You can see where the plot is going since the very first moments, but isn't this the case for a lot of rom-coms? Except for, a lot of them actually end up being fairly gripping.
It wasn't the case for this one. The storyline ended up being really lame, and the characters were absolutely dull. While it's true that Meghan Markle's character sparks it up a little bit, her acting is really underwhelming, though not altogether terrible. The main character, Laura, is instead more believable, but the story and the photography really ruin all her efforts (see the 10-second scene where she stares at something in the distance in an attempt to show her deep thinking).
Just like many school projects, you can see potential and have an occasional laugh, but they still remain... school projects.
The camera angles and filming were particularly bad.
15 Reviews
Was it really made in 2013
gokselt26 May 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I believe the script was written way before than facebook or twitter and then produced recently.
The characters do not show any ability to use cell phones, internet or the computer itself efficiently. The dumbest character is not only the blond ex girl friend but also every single of them.
The acting when Laura encounters the boy at the bathroom door is so poor by both sides, they don't seem surprised even a little bit.
This is just another poor romantic comedy to watch when you have nothing else to do.
I have seen better low budget movies made in 90s.
The characters do not show any ability to use cell phones, internet or the computer itself efficiently. The dumbest character is not only the blond ex girl friend but also every single of them.
The acting when Laura encounters the boy at the bathroom door is so poor by both sides, they don't seem surprised even a little bit.
This is just another poor romantic comedy to watch when you have nothing else to do.
I have seen better low budget movies made in 90s.
A Little Sparkle with Markle
jadediamond21 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I watched this movie for the same reason a lot of the other reviewers did to see Meghan Markle act. This movie is extremely mediocre. Plain Jane and Plain Joe have an awkward conversation at a coffee shop, don't exchange names or numbers, and ensues a romcom about finding each other. Meghan is the best part of this movie and that's not saying alot. Her character was the plot device which moved the plot forward. Her best friend needs a ride home. She calls Meghan's character to pick her up. She's needs help finding the male love interest. Meghan's character sets her up with an online dating profile along with eventually helping the main characters finally meet and connect.
I don't blame Meghan for this movie. We get the roles we can. None of the actors were bad but the story was very bland and they did their best with the writing. If you're interested in seeing Meghan act, watch. If you want a good romcom with a cute meetup of love/hate at first sight, good editing, a pop ballad out of nowhere getting stuck in your head, and an emotional pulling scene skip this movie and go watch a superior random encounter movie of fate bringing two starcrossed lovers together like Serendipity (2001), Sleepless in Seattle(1993), An Affair to Remember(1957), or A Walk to Remember (2002).
I don't blame Meghan for this movie. We get the roles we can. None of the actors were bad but the story was very bland and they did their best with the writing. If you're interested in seeing Meghan act, watch. If you want a good romcom with a cute meetup of love/hate at first sight, good editing, a pop ballad out of nowhere getting stuck in your head, and an emotional pulling scene skip this movie and go watch a superior random encounter movie of fate bringing two starcrossed lovers together like Serendipity (2001), Sleepless in Seattle(1993), An Affair to Remember(1957), or A Walk to Remember (2002).
Truly terrible
chichatraini17 January 2021
Utter load of crap
michpixlondon24 January 2020
Meghan Markle plays a female version of a total player, and if this is any indication of her acting skills I can see why she married a Prince!
Possibly the worst film I've ever watched! Don't waste your time!!
(and I agree with the review that said it was older than 2013,so not sure if they dragged out an old script??)
absolutely ridiculous and unrealistic farce
MovieIQTest2 February 2014
so, here we got two girls who rent an apartment in l.a., the rent in this city, especially in west Hollywood area is outrageously high, yet these two young women neither obviously got no steady jobs, the main character with a day-dreaming problem still tries so hard to get a 'tooth fairy' dental commercial hiring temp job, yet she does not seem to worry about how to pay her next month rent, still can afford sitting in her room day dream to meet a guy she encountered in a coffee shop. the other girl is busy in meeting guys on date.com and bring the new stud into her apartment for one night stand. so, they both got no jobs, they both do not like millionaire off-springs with steady monthly allowances from their foundations their parents set up for them, they still can afford dating, buying and eating ice cream, watching TV, going to coffee shop, buying newly released how-to non-fiction, manicuring their nails in expensive saloon... and the young man that main girl role dream about encountering again is not a rich guy but another struggling absolutely non-talent screenplay writer, but again, he could afford renting (or even owning?) a decent apartment in downtown l.a.? are you bullshxxting me? so i must point out here is this screenplay was obviously written by a day-dreaming poor struggling young writer who got no steady job and incomes, so he dreamed up such a ridiculous script to fulfill his day dreams, wishing a big pie would fall onto his laps. this is absolutely a unrealistic fantasy that only the imbeciles would buy it.
