I’ll say this in Prime’s favour – they know how to host an event. Last week, the streaming platform held the premiere of My Fault: London at Cineworld Leicester Square. It’s a new romantic drama, adapted from the 2023 Spanish film Culpa Mía and out now, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Its target demographic seems to be teenagers but having watched it, it makes some unfair assumptions about its younger audience – namely that they aren’t as smart as they are.

Attendees received the full red-carpet experience – or in this case, the blue one – with photo opportunities, fittingly splicing the film’s central themes of romance and racing together. Guests could pose in front of roadside mirrors with the film’s title on, don racing jackets, scribble love notes on a padlock to strap to a trellis Pont des Arts bridge-style, and stand in front of a McLaren, the car in which the two leads drive around London landmarks. The film screened with popcorn, drinks and candy hearts. A pre-film Q&A with the directors and cast, plus an afterparty so it’s safe to say they can’t be faulted for that – even if the film is full of them.

My Fault: London follows Noah (Asha Banks), who begrudgingly relocates to London when her mum remarries. There, she meets her hostile but conveniently ripped stepbrother Nick (Matthew Broome). The two spend the first thirty minutes loathing each other, yet then Nick uncharacteristically reveals he has a heart-of-gold and they end up falling for each other.

The film’s title alone is a jarring one – in the original Spanish, “mi culpa” is a more common phrase, but also since aside from the obligatory shots of Big Ben at the start, the film barely acknowledges London at all. It could be anywhere. Noah defines the move as “a fresh start” but there isn’t even a What A Girl Wants-esque montage of her visiting all the major sights and trying to make a Beefeater chuckle. Instead, her first port of call is a car park to attend races in various McLarens – the film inexplicably makes racing a huge component of its plot, despite the fact that the type of racing going on here would be shut down by the police in minutes in Chiswick. Nonetheless, the film devotes lots of time to these race scenes and none to character development.

The fact that Noah is 18-years-old seems bizarre in itself – surely as a legal adult, there would be no need for her to even join her mother on this move? But we go along with it for a quite literal ride, and before long, she’s making new friends and falling for Nick despite his propensity to get into random fights with strangers. Various inconsequential subplots surface, including one where Noah turns out to be an expert driver having learnt it from her jailbird dad, and another where her boyfriend cheats on her with her best friend – most likely, to shift him out of the picture more quickly so Nick and Noah can be together.

The supporting characters are one-dimensional, including three token mean girls who connive to get rid of Noah so one of them can date Nick – by literally locking her in a room at a party. (Foolproof.) At one point, Nick’s mother declares she’s an alcoholic, a plot-point that is never referenced again. Towards the end, there’s a kidnap sequence that emerges from nowhere when Noah’s abusive dad (Villain™) escapes from prison and demands a ransom of $1 million from her new rich British stepdad. Cue a chance for Nick to save the day, and then take his shirt off..

On my way out, I heard someone who’d enjoyed it saying “The thing about this is there’s something for everyone. Car chases, romance, sex. The lot!” But that’s exactly it – this is cinema by committee. It fits the bill of silly, wafer-thin escapism – and achieve what the studio wants, which is for people to tune in between buying more stuff on Amazon. It’ll pass for some light entertainment on a rainy day, which let’s be honest, is probably the aim.

My Fault: London is streaming on Prime now: https://amzn.to/3X1X2OL