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Oklahoma! (1999)
Better than 1955 movie
My mom was a huge fan of Rogers and Hammerstein musicals, so I grew up watching them. Oklahoma wasn't exactly our favorite R&H show, but it definitely has its charm. I always thought that this was more like a New Yorker's stereotypical perception of what country folk from early 1900's Oklahoma were like, rather than a realistic portrayal of them, including the outrageously exaggerated accents. But if you just overlook that and let the story suck you in, it's pretty enjoyable. Musically, Messrs. Rogers and Hammerstein never disappoint. The dance numbers were also quite entertaining, and an improvement on the original. The romance between the overconfident Curly and the standoffish Laurey is perfect and keeps you engaged through the whole movie. The supporting characters, especially Aunt Eller, Ado Annie, Will and Ali the peddler provide welcome humor to the story.
It's kind of amazing that a 55-year-old (at the time) Broadway show would prove to be such a hit on the London stage. But I'd say that Hugh Jackman and the crew definitely hit a home run here. The cast were mostly British (plus Aussie Jackman), yet they played their Oklahoman characters so convincingly, overexaggerated accents and all. There's something magical about a stage production that you can't really capture in a film and they definitely caught that when they filmed this production, originally for PBS. Remakes ae hardly ever better than the original, but I can say without reservation that this production exceeded the movie in almost every respect. I enjoyed this trip down memory lane, and appreciated the chance to see a young Hugh Jackman and the rest of this wonderful cast breathe new life into this timeless musical.
Love in the Air (2024)
Hallmark romance misses the mark
This was a pretty standard Hallmark romance. About what you'd expect from a Hallmark romance and not much more. Somehow, it just missed the mark for me. The two stars were decent. Definitely eye candy. Jocelyn Hudson was actually quite good, Cute, but very down-to-earth and relatable. I wasn't feeling a lot of chemistry between the two of them, though. When the chemistry is lacking, I think that's usually code for bad screenwriting.
Not that the writing in this movie was awful. It was just okay. Clearly, they were going for enemies-to-lovers, but somehow, it didn't quite work. He was way too much of a jerk at the beginning. Sure, he mellowed out and was much nicer later, but your initial dislike of him was hard to shake. And she was way too meek, submissive and unconfident around him and in general. If you're going for enemies-to-lovers, she has to be a lot more spunky and able to give it right back to him. And, above all, you need witty banter between the two of them. Their interactions, especially after they started to like each other, seemed really awkward. Awkward does not make for a satisfying rom-com. It just reminds you of bad experiences that you might have had in your own past dating life, and it makes you cringe.
The rest of the story, with the arts festival and the training to do the silks performance, was only mildly engaging. I never really felt the sense of urgency. You had little doubt that the two silks performers would pull it out in the end and deliver a stellar performance. You knew the festival would be a raging success. And nothing really bad would have happened if it hadn't been, other than a few bruised egos and the sister of the male lead losing her gig as festival planner. To be fair, the silks performance was good, and it seemed that all or most of it was done by the stars themselves. The impromptu dancing from Jocelyn Hudson was also good.
All in all, a nice movie, a passable romance, but hardly an engaging or memorable movie. Basically just another throw-away Hallmark romance.
The Presence of Love (2022)
Nice romance, better than most
This Hallmark romance is nothing earth-shattering, but I'd say it's a cut above the typical Hallmark movie. One definite plus is that it takes place in Cornwall, England. That's a gorgeous part of the world, and a refreshing change from Hallmark's typical filming locations in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Another plus is Eloise Mumford, as our vacationing American heroine Joss. The Hallmark staple actress comes through again. Far from being just another pretty face, she is wonderful at expressing deep emotions, being vulnerable and coming across as just plain likable. I love the relationship between her and the cute little girl Tegan. There's a lot going on in this movie besides romance. You have Joss dealing with the loss of her mother, crippling anxiety attacks, and having to come through with a winning paper to secure tenure as a professor. You have farmer Daniel and his mom's farm facing financial ruin and her being too stubborn to accept the modern windmills that could save them. You have little Tegan's dyslexia and her anxiety about having to recite a poem for the literary festival. There's a lot of plot to keep you entertained.
The romance, sadly, was just so-so. Julian Morris, who plays Daniel, was okay, but not outstanding. It seems to be a trend with Hallmark movies that they get female stars who really shine, but pair them with male stars who are just average. I thought the relationship between the two of them was kind of underdeveloped and there wasn't a huge amount of chemistry between them. Maybe that's because there was so much else going on in the story that the romance was shoved to the back burner. But I found it hard to believe that there was enough of a relationship between the two of them to justify her deciding to stay in Cornwall at the end instead of returning to Boston. Hallmark has made romance its bread and butter, and they can do it right sometimes, but more often than not, it seems the romance falls flat, as in this movie. I wish they would either hire screenwriters who can really do romance right, or just skip trying to shove half-baked romances into every one of their movies.
So, other than the so-so romance, I really liked this movie. It just left you with a good feeling all the way around, which is all you expect from a Hallmark movie. I definitely hope that Hallmark does more filming in beautiful, overseas locations. It makes a world of difference (no pun intended).
Hitch (2005)
Fun, different rom-com
This rom-com has become something of a classic, and is one of my wife's favorites. I recently re-watched it with my teen daughter, and it was definitely enjoyable. Will Smith as Hitch, the self-appointed "Love Doctor", was the one who carried the film. His undeniable charm and sense of comedic timing were indispensable. Kevin James as his hapless client Albert was almost as good, though, with his silly goofiness. Eva Mendes as Hitch's love interest Sara -- well, she's beautiful. That's about it. Otherwise, I didn't find her performance that compelling.
