Picture Credit: Getty Images / Netflix
Office Romance is nice and light done right. Starring Jennifer Lopez and co-writer Brett Goldstein, the romantic comedy checks genre boxes with self-aware grace and just debuted to a very good 20+M views. Filmmaker Ol Parker, who previously directed Ticket to Paradise, understands the genre well.
“It’s escapism,” Ol Parker says. “I mean, that’s what these movies are. It’s part of the joy. I mean, Office Romance is my third movie in a row that’s been on an island, had romance, and had people in preposterous bathing suits.”
Parker, who also writes love very well, recently spoke with What’s On Netflix about the joys of romantic comedies and the challenge of crafting their sometimes deceptive lightness.
As a screenwriter, what did you really appreciate about Brett and Joel’s script for Office Romance?
Read Next
Netflix Top 10s: Michael Jackson Doc Series Has Huge Viewership and UK Drama ‘The Witness’ Impresses
Well, I thought it was better than anything I could write, which is why it was such a thrill to the director. There’s lots that I loved about the script. One thing that I loved about the script is that it’s really funny. I think a lot of romcoms, quite a lot of it is just to do with the vibe. It’s just really nice. It has a nice sense of it with maybe a couple of funny set pieces, but in general there’s more rom than com In this case. I thought it was really funny while still managing to be very romantic and very touching.
Every romcom needs an obstacle, whether it’s race or class or money or something. There needs to be a reason the couple can’t get together. Those things are hard to find nowadays, I think, credible ones. And I thought this was brilliant. It was really truthful and accurate and speaking to something that’s a conversation happening a lot at the moment.
Actually, while we were shooting the movie, the Coldplay kiss cam [incident] happened, which is … And it was just like, “Shit, that’s what we’re doing. That’s exactly what we’re doing.” It felt current while being a kind of old school movie as well.
Your most recent two films, you’ve directed George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Jennifer Lopez. They’ve all made great romantic films in the past. How does their understanding of the genre and chemistry help you?
Nothing more relaxing for me. I can just sit at the monitor and eat biscuits. I mean, they take care of these things themselves. George and Julie were obviously brilliant friends long before we started and the film, Ticket the Paradise, buys into and uses their history, their shared history on and off screen.
With Office Romance, I knew immediately we went and had lunch. I had lunch a couple of months before we started with Brett and Jen, and it was about three hours and I don’t think I said anything at all. I sat there and watched them laugh, thinking, “Oh, this is going to go right itself. This is going to be an easy one.” They’re brilliant at what they do, and part of the reason they’re brilliant at what they do and part of the reason they keep doing what they do is they’re really nice.
And so, they would always pretend to listen to me even if I had absolutely nothing remotely helpful to say. They would listen as if respectfully and then carry on doing exactly what they were doing before, which was much better anyway.
[Laughs] You clearly like old-school romantic comedies. There are some very screwball moments in your work. Any romantic classics, like The Philadelphia Story or His Girl Friday, really inspire your work?
Philadelphia Story is Julia Robert’s favorite movie. Literally we talked about that on set doing Ticket the Paradise. George used to look at the monitors sometimes and he would say, “Old school,” which was high praise. And then with this, I talked with Brett and Joe about Working Girl, like comedies from the 90s. Obviously, we talked about When Harry Met Sally, because everyone always talks about that – as they should. You don’t try and make a classic because the classics didn’t try and make a classic; they just tried to make a good movie. You’re always trying to make something that people will still be watching in three years time, let alone 20.
Office Romance. (L-R) Jennifer Lopez as Jackie Cruz and Brett Goldstein as Daniel Blanchflower in Office Romance. Cr. Ana Carballosa/Netflix © 2026.
So, you joked about kicking back and eating biscuits behind the monitor, but even if your two actors have crazy great chemistry, you still need to shoot it, light it, and cut it just right. As a director, how do you handle romantic chemistry with care?
