The nature of words. Formula comes from chemistry and assumes a concise way of expressing information symbolically. Formulaic usually means predictable. So, yes, this movie follows tried and well-known formula, and is somewhat formulaic, but which feel -good movie doesn't suffer from the same malaise? So, if one is in a mood to temporally escape the drab and exhausting, this movie will do the trick just fine. We can run away from many things except from ourselves, hence the conundrum. So, we may as well embrace the good parts of who we are and skim over the others, better ignored. This charming Southern fairytale does just that. And boy do we need it.