In a way, this was more of a rom-com for guys, as it presents the fantasy that even average guys can get extraordinary women who are out of their league, as long as they are sufficiently coached in the right techniques. Maybe there's some validity to this, but honestly, a short, fat dweeb like Albert snagging a super-hot, wealthy and famous heiress like Allegra? Only in the movies. I did like the fact that, with all of Hitch's coaching, it was ultimately Albert just being his imperfect-but-loveable self that eventually won Allegra over. In the end, even if a guy gets his foot in the door with a girl by employing useful techniques, she's ultimately going to fall in love with him (or not) based on who he really is.
I also liked that Hitch, even though he put up a front of smooth bravado, was basically still the insecure guy he was in college underneath, at least when it came to a girl that he really cared about. The movies are full of guys who can effortlessly get girls to fall all over them, but those guys are ultimately kind of boring. A character like Hitch is much more interesting. A guy who likes to pretend that he has it all under control when it comes to women, but who is really just as scared and unsure as most of his desperate clients. That being said, I wasn't a fan of the awkward ending, where he hems and haws at Sara's doorstep, then makes a fool of himself running after her in the street. It was pretty cringe.
All in all, this was an entertaining rom-com with characters that we liked and could relate to. It had enough originality to keep you guessing what would happen until nearly the very end. Definitely worth watching again after nearly 20 years.
Make Me a Match (2023)
Pretty good rom-com with Indian twist
This was a fairly decent rom-com and, basically Hallmark's love letter to the Indian-American community. Was it predictable? Of course. We've seen a few of these stories where a matchmaker attempts to set a person up with multiple people, only to have the person wind up with the matchmaker themselves (or the matchmaker's son, in this case). But it was still fairly fun to watch. The multiple peeks into the fascinating Indian culture were icing on the cake for this story.
Eva Bourne gave a good performance as our dating app employee and matchmaking guinea pig Vivi. She was cute, fun and very relatable. Rushi Kota's performance as Boom, the matchmaker's son, was also good. He's a good looking guy, but he also came across as down-to-earth and likable. Did they have chemistry? Yeah, somewhat. It could've been better, but honestly, Hallmark is rarely able to get chemistry just right in its rom-coms. I don't know if it's the actors or the script, but let's just give them an A (or a B+) for effort here. I also really liked some of the supporting actors, particularly Rehha Sharma as the matchmaker mom. She was great.
The screenplay was decent, but it had a few rough spots. Sometimes the dialog was good, but sometimes it was a little unnatural. I didn't buy Vivi's attitude toward the end, where she was ready to give up on love because it didn't work out with Tristan, the only man left standing of the 3 guys she had been matched with. There just wasn't enough development of any kind of a relationship between Vivi and Tristan to make me even believe that she liked him, let alone that she would be devastated about things not working out with him. I also didn't like that they had Vivi's parents get divorced at the end. Here they were, getting along better. Marriage therapy was working. And then they decide to get a divorce? Why? It seemed so unnecessary to the plot.
One other elephant in the room that this movie totally glossed over was the fact that Indian matchmakers are specifically trying to match Indians with other Indians, so they can preserve their culture and religion. It's beyond unbelievable that Boom's mom would be cool with him marrying Vivi, a non-Indian. For a movie that seemed to be pretty clued into the Indian culture, this was one plot point that seemed really inauthentic. Or did she convert to Hinduism? If so, maybe they should have mentioned that. Or they could have had her be Indian as well -- perhaps really Americanized and detached from the traditions of her culture, but still Indian.
Otherwise, this movie was a pleasant enough diversion and a fun immersion in the Indian culture. It could've been better, but it's still worthy of a watch.
3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost (2023)
Fun ghost movie
I love movies with a fantasy element, so this movie was right up my alley. This movie was fun and original, at least for Hallmark. Sure, the whole ghost interacting with humans thing has been done many times before, but this was a particularly enjoyable take on that theme. I loved Madeleine Arthur's performance as Ruby, the beautiful, wealthy, flapper-era ghost. She was totally believable in that role. She was a little obnoxious, but ultimately fun and relatable. This was promoted as a love story, but the main relationship in the movie was the friendship that developed between Ruby and modern-day realtor Anna. That relationship was done very well. It was fun to see Ruby playing Cupid for our reluctant, gun-shy heroine Anna.
Julie Gonzalo and Chris McNally gave decent performances as Anna and her ex-fiancee/love interest Elliot. I must say, though, the chemistry was somewhat lacking, which is odd, seeing that they are a married couple in real life. I think they just seemed kind of awkward around each other most of the time. I blame the screenwriters for that. I think it would have worked much better if the vibe had been enemies-to-lovers. After all, she had broken off their engagement and probably his heart. Back-and-forth sparring and witty banter between them would have been much more enjoyable than the cringy, awkward, almost connections that they kept having.
I liked her character arc, from hesitant, scared little girl who didn't know what she wanted in life to confident woman who was willing to stand up to her dad for what was right and go for the guy she still loved. I liked the satisfying, happy ending, where Anna and Elliot reconnected and Ruby and her love Charlie got to reunite and move on. I do wish they had come up with some reasons why she couldn't leave he house for a hundred years, and why Anna reconnecting with Elliot was somehow the catalyst for her being able to move on with Charlie. They imply that she was scared that, if she moved on, Charlie wouldn't want to be with her. But it all seemed a bit muddled and unclear. Another plot point that seemed kind of nonsensical was the fact that they were looking to sell that beautiful, historic old house as a tear-down. That would never happen in real life, but stuff like that seems to happen in the world of Hallmark on a regular basis.
On the whole, this was a thoroughly entertaining movie with characters that you liked and became invested in. A refreshing change from the same-old-same-old Hallmark movie. I hope they continue the trend.