Everything needs to serve every element. There just shouldn’t be a discordant element in it. You’re trying to find with the design, with the costume, with the music, with the editing, with the lighting, you’re just trying to make it all harmonized. I think I’m just a fan, too. I just think they’re amazing at what they do. The scripts that I write and the films that I make – just try and serve it up for them to be as amazing as they are.
It’s basically me going, “Look, check out this person. Aren’t they brilliant?” And so, The Best Ecotic Marigold Hotel that I wrote, I remember just with this extraordinary cast, “Look at them. Aren’t they amazing? Look at Maggie Smith, look at Judy Dench. Isn’t she awesome?”
And it’s the same with this. You’re just kind of going, check out Jen. Isn’t she ridiculous? She’s sublime. You’re trying to make every element support that without it being pure sugar fancy. You got to tell a story and hopefully make people laugh. But in the end, it’s just me being a fan.
Being a fan of romantic comedies, what do you really enjoy about crafting couples? What’s maybe unspoken in romance that you really want to show?
I think the reason I write films and novels is that I like what’s between the lines. I like what’s unsaid. I like what’s unspoken. You’re always looking for those moments of connection. It was my idea in the script after they’ve kissed for the first time, they dive onto the bed and roll straight off the bed on the other side and laugh. One of those connections is laughter, cracking each other up on screen and off. I always find it touching and real and that a couple is closer as a result of it.
Office Romance. (L-R) Edward James Olmos as Captain Jack Cruz and Jennifer Lopez as Jackie Cruz in Office Romance. Cr. Ana Carballosa/Netflix © 2026.
Well said. You bring them together in the end with a real fun homage to The Graduate. How’d that come about?
That was great. We were trying to find a place to set the ending. You don’t necessarily want to go back to the same location, which was in the building. I was thinking it should be a different part of the building. And then I thought of The Graduate. I thought of the windows and I was like, “No, we should do it there.” It was brilliant fun and Brett loved it.
I mean, it’s all homage. Every shot’s been done. You’re always just stealing, but if you’re going to steal, steal from the past.
And then we get to see Brett pour his heart out in front of a huge crowd. It’s another classic rom-com staple. How challenging are those scenes to pull off?
The challenge is you know the ending’s coming, you know what’s going to happen, especially in this case the public declaration is in itself a cliche. Telling people in front of other people is very much a staple of romcoms for some reason. It needs to be a public declaration rather than a private one. And so, you’re trying to find ways to make it original, make it different while it is reassuring at the same time.
You’re also trying to find purely the lines, you’re trying to find nice ways to say, “I love you.” You’re trying to find a kind of line that sounds like a line and not like a cliche. But in this case, there’s a brilliant joke halfway through, which really kills me when Jennifer says “daddy” to Edward James Olmos, and Brett thinks he’s talking to her. If you can find a laugh, make it both truthful and funny. It’s challenging.
Office Romance. (L-R) Jennifer Lopez as Jackie Cruz and Brett Goldstein as Daniel Blanchflower in Office Romance. Cr. Ana Carballosa/Netflix © 2026.
What is it that draws you to romantic comedies? What is it that makes you want to tell love stories?
I don’t know. It evolved. I find the world so confusing and difficult. I think that it’s really nice to be in a happy place, to write something where you know the ending and that it’s all going to work out as we live in these times. I’m fundamentally optimistic, I think. I like making these movies, and I like making people happy by watching them. I’ll be happy here if they’ll let me keep doing it. You always know every time a movie ends, you never show up to let you do it again. But yeah, it’s a space I’m really happy and really comfortable in. Hopefully, they might let me do it again.
I hope so, too. Despite the challenges of making a rom-com, you make it look easy.
We work hard. There’s lots of laughter on set. Hopefully, you can tell. It’s relaxed, but if you relax too much, then I think there’s nothing more annoying than people watching a movie where clearly they’ve had more fun making the movie than you are having watching it. The sense of indulgence I find intensely frustrating. You’re there to do a job, but we laugh a lot when we’re making it. I hope that that comes across and that looseness and relaxation. Actors do their best work if they’re encouraged and supported. If there’s just a guy at the monetary eating biscuits going, great, then that’s my job.
