Jennifer Lopez’s and Josh Duhamel’s new rom-com “Shotgun Wedding” is centered around their destination wedding, but there’s trouble in paradise. As you can imagine by the title, the big day quickly turns into a far more action- and gun-packed situation than anyone planned.
Directed by Jason Moore (“Pitch Perfect”), “Shotgun Wedding” rolls romance, stunts and danger together with the help of a stacked ensemble cast as well as the occasional needle-drop moment. Mark Hammer’s script, developed from producer Alexander Young’s idea, lends itself well to humor, laughter and touching scenes between the leads as well as their supporting wedding parties.
Twists and turns keep viewers on their toes. Here’s who plays who in “Shotgun Wedding”:
Darcy Rivera (Jennifer Lopez)
Darcy is a lawyer who didn’t want a big wedding in the first place. She would’ve been happy to elope or conduct a small, `intimate ceremony, but her fiancé Tom wants everything to be perfect, so she compromises to have their big wedding as long as he stays by her side the whole time. Before Tom, Darcy dated Sean (Lenny Kravitz), but she called off their engagement because something didn’t feel right. The idea of commitment scares Darcy.
Jennifer Lopez dominates the rom-com genre with films like “The Wedding Planner” (2001), “Maid in Manhattan” (2002), “Monster-In-Law” (2005), “The Back-Up Plan” (2010) as well as “second Act” (2018) and “Hustlers” (2019). Most recently she starred in “Marry Me” (2022) opposite Owen Wilson. Her 2020 Super Bowl halftime show performance turned heads for many reasons.
Tom (Josh Duhamel)
Tom turns into a groomzilla over his perfectionist tendencies for his wedding to Darcy. He puts thought and care into every decision and detail, from their post-ceremony getaway to the pineapple centerpieces. Tom plays for a minor league team, The Robins, as a designated hitter.
Josh Duhamel has been nominated for an Emmy three times for his role in the drama series “All My Children.” He is known for portraying Captain Lennox in the “Transformers” films, and he also played Alex in “Turistas.” He starred opposite Julianne Hough in “Safe Haven” (2013) adapted from the book by Nicholas Sparks. Recent TV appearances include Coach Coal in “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers,” “The Thing About Pam,” “Blade Runner: Black Lotus,” and “Jupiter’s Legacy.” He starred in “Love, Simon” as the titular character’s father, and he reprised that role in a guest appearance in the spin-off show “Love, Victor.” His endearing portrayal of Uncle Hobart in “Ramona and Beezus” really makes the film.
Carol Fowler (Jennifer Coolidge)
Jennifer Coolidge’s character, Carol, steals the wedding spotlight. Carol Fowler is the life of the party, and her joie de vivre translates into Tom’s knack for party-planning. Carol will be Darcy’s mother-in-law, and she contributes several important items to the wedding like cake knives passed down through generations and the stiff, traditional wedding dress that almost suffocates Darcy.
Jennifer Coolidge has recently reclaimed the zeitgeist as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt in the first two seasons of Mike White’s “The White Lotus,” but she has always been iconic. Another recent role includes Karen Calhoun in Ryan Murphy’s “The Watcher” (2022). Coolidge is best known for playing Stifler’s mom in “American Pie” (1999), Amber Cole in “A Mighty Wind” (2003), Fiona in the Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray “A Cinderella Story” (2004) the Paulette Parcelle in the “Legally Blonde” films alongside Reese Witherspoon.
Larry Fowler (Steve Coulter)
Larry Fowler, Tom’s dad, records every moment leading up to the wedding on his digital video camera. The devoted dad captures some key moments ahead of the big day. Steve Coulter is known for recurring roles in “She-Hulk Attorney at Law,” “Yellowstone,” “P-Valley,” “The Walking Dead,” “Brockmire” and “House of Cards.” He has also appeared in films like Damien Chazelle’s “The First man,” Barry Levinson’s “Wizard of Lies” and “Paterno,” “The Hunger Games” the three “Conjuring movies and more.