An American in Austen (2024)
Fun, original movie
This was a Hallmark movie that was fun and much more original than your typical Hallmark cookie-cutter offerings. It seems like their movies are improving lately. True, this film was somewhat similar to the Lost in Austen miniseries from a few years back, but it still felt pretty fresh and original. I love fantasy shows like this. In this case, our heroine Harriet was extremely relatable, and we could imagine what it would be like to be suddenly transported into your favorite Regency-era novel. Her reactions as a 21'st century woman to those antiquated attitudes and environs were priceless. I also liked how her presence upended the entire flow of the story, requiring her to try to right things. This was a romance, but not the one you might have expected, where she winds up with Mr. Darcy in the end. She comes to realize that Ethan, her non-dashing, but perfectly fine, nice boyfriend back in 2024, was the one she really loved and wanted to be with. That's a great message. How many women out there (and some men too) give up on a perfectly good relationship because they are foolishly holding out for some idealized fantasy lover who doesn't exist?
They certainly didn't skimp on the production values for this movie. The period costumes, the sets, the period-appropriate dancing, etc. Were spot-on. The scenes with the Bennet family could have been taken from an actual film version of Pride and Prejudice, they were that well done. Eliza Bennett (what a coup on getting an actress with that name) gave a splendid performance as our displaced American Austen-lover Harriet. She was cute, funny and very likable. The supporting actors were all great too. All contributed to the realistic feel of the movie. The dialog was very realistic and never overdone.
In summary, I quite enjoyed this little foray into the world of Jane Austen. It's definitely worth a watch or two and I applaud Hallmark for providing such a great movie.
Mr. Right (2023)
Cute rom-com, something missing
This was a very cute romance movie. There are a lot of things I liked about it. On the other hand, it felt like something was missing, somehow. In all fairness, this is a low-budget, independent production, so you can't hold it to the same standards as a bigger-budget, Hollywood film. I gave it a solid 7, but that's grading on the curve. There's no way that the iMDb rating of 7.6 is accurate. That's a pretty high rating and just reflects the fact that this was a little-seen movie, and that most of the reviewers were likely connected to the project somehow.
First the good. I liked the premise of the movie a lot, i.e. A girl writes a column about her mostly disastrous dating life, while developing a friendship with a good guy who she refuses to see as a romantic possibility. A lot of rom-coms fail to develop the romantic relationship very well. That certainly wasn't the case here. Our leads Charlotte and Liam spent plenty of quality time together, and their interactions seemed mostly fun, natural and real. I liked that the loser dates that she wrote about in her columns were not the over-the-top, date-from-hell experiences that you might have expected. I also liked the relationship between Charlotte and her friend Lila. Friends in rom-coms usually exist solely to facilitate the main character's journey to romance, but I felt like the friendship between these two was fleshed out a little more. The two leads were definitely appealing physically. They looked good, both separately and as a couple.
Now the not-so-good. The dialog was pretty good, but there were a few rough patches, such as the scene where Charlotte and Liam are discussing what constitutes Mr. Right, and it basically comes down to the superficial stereotype of tall, dark and handsome. Well, only one of the guys that Charlotte deigned to go out with actually fit that physical profile. I felt like the reasons that Charlotte so quickly decided to put Liam in the friend zone were never explained very well. Was it because she assumed he was beneath her because he was a lowly barista? Of course, we all knew he was the owner of the coffee shop, not just a lowly employee, but it felt kind of stupid that he would never have actually told her that. Also, the fact that he offered to take her on a tour of the city should have been interpreted as a date by anybody, even clueless Charlotte. It would have worked much better if he had just kept casually running into her at the park, the pizza place, etc. Instead of him actually asking her to participate in such events. The line between casual friendship and dating needed to be much more fuzzy.
The other thing I had a hard time with was the performances. Clearly, these folks are B-list actors, which was surely all they could afford to hire. But Sierra Reid's performance as Charlotte seemed particularly lacking, somehow. She is cute and perky, and she does this very well, but her range of emotions doesn't seem to extend beyond that. There was a scene where she was looking at old pictures of her family in happier times, before her parents' divorce, and you see tears rolling down her cheeks. There was literally no emotion on her face to go with those tears. And in the scene where she blows him off after he attempts to actually ask her on a date, she shows none of the sadness or conflicted emotions that that scene requires. Her acting is extremely one-note.
This movie was definitely amusing and I enjoyed the slow-burn feel of the developing relationship between Charlotte and Liam. But somehow, it failed to totally connect for me. It's like the "Almost Mr. Right" that the movie talked about. Maybe with slightly more budget, slightly better actors and a slightly better screenplay, it would have hit its mark.
Elvis (2022)
Amazing Biopic
Biopics about famous singers seem to be the trend right now, highighting such icons as Elton John and Freddy Mercury. The movie "Elvis" leads this pack of fine, substantive movies. It's simply an amazing film that effortlessly transports you into the life and times of Elvis Presley, letting you experience the astronomical highs and abysmal lows of the greatest pop star of all time. The period details, from the clothes to the sets to the cars, were spot on. You really felt like you were experiencing the Southern US in the 1950's, as well as other locations, such as Las Vegas in the 1970's, which is quite a feat, given that this film was shot in Australia. It was a good-looking film, with excellent cinematography. The mood of the film was spot-on also, enhanced especially by the music of the black singers.
Of course, the best aspect of this film was the stellar performances of the cast. Austin Butler was spot-on in his portrayal of The King. His performance was passion-filled, and his voice and mannerisms were perfect. Plus, he can actually sing! Looking at his previous work on IMDb, it appears that most of his career was spent acting in a series of forgettable teen sitcoms. Glad they brought him out of obscurity, so we could see what he was capable of. No less great was the performance of the immortal Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis' odious manager. It takes a lot to give a convincing performance as a villain without making him a caricature, and Hanks absolutely nailed it. The other supporting actors were great, too. All were realistic and believable, especially Elvis' mother and his wife Priscilla.