Creativity lacking in a not so amusing and sappy love story.
karlyta16 January 2014
The premise was promising, as the two main characters were developing nicely to their ill fated encounter. But that's where things fizzled and became quite predictable and mundane: silly, sappy formulaic Hollywood. The narrative was not very amusing, a fast food romance. Michael Rady as Kevin was flat and the sequence with the studio executives was pedestrian. Laura, played by Abby Wathen, teased with potential but could not muster enough without the hook of her roommate, Meghan Markle who sparkled as Mindy, offering the only real laughs throughout the movie, salvaging it from being flat out awful. The tie in to the talk show interview with the "Laws of Attraction" thread was sophomoric and hard to watch especially the scene as the credits rolled.
Who altered the credits?
tricia190200130 November 2022
Isn't the lead actress in this Abby Wathen? How does she get to be so very far down cast list? She was actually not that bad given the poor quality of the role. Wonder who she upset!
This is truly a rom-com without the com.. and not much rom. Following a cute meet , tripping up with two cups of hot coffee which land all over the shirt of a failing script writer, the wannabe actress and the wannabe script writer fail to exchange telephone numbers. The whole thing then is about them both meeting with disastrous dates non of which makes sense. A cringe worthy drinking game between the lead's room mate and the coffee stained shirt guy leads to misunderstandings. All too predictable.
.
This is truly a rom-com without the com.. and not much rom. Following a cute meet , tripping up with two cups of hot coffee which land all over the shirt of a failing script writer, the wannabe actress and the wannabe script writer fail to exchange telephone numbers. The whole thing then is about them both meeting with disastrous dates non of which makes sense. A cringe worthy drinking game between the lead's room mate and the coffee stained shirt guy leads to misunderstandings. All too predictable.
.
Crudity ruins romance and kills magic!
MyMovieTVRomance19 December 2022
I like this, but decided to only give it 3 stars because of all the crude language not befitting a romcom, and because the leading man has a haircut that kept making me think of Donald Duck (there was like this bushy duck tail thing in the back)- also not befitting a romance, more appropriate for straight-up comedy.
The leading ladies here were the real standouts though, and Mehgan Markle pre-royal-wedding was a lot of fun.
Besides some little annoyances that added up for me, I do like the movie overall. I love that it deals with fate and following the signs God is sending through the universe, as I live my life by that creed and can confirm that it's for-real! In fact, the whole movie related to me on a personal level and is very timely for me to have discovered it now that I have began to notice my own signs from above!
There's magic here, but it's not treated as it should be. Good movie that would have been even better had it been made in a warm PG romcom style, rather than in the more cold and raunchy style of "The Hangover".
The leading ladies here were the real standouts though, and Mehgan Markle pre-royal-wedding was a lot of fun.
Besides some little annoyances that added up for me, I do like the movie overall. I love that it deals with fate and following the signs God is sending through the universe, as I live my life by that creed and can confirm that it's for-real! In fact, the whole movie related to me on a personal level and is very timely for me to have discovered it now that I have began to notice my own signs from above!
There's magic here, but it's not treated as it should be. Good movie that would have been even better had it been made in a warm PG romcom style, rather than in the more cold and raunchy style of "The Hangover".
Abby Wathen & Michael Rady were great....
Design8817 February 2023
I wanted to watch this purely to see why it's never mentioned as part of Meghan's acting CV.
Strangely enough, she's featured prominently in the foreground on the poster and holds the starring role spot on IMDB. I find this hard to believe as she is definitely the supporting actress here albeit the character that drives the action forward in a very Shakespearian manner.
She plays Mindy, Laura's roomate, and is the female trampy version of a "player". She parties every night and brings home one night stands who she then ignores in the morning. She's quite promiscuous and her comments and actions are more raunchy than usual Hallmark movies.
