This Hallmark romance was better than most. It was, of course, buoyed by the talents of Paul Campbell and Kimberly Sustad, a proven winning duo from previous Hallmark movies. These two can do rom-coms in their sleep and they definitely have on-screen chemistry. The writing is mostly good also. The banter between these two, who are definitely not dating (right!), is great. I do wish that they had given Paul more funny lines, because he can be laugh-out-loud funny when given the right material. As it was, he was a bit more subdued. I also thought the part toward the end, where Kimberly blows him off because she assumes he still wants to live the carefree single life, was handled a bit awkwardly. They always seem to need some bump in the relationship, which will, of course, be smoothed out in the end, but rarely do they seem to make this bump really believable, and this was no exception.
Diversity seems to have been Hallmark's mission for the past few years, and it was definitely on display in this film. Nothing wrong with diversity, per se, but in this movie, they took it almost to the point of parody. I find it interesting that Hallmark usually seems to go out of its way to avoid anything offensive or controversial. They never show or even imply pre-marital sex. They don't touch any dark subjects, such as suicide, drug addiction, abuse or terminal illness. They never delve into politics. Yet, in this movie, they seem more than willing to include content that they know a large percentage of their viewers will object to. Seems like a big middle finger to their core audience. Those who have seen the movie know exactly what I'm talking about. 'Nuff said.
So, on the whole, this was an enjoyable romance with likable characters and a good, slow progression of a relationship, from acquaintances to platonic wedding buddies to lovers. Parts were a little rough, but on the whole, it was a decent rom-com.
Diversity seems to have been Hallmark's mission for the past few years, and it was definitely on display in this film. Nothing wrong with diversity, per se, but in this movie, they took it almost to the point of parody. I find it interesting that Hallmark usually seems to go out of its way to avoid anything offensive or controversial. They never show or even imply pre-marital sex. They don't touch any dark subjects, such as suicide, drug addiction, abuse or terminal illness. They never delve into politics. Yet, in this movie, they seem more than willing to include content that they know a large percentage of their viewers will object to. Seems like a big middle finger to their core audience. Those who have seen the movie know exactly what I'm talking about. 'Nuff said.
So, on the whole, this was an enjoyable romance with likable characters and a good, slow progression of a relationship, from acquaintances to platonic wedding buddies to lovers. Parts were a little rough, but on the whole, it was a decent rom-com.