informed Sri that she shoplifts, which may or may not be true.
As the secrets spilled out, there were few dates that delighted Lopez and Goldstein more than those with seemingly rocky starts. Goldstein prompted Sònia to ask if her date’s hair was real or if he had improved upon his natural follicles with a trip to Turkey. Somehow, this TMI line of questioning led to salsa dancing and another match, which Lopez celebrated by bouncing up and down on the couch in excitement. Another of Sònia’s dates left the actor with a sour taste in her mouth. “He goes, ‘We’ll grab a drink later,’ and he winks. Oof,” Lopez remarked.
Once the speed dating rounds were done, Sònia and Sri were at last taken to the control room to meet their mysterious advisers. They shrieked upon reveal, and Sònia exclaimed, “In my head I was like, ‘That’s Jenny from the block!’” After embarrassing himself with karaoke and palm readings, Sri suggested with a wink that they reverse the roles and put Lopez and Goldstein in the chair. The actors showed themselves to the rest of the singles and invited them to the New York premiere of Office Romance, which was met with cheers and whoops.
Lopez closed the evening by thanking everyone for being such good sports: “We know love is not easy. But it was so funny.” The same words could be said about Office Romance.
Like the film, the night was ultimately a mix of ribald comedy and earnest romance. The antics were indeed hilarious, but throughout the event, there was a consistent heartbeat of hope. One couple even held hands between rounds. When the event concluded, a handful of participants continued to get to know each other over drinks nearby.
At one point, after Sri and the erstwhile shoplifter didn’t secure a match, Lopez sat back on the cream bouclé couch in disappointment. She grabbed her bag of Doritos as consolation. “I really felt it. I thought they were kindred spirits,” she said. “They seemed ready to go rob a bank together.”
Watch Office Romance, now streaming on Netflix.
