Always and Forever (2009 TV Movie) User Reviews

High School Romance Revisited

[conleytgwinn · 5/10 · 8 November 2012]

Good characters and a fair plot line. Why do I feel empty after-wards?

Well, mostly because I liked the romantic protagonists and a lot of the surrounding players, but I think a less meddlesome Barbara Eden would have done wonders for the movie. Had Barbara followed her movie husband's advice, the romance that was visible could have seemed so much less contrived. The same end could have been achieved in far less time, with fewer commercial breaks required, and I could have watched something else on Hallmark as well in my limited time for formula Hallmark. Seen in other reviews as a plus for the movie, I must loudly disagree with that section of the script which insisted that I should want to eliminate a lovely Barbara, whom I still adore, from the production in order to facilitate better storytelling.

Always and forever 2009

[mitchellrharl · 5/10 · 9 January 2021]

Max Gail and Barbara Eden blah . Dean McDermott and Rena Sofer act so immature to be professionals.Poor Philip Rob Boltin he gets blindsided.shows how fickle people are

Enjoyable silly movie

[mitchellrharl · 5/10 · 9 January 2021]

Dean McDermott and Rena Sider are in 30s late thirties acting like teenagers . All the movies Hallmark makes have these people riding bikes not acting like adults.

What happens when past and present collide

[HallmarkMovieBuff · 29 May 2010]

It's Saturday evening of Memorial Day weekend, and there's "nothing" on TV, so I'm filling up on Hallmark movies. Most Hallmark movies, in my experience, fall into the 7-8 range (on a scale of 10), i.e., above average. This is the first one I recall ever having rated below average.

The summary line I've supplied for this review is not my own; it's a line from the movie, and it could well have been the tag line, if there were one. Finally, the one previous review here summarizes the plot sufficiently that I can skip revisiting that.

So much for background.

My first problem with this film was seemingly incompatible casting. I like Rena Sofer, but I wouldn't say that she's in my top tier of favorites. And up to now, I've never been all that impressed with Dean McDermott; but then, this is the first time I've seen him in a lead role. Therefore, I had to try hard to wipe away everything I'd ever thought about him, and to see him through fresh eyes. Their pairing, therefore, as the lead romantic couple, seemed rather incongruous, as "Philip" appeared to be a much better match for "Grace" than did "Michael".

Secondly, the whole execution seemed rather superficial, even for a "formula" film. The best thing about the script is its self-realization that some of the characters are behaving like teenagers, not adults. Unfortunately, this observation inadvertently applies to some of the actors as well.

Supporting players worth seeing in their roles here include the ever-reliable Barbara Eden, Jonathan Chase and, particularly, Hillary Tuck. And by the end, I even warmed up a bit to the loving leads.

Nothing happens in this movie

[MIamiReviewer · 4/10 · 31 October 2015]

I love me some Hallmark Sunday afternoon movies.

However, I have put this movie on on probably 6 separate occasions (it reruns a lot) and every time i lose interest before the halfway mark -- because absolutely nothing happens in this movie. There is no conflict, no obstacle to overcome. Except that they just have to finally get around to saying that they still love each other. The acting is probably fine. The actors are quite pretty. But it's like having to listen to your best friend, every single time you see her, talk about how she's not sure if she should move in with her totally fine but not fantastic boyfriend boyfriend. You just don't care that much, and it just doesn't matter. Arghhh i want my two hours back!

Always and Forever-So Nicely Predictable ***

[edwagreen · 8/10 · 25 October 2009]

Entertaining albeit a highly predictable film dealing with a recurrence after a teenage romance of 20 years before.

Ironically, both are brought together by their high school reunion and their discovery that they're working on the same project- the fixing up of a hotel.

Barbara Eden displays some wonders in her mother role. She becomes a "genie" once again at the end of the film.

Our loving couple both have been burned once in failed marriages during the interim 20 years. She has a boyfriend as well as a teenage son.

Who played the father, the husband to Barbara Eden? He was incredibly dull and just spilled his lines out without any emotion whatsoever.

We know where this is leading to. Enjoyable, but we've seen this so many times.

Dull, predictable romance

[herrcarter-92161 · 5/10 · 12 November 2023]

This is a standard story of a guy and girl who were high-school sweethearts and who, years later, meet again in their home town and rekindle their romance. That's pretty much the whole story here, and you know within the first 15 minutes the way it will turn out. It's extremely predictable.

Why the couple needs a whole movie to get back together is a mystery. This movie feels very padded. You have the slight complication of the heroine Grace's already having a boyfriend. But it's clear from the get-go that he's not a serious obstacle to Grace and Michael's eventual reunion. Her boyfriend Phillip actually kisses Grace on the cheek instead of the lips! Always a bad sign. Grace's son Scott also thinks he's a dweeb. Also a bad sign. Grace's meddling mom likes him, but that's almost a minus rather than a plus, considering how welcoming Grace is to her advice.

Even though the other guy Phillip was clearly wrong for Grace, it was still a little cringy that Grace and Michael were dating each other while she was already in a relationship. There seems to be little guilt on either of their parts except toward the end. It was clear that Grace and Michael liked each other, but this romance seemed to lack a certain spark. There was nothing to make it very interesting. If their previous breakup had been acrimonious, and their initial reactions with each other full of conflict, it could have spiced up things. But they just fell back into the old romance. In the first 20 minutes, Michael could have just said, "I still love you and you still love me. Dump your boyfriend and let's get back together," and they could have saved us, the audience, from another hour of boredom.

Even the subplot with the romance between Grace and Michael's two assistants was pretty dull. They just liked each other from the start and came up with way too easy a way for them to be together long-term. Effortless romance is fine in the real world, but in a romance movie, it's the kiss of death. You need some complications to make it interesting.

This was a sweet story about a sweet romance between likable, relatable characters. I wanted to like it. But the story was tedious and predictable and failed to really engage the audience at any point. So sad.

Barely

[Jackbv123 · 3/10 · 20 July 2020]

This story has nothing high and nothing low. It's just blah. Rena Sofer and Dean McDermott do nothing special together. I saw no chemistry. There was more going on (bro-wise) with Scot and Michael than any spark between Grace and Michael.

Barbara Eden as mom was super annoying until suddenly her entire outlook towards Grace's relationships changes instantly.

It would have been nice if some time could have been spent exploring the two assistants and their relationship. At least Lindsay had some spark to her.

Even the climax was lackluster. There was no enthusiasm in that speech whatsoever.