If I had to complain about anything, it would be that the movie was a tad too long. Also, I think his relationship with Priscilla was really given short shrift. I wish they'd spent more screen time on that. By the way, the film depicts Elvis cheating on Priscilla, but she actually cheated on him too. That detail never made it into the film, probably because she and the rest of Elvis' family were heavily involved in this production. The tone of the movie was pretty dark. Sure, Elvis had a messed up life, as we all know, but I wish they had included more of the lighter moments of his life as well. Director Baz Luhrmann apparently took some liberties with the facts when making this movie, but on the whole, it seems to be a pretty accurate, if somewhat negative, take on Presley's life.
Other than his last few hits, I never experienced the mania of Elvis Presley in my personal life, but I got a good taste of it from this movie. Even if you aren't a Presley fan -- even if you'd never even heard of him before -- you can't help but be moved by this film. I'd definitely put it in the "must see" category.
Happiness for Beginners (2023)
Uneven rom-com
I sort of liked this rom-com, and I wanted to like it, but it was pretty uneven all the way around. Ellie Kemper gave a decent performance as our heroine Helen. She was uptight and overly-regimented in the beginning, which she needed to be to achieve her character arc as she loosened up and "found" herself on the trail. I liked her performance toward the end of the film much better. Luke Grimes as her love interest Jake was okay, but he seemed kind of wooden at times. The supporting characters were supposed to be mostly quirky and overexaggerated, and they accomplished this fairly effortlessly, but it wasn't a big lift.
My overwhelming impression was that the screenplay for this film was either half-baked, rushed into production before it was ready, or written by someone with questionable writing skills. Maybe a little of all the above. The screenwriter was also the director and that often doesn't work out well. I haven't read the book on which this movie was based, but I'm guessing the screenwriter had to chop out a lot from the book to make the story fit into a movie, and she didn't do it very well. The relationship between Helen and Jake was severely underdeveloped. This was supposed to be an enemies-to-lovers plot, but there was no visible reason why they ever should have been enemies. You just had her acting mean and nasty to him, with no provocation, and it made her seem like an unlikable witch. Also, when you do enemies-to-lovers, you need amusing, flirty banter between the two leads, and this film had little to none of that. When they finally did connect a bit over significant issues in their lives, particularly her experience losing her little brother at 5 years old and his impending blindness, those issues didn't have enough foreshadowing and they seemed to come out of nowhere. All this smacks of stuff that was probably well-developed in the book, but which was ripped out of the screenplay by an inept screenwriter. There was never much chemistry between Helen and Jake, and I never really saw them together as a couple. Again, it's not the fault of the actors as much as the screenwriter, who never gave them sufficient opportunities for "chemistry" to happen.
This was also a story about Helen moving on from her divorce and using the hiking trip to evolve into a more confident, happier woman. On that level, it succeeded much better. If that had been the sole focus of the movie, without the romance at all, it might have been a better movie. I just felt like the whole romance aspect was handled clumsily and not too effectively. It felt like the screenwriter/director knew that the romance had to be there, but her heart wasn't in that part of it, so she just gave a half-hearted effort at getting the romantic relationship right.
I do give the film an A for cinematography. How can you go wrong with blazing fall foliage in rural New England, in all its glorious splendor? I was reasonably amused by this film, but hardly captivated or enthralled. The potential was there for a much better film, but sadly, the screenwriter/director just didn't get it done somehow.
Irish Wish (2024)
Cute fantasy romance
This movie was a sweet, fun romance, with a bit of fantasy thrown in. It was basically your typical Hallmark-esque rom-com with slightly better production values and a bigger star, in the person of Lindsey Lohan. She's great throughout, providing a cute, relatable heroine with a good sense of comedic timing. The premise of the story is intriguing. What would you do if you could wish for a different life, together with the person you think you want but thought you could never have? I also enjoyed the beautiful Irish scenery. The movie definitely provided you with a lot of eye candy.
This movie certainly borrows a lot from other rom-coms. 27 Dresses and Leap Year immediately come to mind. This movie is mostly fun and enjoyable, but, to be honest, those other movies did it better. I'd describe this film as underdeveloped. Somehow, I never felt the intense emotions that Lohan's character Maddie supposedly felt for the Irish writer Paul. When she's transformed to the reality where she's engaged to Paul, she seems mostly awkward around him. She needed a character arc, where she was initially enjoying being with Paul (she didn't even kiss him!) and then slowly realizes that she's not really happy with him. The romance between her and English photographer James was also not developed that well. Oh, there were moments, but on the whole, that relationship felt forced and half-baked. Also, they tried to do the enemies-to-lovers trope, but it wasn't very convincing. So, they get off on the wrong foot because she fights with him over his suitcase that she claims is hers? Really? Also, if you're going to use that trope, there needs to be a lot more back-and-forth sparring and witty banter between the two of them. The characters in Leap Year did this much better.
Had I been the screenwriter, here's how I would've had things play out. Maddie is initially ecstatic about being in the alternate reality, where she's engaged to Paul. She takes full advantage of the situation. James, on the other hand, is an annoying guy who gets on her nerves, but she has to deal with him because he's the photographer. They regularly trade barbs with each other. James photographs both Maddie and Paul at the Cliffs of Moher, but Paul is kind of dismissive of Maddie and calls an Uber to take him back to the house for something he considers more important, leaving Maddie to finish out the shoot alone and forcing her to ride back with James, much to her annoyance. The attempted ride back is an unmitigated disaster, with James' car sliding off the road in the rain and crashing, with both of them getting muddy and wet. The roads are impassible in the storm until morning, leaving a furious Maddie to spend the night with James at the pub, where they have to share the same room because it's the only one left. They slowly warm up to each other at the pub, dancing and playing darts and eventually sharing personal details about their lives. She faces some serious introspection, where she wonders why she is even together with an egocentric leech of a guy like Paul, who is passing off her great writing as his own. She also realizes that James isn't as bad as she originally thought. Perhaps he has had some heartbreaks in his past, which led him to his nomadic, attachment-free life as a photographer. They return for the wedding, and Paul and Maddie's friend Emma have connected while she was gone. Then you have the rest of the movie play out as it did, with her confession that she doesn't love Paul, the fight between Paul and James at the wedding, etc. See, much better plot. The paid screenwriters who wrote the script for this movie could've and should've come up with a plot more like that. Maybe they were under a deadline, so they didn't have the time to do it better?
