Faith-based rom-com Relationship Goals quickly becomes an infomercial

Kelly Rowland and Method Man find faith-based love in a rom-com where the "com" is short for "commercial."

By Caroline Siede | February 3, 2026 | 9:00pm

Photo: Amazon MGM Studios

Film Reviews Kelly Rowland

Faith-based rom-com Relationship Goals quickly becomes an infomercial

From the sassy gay assistant to the questionable gender politics, there are more than a few ways in which Relationship Goals feels like a throwback to the glossy rom-coms of the late 2000s. But perhaps the most obvious is that it’s based on a self-help book—a niche trend that previously gave us He’s Just Not That Into You, Think Like A Man, and What To Expect When You’re Expecting. Here, the self-help book in question is an explicitly faith-based dating guide by real-life Oklahoma megachurch pastor Michael Todd, who pops up in the movie to shill his ideas about “dating intentionally” because you can’t “Facebook faithfulness” or “Instagram integrity.” While that alone sounds harmless enough, Todd’s also got some slightly more dubious thoughts on how women need to lower their standards while giving their cheating playboy exes a second chance.

Yet those retrograde ideas anchor a movie that has its fair share of retro charms too. More than most rom-com directors working today, Linda Mendoza understands the power of a big cheesy dance scene where three close-knit female friends blow off steam, or a road trip montage where the male lead sings his heart out. A lot of Relationship Goals is unabashedly old-fashioned in a good way, though half of it feels like an ad for old-fashioned values.

Mendoza’s biggest asset is a cast supremely locked into her film’s frothy tone. Though every character has the depth of a teaspoon, Kelly Rowland and Cliff “Method Man” Smith bring charisma and confidence to their roles as rival news producers competing for the same morning show job. Type-A striver Leah Caldwell (Rowland) has been working towards becoming the first female showrunner of Better Day USA for years now. But when the network demands to see another candidate too, she’s forced to work alongside her cheating ex Jarrett Roy (Smith), who made his name in nightly news.

Sparks fly between the former couple, of course, as they work on a story about Todd’s book, Relationship Goals: How To Win At Dating, Marriage, And Sex. And while it’s hard to care about the thinly drawn Leah and Jarrett as people, it’s fun enough to watch Rowland and Smith go through the enemies-to-lovers motions in a kind of Hallmark-movie way. Though neither lead gives a particularly in-depth performance, they’re both likable screen presences with solid chemistry, which is sometimes all you really need in a streaming rom-com.

There’s equal vivacity to Leah’s two besties, morning show host Brenda Phelps (Robin Thede) and make-up artist Treese Moore (Annie Gonzalez), who get parallel love stories about how difficult it is to be a modern woman. (Treese can’t escape the app-fueled dating pool while Brenda can’t get her long-time basketball player boyfriend to propose.) Sometime in the last decade, rom-coms forgot how to be unabashedly zippy, but Thede and Gonzalez at least know how to deliver the quips and comebacks of the classic “rom-com best friend” archetype. The movie is at its best when the trio are serving up a faith-based riff on Sex And The City, railing against the patriarchy while trusting in God’s timing.

Alas, that hedged charm can only take a movie so far. Though Leah tries to argue that the morning show can’t just do a puff piece on Todd, Relationship Goals features so much screentime for the pastor, his wife, his church, and his writing that it genuinely starts to feel like an infomercial. (There are half a dozen shots of people reading, highlighting, and citing the book.) The cheesy fun of Relationship Goals is undercut by the intensity of its branding and the didacticism of its messaging—especially when that messaging compares people who “date around” to chicken nuggets that have been nibbled at a party.

Relationship Goals doesn’t aim too high, which makes its shortcomings less frustrating than they would be in a more ambitious romance. As a bit of forgettable, low-stakes Valentine’s Day viewing for the religious set, one could do worse. But those who only date their rom-coms “intentionally” could definitely do better.

Director: Linda Mendoza
Writer: Michael Elliot, Cory Tynan, Laura Lekkos
Starring: Kelly Rowland, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Robin Thede, Annie Gonzalez, Ryan Jamaal Swain, Dennis Haysbert, Matt Walsh
Release Date: February 4, 2026 (Prime Video)

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