In a time where the Metaverse feels more and more a looming presence, hoping to crown our complex realities with its utopian promise, it's only natural to expect a film set precisely there. Director L.E. Staiman took a chance with Love Virtually, but his attempt to make a zany, absurdist rom-com (riffing off the title of your aunt's annual Christmas rewatch) simply fails. The premise sees a few couples on the brink of breaking up reconnect with the help of VR headsets, challenging each other's commitment, or cheating with each other (without knowing it of course). A rather funny gambit gets sucked into a vortex of dullness when the characters speak, their dialogues irksome to the point of second-hand embarrassment. Instead of exploring the possibilities of VR relations through an ironic lens, the film seems to not even care enough to look for the genuine comedic potential of the Metaverse as a concept-turned-space. Even the three separate references to Timothée Chalamet don't make a difference to how surprisingly retrograde and somehow banal all of this feels.

One thing Love Virtually gets right is the superficiality of a certain kind of streamer/influencer figure and on this occasion, it hits the nail on the head with its well-targeted sarcasm. The character of Kalvin (played by director L.E. Staiman himself), for example, is a walking caricature, but in the best possible way. With him, the film really leans into an absurdist dimension, making him seem completely inadequate, as he finishes each sentence with the performative "Subscribe". It's simple, but so effective, portraying a trope of a person rather than an actual person, and this is what the film should have done throughout, no holding back.