This isn't a perfect movie, but for what it was, a light, airy, fantasy romance, it was reasonably entertaining and a decent way to pass a couple of hours. Just enjoy it for what it is, and don't think too much about it.
Beastly (2011)
Okay reimagining of Beauty and the Beast
This reimagined version of Beauty and the Beast, with teen characters and set in modern New York City, was actually not that bad. Oh, it certainly didn't compete with other B&TB incarnations, particularly the Disney animated and live action versions, which it would inevitably be compared to. It had some pretty unnatural, cringe-worthy dialog throughout. The stars gave reasonably good performances, but nothing earth-shattering. I really didn't like how over-the-top jerky Kyle was at the beginning, either. Yeah, he needed to be a jerk to provide room for a character arc to a better human being. But it was totally unbelievable how he was supposedly this popular guy who crowds would cheer for, when he was that nasty. The other stupid thing was his transformation to a supposedly ugly guy. He doesn't look that much different from a lot of the tatted-up guys you might see at your local gym, or in your favorite music video, and that was true even in 2011. I'm guessing the budget for this movie didn't allow for truly ugly prosthetic makeup or CGI, so they used a bald cap and excessive tattoos instead. It just wasn't that horrifying a transformation.
On the plus side, this movie showed the tragic side of Kyle's life, with his mother abandoning their family and his dad being an emotionally absent, egotistical jerk of a rich-guy parent. You could kind of understand and sympathize with Kyle and see why he was such a jerk. The supporting characters, especially the Jamaican housekeeper and the blind tutor, were also good and provided some welcome lightness to this otherwise dark story. Kyle started out as a creepy stalker, following Lindy around and hiding in the shadows, and once she came to live with him, the situation was weird too. But when they finally started having some meaningful interactions, the relationship between them was actually pretty good. I just wish there had been more development of that relationship.
The ending was a big miss for me. I watched a clip of an alternative ending, where Kyle gets shot by drug dealers, and, as he is dying in Lindy's arms, she confesses her love for him. This is much more like the ending of the original B&TB, and is also more similar to the ending in the book, apparently. Why they didn't use this ending after having filmed it, I have no idea. Stupidity, perhaps?
So, what can I say about this movie? It wasn't a great movie, but it was better than it seemed like it would be when it started, and it got better as it went on. By the end, it was actually kind of engaging. How's that for a ringing endorsement?
The Family Man (2000)
Great fantasy romance
The Family Man has always been one of my favorite movies, and I recently watched it again. After more than 2 decades, the magic is still there. This movie is based on the intriguing and irresistible premise that a man, Jack Campbell in this case, is allowed to see what his life would be like if he had chosen love over his high-powered career. It's a story that has been done countless times, before and since, but this movie does it better than almost any other. After all, haven't all of us wondered how our lives might have turned out, had we made a few different choices?
I can't imagine a cynical Hollywood that scoffs at middle America and its traditional values would make a movie like this today. Yet, this story resonates with so many of us in the "real world", who do live happy lives, married and with families, living out ordinary existences in modest homes with white picket fences. The message that wealth and power can't buy happiness and are empty without meaningful family relationships might seem cliché, but it's only cliché because it's so true.
Nicholas Cage is an unlikely actor to star as a lead in a romance like this, but he absolutely nails it. His character arc, from hedonistic, self-centered rich guy to caring family man, is flawless. He's not exactly a likable character at the start, but Cage makes him sympathetic and relatable as he goes from freaking out about his new existence to grudgingly, then wholeheartedly accepting it. Tea Leoni is great also as his wife Kate, successfully portraying a no-nonsense wife and mother, while still remaining beautiful and sexy. There is great chemistry between the two of them.
About the only thing I didn't like about this movie was the ending. Everything was kind of left up in the air and unresolved. So, they get together for coffee as the closing credits roll, but we never find out if they actually together, and if they do, what form their future lives will take. Since this is a fantasy anyway, why not extend the fantasy all the way and allow Jack to stay in his alternate reality with his wife and family, rather than have only a vague hint at a possible future life that could only be a shadow of what he had experienced? Sure, some might call that a sappy ending, but to the hardened, cynical crowd, this whole movie would seem sappy anyway.
Anyway, if you've never seen this classic movie or haven't seen it in a while, check it out. It's bound to warm your heart and leave you with a smile on your face.
A Perfect Day (2006)
Okay Christmas story and morality tale
This was an okay movie. I thought Rob Lowe gave a good performance as Robert Harlan, the family man, trying to do the right thing, but caught up temporarily in the success of his book and letting it go to his head. He wasn't always a likable character, but we could relate to him and imagine how it would be if we were given overnight fame and wealth, and how we'd deal with it. The supporting cast was good too, particularly Paget Brewster as Rob's wife Allyson, I liked the message of the story, which was that your relationships with others, particularly with your family, are the most important thing, and that worldly success can't be allowed to supersede them.
This movie was pretty faithful to the Richard Paul Evans book, but I must say that this was not my favorite Evans book. The main message is sound and important, but it is handled too clumsily. I really didn't like how Allyson makes Rob feel guilty for all the time he has to spend away from the family to promote his book. It's part of his job. It's like a military wife making her husband feel guilty because he has to go on deployment for 6 months. And them going from a loving couple and family to the edge of divorce in just a few months? A little extreme, I'd say. Sure, they needed to have a conversation about how his new career as a writer would affect their family, and to what extent he wanted to be involved in it. But his wife should've been supportive, not angry and vindictive.