The 'real' lead actress (Abby Wathen) is an aspiring actress who accidentally spills coffee on a would-be screenwriter (Michael Rady) in a cafe. It's love at first sight for the pair of them but they are both shy and don't exchange numbers.
They spend the rest of the movie trying to find each other. It's fun to watch how that all pans out and I truly liked how sweet and naive Laura was and how she handled all her mishaps calmly without much drama in contrast to the crass, loud Mindy.
I've liked Michael Rady in other Hallmark movies so I probably cut him a bit more slack than his acting as Kevin deserved. He was supposed to be timid and he didn't have much of a part to work with but he could have still shown a bit more spark I think. They were well suited as a pair though so perhaps that was intentional.
I wonder if this rom-com is played down by Meghan's camp because of how raunchy her character is. She was hired as the "lead actor's love interest" on Suits, according to her in an interview on Larry King Live, and she is always cast in sexy roles. Even her Reitman's campaign and a few music video appearances are sexy. Funnily enough I find her extremely 'girl-next-door' material and her partial nudity in Suits and attempts to be sexy quite cringeworthy.
Strangely enough, she's featured prominently in the foreground on the poster and holds the starring role spot on IMDB. I find this hard to believe as she is definitely the supporting actress here albeit the character that drives the action forward in a very Shakespearian manner.
She plays Mindy, Laura's roomate, and is the female trampy version of a "player". She parties every night and brings home one night stands who she then ignores in the morning. She's quite promiscuous and her comments and actions are more raunchy than usual Hallmark movies.
The 'real' lead actress (Abby Wathen) is an aspiring actress who accidentally spills coffee on a would-be screenwriter (Michael Rady) in a cafe. It's love at first sight for the pair of them but they are both shy and don't exchange numbers.
They spend the rest of the movie trying to find each other. It's fun to watch how that all pans out and I truly liked how sweet and naive Laura was and how she handled all her mishaps calmly without much drama in contrast to the crass, loud Mindy.
I've liked Michael Rady in other Hallmark movies so I probably cut him a bit more slack than his acting as Kevin deserved. He was supposed to be timid and he didn't have much of a part to work with but he could have still shown a bit more spark I think. They were well suited as a pair though so perhaps that was intentional.
I wonder if this rom-com is played down by Meghan's camp because of how raunchy her character is. She was hired as the "lead actor's love interest" on Suits, according to her in an interview on Larry King Live, and she is always cast in sexy roles. Even her Reitman's campaign and a few music video appearances are sexy. Funnily enough I find her extremely 'girl-next-door' material and her partial nudity in Suits and attempts to be sexy quite cringeworthy.
Abby Wathen steals the show
indiedavid2 August 2020
Maghan Markel is featured on the publicity photos and cover for this film but make no mistake about it, the star here is Abby Wathen. Her comedic expressions are impeccable. Her character is so believably naive and hopeful, you can't help but to root for her happiness. I laughed out loud at least 10 times at her reactions and un-inhibited goofiness.
Very Cute
pogirlshines5 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Of course it's not going to be up for an Academy award but I enjoyed it. I thought it was entertaining which is why I choose to watch a movie.
It was slow in spots, towards the beginning but from about the middle on, it picked up the pace & was more interesting. The acting was decent.
I liked the ending, during the credits. Cracked me up.
A common romance type movie-nothing to see here
allanmichael3024 January 2020
Read the title and that's the movie,i only watched it because MEGAN who is now married to Prince Harry was in it and her acting is not bad. The end was quite current with Mee Too a t.v woman harassed by college at end of movie,as was her friend getting harassed by producer.
Witty Script and Brilliant Cast
richievee23 December 2014
I loved RANDOM ENCOUNTERS and found the leading couple, Abby Wathen and Michael Rady, to be adorable and perfectly cast. Somehow they bring off the virtually impossible feat of creating powerful chemistry while sharing very minimal screen time together. I was rooting wholeheartedly for Laura and Kevin to find each other again after their chance meeting early in the film because these two likable characters seemed so ideally suited. Screenwriters Nate Barlow and Boris Undorf have produced an inspired script that is witty and smart.
(NOTE TO SELF: Skip that stupid, anticlimactic scene under the closing credits.)
(NOTE TO SELF: Skip that stupid, anticlimactic scene under the closing credits.)
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