Renata Ortiz (Sonia Braga)
Darcy’s mother Renata braves all kinds of elements and challenges to be at her daughter’s side on the day of the wedding. Renata and Darcy’s father Robert (Cheech Marin) have been divorced for years, but Renata makes sure to bring up Robert’s “yoga teacher,” or girlfriend Harriet, to Darcy the first chance she gets.
Brazilian actress Sonia Braga is known for playing Dona Flor in Jorge Amado’s “Flor and Her Two Husbands” (1976). She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1985), and she also received a Golden Globe nomination for playing Madonna in “Moon Over Parador” (1988). She has appeared as Grans in “Wonder” (2017) and Sister Lucia in “Fatima” (2020).
Robert (Cheech Marin)
Robert (Cheech Marin) doesn’t understand why Darcy didn’t take him up on the offer to pay for her wedding. He doesn’t think anything is more important than money in life. Even though he doesn’t exert financial control over the big day, he does bring along two interesting guests — his younger girlfriend Harriet (Darcy Carden), and Darcy’s ex Sean (Lenny Kravitz) because they are still good friends.
Cheech Marin is an actor known for “Born in East L.A.” (1987), “Tin Cup” (1996) and “Up in Smoke” (1978). He lends his voice to Hura, Can and Teca in “Maya and the Three.” he also grew famous from his work in comedy as part of the duo Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s with partner Tommy Chong.
Sean (Lenny Kravitz)
Sean epitomizes the charismatic ex-boyfriend (and sometimes fiancé) that every groom worries about (but is not supposed to worry about. His background in nonprofit work only adds to his physical attractiveness in terms of Tom’s insecurities. Lenny Kravitz infuses Sean with his free-spirited-ness and laid-back attitude.
Kravitz is a Grammy-award winning R&B musician who also dabbles in film. Movie roles he is known for include that of Cinna in “The Hunger Games” movie adaptations, James Holloway in “The Butler” (2013) and Nurse John in “Precious” (2009).
Harriet (D’Arcy Carden)
Harriet is Darcy’s father’s girlfriend. Harriet has a hippie spirit, and Renata (Sonia Braga) calls her the yoga teacher instead of the girlfriend. Harriet also senses vibrations, energy and aura. She knows the chakras, and most importantly the pressure points on the body.
D’Arcy Carden is most well-known for her role of Janet in Mike Schur’s “The Good Place,” for which she was Emmy-nominated. She collects comedy roles like Natalie Greer in “Barry,” and Gemma in “Broad City” alongside Abbi Jacobson. Carden most recently starred as Greta Gil in Prime Video’s “A League of Their Own” TV series that adds more historical context to the story of Penny Marshall’s 1992 film.
Jamie Rivera (Callie Hernandez)
Jamie is Darcy’s sister. Serving as Darcy’s maid of honor in the wedding, Jamie complicates things for herself the night before. When things take a turn at the destination ceremony, Jamie turns to an unlikely source of comfort.
Callie Hernandez is known for playing Tracy in “La La Land,” Upworth in “Alien: Covenant” and Gabrielle Diaz in Season 2 of HBO’s “The Flight Attendant” starring Kaley Cuoco.
Ricky Silver (Desmin Borges)
Ricky is Tom’s best man. He isn’t the quickest of wits, but he delivers some great one-liners.
Desmin Borges is known for playing Edgar Quintero in “You’re the Worst,” Sam in “Private Life,” Gomez in “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” and Wilson Wilson in “Utopia.”
Margy (Selena Tan)
Margy owns the resort at which the wedding is set to take place. She keeps things moving along smoothly until the chaotic pirates arrive and throw her off her game.
Selena Tan started her Hollywood career as a stand-up comedian, and she has over 24 years of experience in theater. She has appeared in international films like “Rogue Trader” opposite Ewan McGregor and Anna Friel. She also plays Alix Young, one of Nick Young’s (Henry Golding) aunts and Eleanor Young’s (Michelle Yeoh) sisters in “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018)
Ace (Alberto Isaac)
Ace is Margy’s husband. He and Margy provide an example to Darcy when she gets cold feet about the wedding.
Alberto Isaac has appeared in “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “The Cleaning Lady,” and “The Bill Cosby Show.” Other TV appearances include “American Crime Story” and “Good Luck Charlie” as well as “Get Shorty.”