The weird twist ending was pretty bad too. So, the guy Robert was seeing wasn't really an angel and Robert wasn't really going to die. It was all just an elaborate setup by his former agent to get him to take his family responsibilities seriously again. Really? It was just too pat and forced a resolution. I think the story would have been just fine without that bizarre plot point. He could have come to the realization that he had been a jerk to his family and that he missed them, without thinking an angel was telling him he was going to die.
I liked this movie and wanted to like it. I just wish the story hadn't been so clunky in spots. Again, this is not my favorite Evans work. He is one of my favorite authors and is capable of much better. I'm guessing this was a case of him having to get something out before a deadline. Even so, I appreciated the message in this movie.
Yesterday (2019)
Fun fantasy film
This is one of the more enjoyable movies to come out in the last few years. I always like movies with a fantasy element, in this case, the idea that our hero Jack is suddenly thrust into an alternate reality where the Beatles (and a few other things) never existed, and he is the only one who remembers them. It's a brilliantly original idea that makes for a fun, compelling movie. It's also quite funny, with its offbeat, distinctly British humor, accentuated by some wacky supporting characters, such as Jack's slacker friend Rocky, the condescending American manager Debra and Ed Sheeran in his extended cameo.
Himesh Patel gave a great performance as our deer-in-the-headlights protagonist, who is suddenly granted the awesome power of being able to use the songs of the greatest band ever to launch his own pathetic music career to superstardom. Even though he is basically stealing music from others to further his career, and is mostly a jerk to Ellie, the girl who has loved him for years, he still comes off as likable and relatable. Plus, he's funny, though in a more understated, British sort of way. Lily James as Ellie is great as always. She's a beautiful woman, but is able to play the girl next door quite convincingly here. I did think that she should have confronted Mr. Clueless years before and forced him to make a decision about her. Honestly, she's way out of his league. I liked the romance, though, and thought it played out well.
Was the plotline unrealistic? Of course. It was a fantasy, after all. But they totally gloss over a lot of important things. For example, if you remove the Beatles, the past 60 years of history would be significantly altered. The Beatles not only drove music trends and inspired countless other artists, they largely drove the whole counterculture movement of the 1960's and beyond. You couldn't just wake up in a world with the Beatles carefully excised and have everything else be virtually the same. Another plot hole that I wish they'd addressed (and which seemed so obvious) was the fact that Ellie had fallen in love with Jack in elementary school when she saw him playing a cover of Oasis's "Wonderwall". But in the new reality, the band Oasis didn't exist either. So did she see him play some other song in this alternate reality? Or did she fall in love with him because of some other totally unrelated incident? They never say. This would have been an interesting plot point to explore.
The other thing I didn't like was how quickly and easily Jack started passing off the Beatles' tunes as his own. Yes, they show him somewhat guilty and conflicted about it in later scenes. But I never bought that he could do it so easily in the first place. I wish he had just stumbled into doing it and felt forced to continue lying, rather than seemingly planning to do so from the very start. It seemed out of character for him.
I did like the message of the movie, which was that a life of fame and wealth is not a path to a truly fulfilling life. This was especially accentuated by Jack's meeting with an aged, never-famous John Lennon in the alternate reality. John had never achieved superstardom in this timeline, but he had lived a rewarding, fulfilling life with his wife and family. Some may argue that this life was insignificant compared to his stature as a one of the greatest musicians of all time, but in that alternate life, he was spared the life of divorce, drugs, insanity and early death that was the lot of the John Lennon we know. I guess the point could be made that the world should not have been deprived of the greatness of a John Lennon, but the man John Lennon would have been much happier, had he never been famous and wealthy. This is what our hero Jack eventually realized, as he, apparently, went on to live a happy life with Ellie and their kids, teaching schoolkids instead of playing to sold-out arenas. If one of my kids were as talented as John Lennon, I would still urge them not to go after the "poison chalice" of wealth and fame (as Debra in the movie so aptly put it), because I'm convinced that such a life wouldn't make them truly happy.
All in all, this was an entertaining movie with a compelling story, good performances and a great message. As enjoyable a 2 hours as I can recall spending in recent years.
27 Dresses (2008)
Katherine Heigl saves this movie
This is one of my wife's favorite rom-coms. I certainly wouldn't go that far, and not just because I'm a guy. I love a good rom-com, but this was only an average one. What saves it is Katherine Heigl's performance. She's beautiful, of course, but she's able to convince you that she's the ugly duckling to her beautiful swan sister. This movie is all about the character arc of her character Jane and the way she goes from being a doormat to her sister, boss and every one of those 27 brides that she was a bridesmaid to, to a more confident, self-assured woman who knows what she wants. Heigl portrays that transformation beautifully. I also liked the complex relationship between Jane and her sister Tess. You thought Tess would remain the selfish, narcissistic younger sibling, destined to take advantage of Jane and her sense of duty, while unfairly outshining her in every aspect of her life. But Tess turned out to be the insecure one with the screwed up life, and she actually envied Jane. An interesting plot development, to be sure.
The relationship between Jane and Kevin could have been good. He was certainly more interesting than George, her disgustingly perfect boss, who she was secretly in love with. I really didn't like how they took the lowbrow approach and had them get drunk and have sex, though. It was also really stupid that he was writing a news story about George and Tess's wedding that basically trashed both Jane and Tess. Was this the National Enquirer that he was writing for? I thought it was a respectable newspaper. And then, Jane publicly throwing herself at Kevin at the end of the movie, with all the nastiness of that article apparently forgotten? I didn't believe that for a second. They had to have the happy ending, of course, but it felt very forced and ingenuine.
The scene where Jane publicly humiliates Tess at her engagement party was pretty cringe too. Sure, Tess deserved to be taken down a peg or two, but that was so over-the-top nasty and so out of character for Jane. She should've done a one-on-one confrontation with George about what a liar Tess was. That's basically what she threatened to do in the prior scene, so why didn't she just do it?
