Love Hurts is a fantastic action comedy starring great talent. It’s fun to see Ke Huy Quan as former hitman and now real estate agent Marvin Gable, Ariana DeBose as love interest Rose Carlisle, and Rhys Darby as the hilarious Kippy Betts.
Marvin’s world was once one of chaos. He worked for his brother, Alvin ‘Knuckles’ Gable (Daniel Wu), taking out whomever he was ordered to. Guess what? Marvin was excellent at his job until he fell in love with Rose. Then he wanted out after Alvin wanted him to take her out (and not on a date).
Marvin and Rose’s journey as they reconnect is funny. You’ll laugh. You’ll turn your head away. And you’ll see many leadership ideas and principles presented in Love Hurts.
Let’s take a look at those lessons.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Love Hurts
1. Don’t assume:
Marvin was a realtor. He didn’t have a vehicle, so he would bike to the houses he sold.
On one trip, Marvin notices something. All of his signs have been vandalized. Someone has been drawing mustaches, beards, and more on them.
How rude!
As he approached one sign, he saw his real estate rival Jeff Zaks’ (Drew Scott from the show Property Brothers) sign had not been vandalized. They were picture-perfect.
He assumed Jeff had vandalized the signs. He would turn out to be wrong. It was his love interest that came back into his life, Rose.
How quick are we to jump in and assume something, especially bad things, about those we lead? We hear a rumbling, and we jump to a conclusion. We don’t give people a second thought to their guilt.
They are guilty…
Except they’re not. They were in the wrong place, someone was upset, or there was angst between you. You chose the easiest route to a conclusion. You chose the one that fits your narrative.
Until you investigate a little further. The story you heard doesn’t line up. It doesn’t align with what you know about the person. And then, like Marvin, you feel foolish when you discover your assumptions were wrong.
Leaders can’t jump to conclusions. They can’t assume.
2. Marvin Gable:
If you’re not happy, do something about it.
Ashley (Lio Tipton) was one of the employees at Marvin’s workplace. She did her job well, but she wasn’t happy. She knew there was more out there for her.
During one of their conversations, Ashley tells Marvin this. She’s not happy. She may even be depressed.
Marvin knew the answer to this. If she was unhappy, she would have to do something about it. She had the power to change her attitude.
Guess who else has the power to change their attitude and feelings? That’s right, it’s YOU!
If you’re unhappy with your current work situation, change it. If you’re unhappy with your relationships, work on them. If you’re unhappy with your health, do something about it.
You have the power to change your situation. You don’t have to stay depressed, upset, or angry. You can move toward a better life by doing something.
3. Cliff Cussick (Sean Astin):
I’m proud of you
Cliff was the owner of the business Marvin worked for. He went to Marvin’s office to give him something special.
What was it? Marvin had won the Realtor of the Year award. It was such an honor for Marvin. He was excited.
More than that, Cliff was excited. He was proud of his star Realtor. And he didn’t hold back. Cliff shared with Marvin just how proud he was of his hard work. He had even seen a change in Marvin.
Who in your organization deserves recognition? Who has changed, grown, or done a great job?
There are names coming to your mind right now. Write those names down. Don’t stop until the list is exhausted.
Now, go tell them you’re proud of them, you’ve seen their hard work, or how you love working with them.
You’ll see a smile creep across their face. You’ll see their countenance change. You may even see a new level of productivity.
All because you recognized them.
4. You can be kind to your enemies:
Marvin went back to his office. A man was waiting there for him. And he wasn’t a friendly face.
The Raven (Mustafa Shakir) had been sent by Alvin to take care of Marvin. He wanted Marvin dead, and that was what was going to happen. Or maybe not.
Marvin fights back. He brutally attacks The Raven. Eventually, he knocks him out.
Does Marvin let The Raven fall to the floor with a thud? No, he sees a pillow, sees The Raven falling, and tosses the pillow under The Raven’s head.
Despite their differences, Marvin was still kind.