So, entertaining as this movie was in spots, it just had too many rough edges for me to take it very seriously. I'd give it a thumbs up, but only a weak one.
Rescuing Christmas (2023)
Good, original Hallmark Christmas movie
This was a Hallmark movie that didn't feel like a Hallmark movie. It was much more original. It also had the inestimable talents of Rachel Leigh Cook. The difference between her and the standard plug-and-play Hallmark actress was evident for anyone to see. She's always funny, likable and relatable and lights up any scene she's in. Her relationship with Sam, the guy she's supposedly not dating, was good too. There was a fair amount of chemistry between them. I also enjoyed the North Pole characters, especially the two wacky elves. They definitely provided lots of comic relief.
The whole concept of what you would do if Christmas suddenly disappeared was unique and creative. Some of the bizarre things that people came up with for Christmas decorations was amusing. I did think there needed to be more of a character arc for our heroine Erin. She needed to be a true Christmas Grinch, who only grudgingly came around to accept and finally embrace Christmas. Instead, she was more stressed out about Christmas, but she didn't really hate it, and she was immediately horrified when she realized her wish had erased it. So, supposedly, she could only take back the wish if she really felt it, but it seemed like she really did feel it for most of the movie. It didn't really make sense.
All in all, a fun, entertaining Christmas movie. Kudos to Hallmark for coming up with a more original Christmas story and getting a good A-list actress like Rachel Leigh Cook to act in it. I can only applaud the trend.
Emma. (2020)
Decent Emma adaptation, not the best
This adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel Emma was decent, but not the best that's ever been done. Gwyneth Paltrow's 1996 version still seems to be the gold standard for Emma productions. Anya Taylor-Joy does an adequate job as Emma, but let's face it, she's no Gwyneth Paltrow. She does have a very unique look, though.
The costumes and the sets and landscapes were stunning. The cast was also attractive. There was plenty of eye candy on display. The performances were reasonably good. I did feel like this Emma was kind of unlikable, though. Rather than being a relatable, if somewhat clueless heroine (shades of Alicia Silverstone in the 90's teen comedy), she was more like a Regency era version of a high school mean girl. She was catty, gossipy and scheming. I also didn't feel like there was that much chemistry between Emma and her eventual love interest, Mr. Knightly. Oh, there was some good banter between them, but I never really found them credible as a couple.
The outer trappings of a Jane Austen story were all there, but somehow the heart and soul were kind of missing. This was an adequate version of the beloved Austen story for the 21'st century, but honestly, I don't think it brought anything new to the table that it's predecessors from previous decades hadn't. A reasonable movie to spend a couple of hours with, but not one that will really move you or stay with you for very long.
See Jane Date (2003)
Well-done rom com with a message
I was surprised at how much I liked this movie, given the relatively low IMDB rating. Were those other folks watching the same movie I was? I'm not even sure you could call this a rom-com. Yeah, the whole premise is about our heroine Jane dating a slew of guys, and yeah, she does eventually click with one of them. But it's much more about her relationships with her girlfriends and her character arc, from a somewhat mousy doormat, who defines her self worth by whether or not she has a boyfriend, to a confident, self-assured woman who is happy with her life and successful in her career. It was fresh and original, and you weren't sure how it would end up until the very end.
The writing in this movie was sharp and witty. None of the cringy fake dialog that you might see in a typical Hallmark romance. I do wish the comedy was a little better. The humor was supposed to come from the series of disastrous dates and abortive attempts at romance that Jane endured. They were more achingly realistic than funny, though, and anyone who has dealt long-term with the singles dating scene will likely be wincing in sympathy with Jane as opposed to laughing at her dating nightmares.
The performances were great. Charisma Carpenter as Jane gave us a heroine who was simultaneously beautiful, but who was also convincingly lacking in confidence and who you immediately identified with and related to. The supporting actors were great too, from her two besties (who she had more chemistry with than any of the guys in this movie) to her obnoxious cousin and aunt, to her dismissive boss, to her former classmate and minor celebrity Natasha. Not all these characters were sympathetic or likable, but they were all well-acted.
The movie had some great messages and I liked how the characters and relationships were nuanced and not one-dimensional. Particularly, the relationship with Jane and Natasha was great. You thought Natasha was going to be a grown-up version of a high-school mean girl, a character you would hate throughout the movie. But she turned out to be full of insecurities herself, and she ended up actually being friends with Jane, and ended up being the one who was even jealous of Jane and not the other way around. Jane had a great character arc in this movie. I especially loved the scene where she told off her annoying cousin and aunt and expressed how she was fine, even if she didn't have a boyfriend.
I also liked how they kept you second guessing about who Jane would end up with. At first, you thought it would be Gary, the guy from the park cleanup activity, then you thought she would get back together with Max, her old boyfriend, then you thought she would finally click with Doctor Timothy, who she really seemed to have some chemistry with. All turned out to be duds, and in the end, you thought she would just end up happy, single and not needing a man in her life to validate her. Then she finally connects with the guy from the store where her cousin's bridal registry was, and he also turned out to be the guy her aunt wanted to set her up with, and he was actually a fun, decent, normal guy. The movie would've been fine, had she not gotten a guy at all, but if she had to, this was the right way to do it. It made sense that, after she stopped being so desperate to find a man and gained more self confidence, she would finally get into a good relationship.
This movie is over 20 years old, but it still seems pretty fresh and contemporary. It was interesting, however, to see a few of the pre-smart-phone aspects that let you know this film was a product of the early 2000's, such as Jane's aunt's surprise that she had actually got a cell phone, and her friend's shocked reaction to Jane not having a Palm Pilot, as, back then "everybody has a Palm Pilot". I'm not even sure my teenage kids would know what a Palm Pilot is.