You may have been taught that leaders win at any cost. They will go to extremes to make sure their organization succeeds.
While you do have to pay attention to whether or not your organization will succeed, it doesn’t have to be at any cost. It doesn’t have to be at the expense of your humanity.
You can treat your competition with kindness. You can do what you need to do while not hurting others.
Be kind to your enemies.
5. Bad leaders will frame others:
King (Marshawn Lynch) and Otis (André Eriksen) were battling Marvin. Then they got a call from the real bad guy in the movie, Renny Merlo (Cam Gigandet).
Rose was on the run because Alvin believed Rose had stolen money from him (we later discovered she had stolen the money but had also been set up by Renny). Renny had placed a duffle bag of money in the trunk of Rose’s car. She would take the fall.
Renny knew he had set Rose up and needed to make sure Rose and Marvin were taken care of.
What do you do when a bad situation occurs? Do you look to accept responsibility, or do you look to place blame and frame others?
Bad leaders won’t take the blame. They’ll look for scapegoats and reasons why.
Don’t be that leader. Be the leader who takes responsibility.
6. Don’t overreact:
A man approaches Marvin. He tells Marvin he knows who he is.
Marvin thinks this is a veiled threat. He believes the man knows who he was.
What happens next is comedic gold in the film. Marvin begins to attack the poor man. He takes him to the ground and pummels him.
It’s then that the man tells Reggie he knows him from his signs. Whoops!
When we’re in a heightened emotional state, our reactions overcompensate. We see anything and everything as a threat.
We’ll hurt people who love and care for us. We’ll find reasons to lash out at those we lead.
We can’t overreact when we’re on edge. We must talk ourselves down, find ways to mitigate our feelings, and react appropriately.
7. It’s okay to be proud of your work:
Marvin had received the Realtor of the Year award earlier in the film. Cliff had given him a plaque to commemorate the occasion.
Do you know what Marvin did? He carried the plaque with him throughout the rest of the movie. He was so excited, so honored, so proud to be recognized for the work he did.
I know the Bible says in Proverbs 16:18 that Pride goes before destruction… And I agree. There are multiple kinds of pride.
So, pride, done right, can be good. You can be glad you did work that benefited others. You can rejoice in the fact that your work has touched lives.
Be proud of your work.
8. Unhealthy ambition is bad:
Rose kidnapped Kippy. Kippy had been the organization’s bookkeeper.
We discover what happened. Kippy and Renny had set up Rose. Why? Because Renny wanted her position in Alvin’s organization.
Whoopsie!
It turns out that Renny’s unhealthy ambition turned out poorly for him.
If we have unhealthy ambitions, we will do things we shouldn’t. Immoral things. Unhealthy things. Evil things.
Check your ambition. Make sure you’re not chasing something unhealthy.
9. Rose:
Hiding ain’t living.
Marvin had let Rose go when Alvin wanted him to kill her. He told her they had to stay low and hide out. For Rose, she discovered hiding wasn’t living.
As the movie progressed, despite how much Marvin enjoyed being a Realtor, something was missing. He was hiding. He wasn’t working in where he should.
I think we can twist this quote slightly for leadership. We could say Hiding ain’t leading. You can’t lead if you’re hiding in the background (that doesn’t mean you can’t lead from the back).
Stop hiding. Stop thinking you don’t have value to contribute.
You do. The more you do, the more you will lead.
10. Marvin Gable:
No brother would use me like you did.
Alvin and Marvin begin the final showdown battle. Alvin was upset that Marvin hadn’t killed Rose. He was more upset that Marvin and Cliff had considered themselves brothers.
He told Marvin Cliff wasn’t his brother. HE was. Marvin knew they may be blood but he knew they weren’t brothers.
Alvin had used and abused Marvin. He had treated him poorly and taken advantage of him.
You can’t be a great leader and use those you lead. Great leaders don’t do that.
They share the burden. They carry the heavier portions of that burden. They don’t use and abuse.
They lift up, care for, and respect others. Be a leader who does that.