I watched this for free on Plex, with commercials. I'm glad that this decades-old TV movie, which might have faded to obscurity, is able to be enjoyed by a new audience through the miracle of streaming. It's definitely a hidden gem and a cure for the same-old-same-old rom-com.
Identical Love (2021)
Slow, boring romance
This movie came out of Candlelight Entertainment, a Utah-based independent studio that's basically a Hallmark wannabe. I've seen other movies from them, and I liked a few. But in most cases, as with this one, the difference between this small studio's productions and those of a major studio are painfully obvious for anyone to see.
The premise of this movie sounded interesting on the surface. Our heroine gets jilted by her fiancee at the wedding, then goes on a medical mission to the Philippines, where she, unbelievable coincidence of all coincidences, runs into her ex-fiancee's twin brother. This premise provides maybe 10-15 minutes of interesting film time, however, and the rest of the movie is basically filler. The whole time I was watching, I kept asking myself, "When is something actually going to happen?" It was pretty boring. They treat lots of patients with mostly mild symptoms, and administer a few vaccines. They travel around the island and have a good time (this looked more like a tropical vacation than a medical mission to me). Their truck broke down once, but they were never in serious danger, and the other guy came and rescued them the next day. I kept waiting in vain for someone to get bitten by a venomous snake in the jungle, or to get attacked by a vicious animal or something. Even the scene where they were treating the boy with the broken leg was not that compelling. He was never in any real danger.
You knew, of course, from the start that Charlotte and Seth would get together, but there was never much chemistry between them. They always seemed very awkward around each other. No witty banter. Not even the initial combativeness that you often see in rom-coms. The lead actors, Shae Robbins and Mason D. Davis, seemed competent enough. But the script gave them very little to work with. "Chemistry" in a romantic movie is as much a product of a good script as anything, and this script just didn't get it done. The final "romantic" scene, where they finally get together, was way too long. It's like they were talking and analyzing everything and there was no passion. Even after they kissed, I still wasn't convinced that there was any feeling there. The other romance between foundation head Henry and the doctor Maya was also pretty much a dud.
I loved the beautiful scenery. It was shot in French Polynesia, though, not the Philippines. Otherwise, this movie was kind of a miss for me. Too slow. Too boring. No chemistry with either couple. And bad writing. Giving it 5 stars is generous, and is grading on the curve, since this movie did come from a small studio. Wish I could recommend it more highly, but I can't.
Under the Autumn Moon (2018)
Standard Hallmark Romance
This movie was your standard Hallmark romance. Nothing special. The plot is chock full of overused tropes. Noble small business is threatened by evil big corporation. Representative of evil corporation is charmed by owner of noble small business and helps save noble small business while falling in love with its owner. Big city girl comes to the country and finds herself charmed by it and ends up wanting to stay. Have we seen this movie before? Only every 2 out of 3 Hallmark movies.
To be fair, I liked the lead actors. Lindy Booth as Alex has a certain charm that goes well beyond her signature red curls. She's cute, warm, engaging and her winning smile lights up every scene she's in. Wes Brown as Josh was good too. He's got a winning smile of his own, which makes him instantly likable and immediately elevates him above the status of chiseled Hallmark pretty boy of the week. Their interactions with each other were sweet and nice. I wouldn't say there was sizzling chemistry there, however. Most of the time, they just seemed like good friends, in spite of the looks and smiles they shot each other on a regular basis. Never, until the obligatory Hallmark kiss at the end, did I get the feeling that she was really into him personally. She was into the ranch and gushed over and over about how beautiful it was. But I didn't feel like there was any intense longing between either of them. I found the relationship between the other couple in the movie to be much more believable.
The whole plot point about Alex's company coming in and potentially buying the ranch to turn it into a distribution facility was really stupid. Okay, so it was just a test from the company president and was never going to happen. But why would it ever seem credible that their company would buy a dude ranch in remote North Dakota, of all places, and tear it down to build a distribution facility? They'd build it somewhere more centrally located, or if they did want to build it in North Dakota, they would have found cheaper land elsewhere without a ranch that they needed to spend money to tear down. Silly details like this that they got wrong just detracted from the story.
Everything was wrapped up way too neatly at the end, also. Alex gets the promotion to VP but still gets to stay in North Dakota and pursue a relationship with Josh. Josh's sister Taylor gets to travel the world after all, being the big company's head chef (how long did it take them to come up with that ridiculous scenario?) And big corporation takes care of the ranch's debt, while making money off a new line of western wear (so, if the company in the movie was supposed to be REI, can you really imagine REI selling western wear? Please!) Way too clean and unrealistic an ending for my taste.
If you're looking for a Hallmark romance that gives you exactly what every other Hallmark romance gives you and doesn't draw outside the lines at all, this movie is definitely for you. Realize, though, that that's exactly what you'll be getting.
The Soulmate Search (2023)
Decent Hallmark-like romance
This movie, from Reel One Entertainment, is your basic Hallmark-like romance. Decent for the genre, but nothing too out of the ordinary. The leads gave pretty good performances. I especially liked Alexandra Harris as Emma. She was warm, animated and engaging. Jonathan Stoddard was fine also, playing Will, the straight-laced, prickly lawyer who is really hiding his softer side as a caring father to a cute 8-year-old son.
This was the standard story of a couple that start out as combatants but, through spending time together, slowly warm to each other. I thought their interactions were mostly good, and there was some chemistry. The initial "angry" phase was a little too much, though. He, especially, was way too rude, and with virtually no provocation. I guess his back story was that he was a single dad who was burned by love when his ex-wife left him and his son. But that's hardly justification for him acting like a complete jerk to a total stranger. The transition from hate to love was a bit abrupt, too. The unfolding relationship could have been developed better. The concept of them feeling like the dating service had conned them, and having them collaborate on trying to catch the supposed con artists was definitely original. It's also pretty unbelievable. How many people, after having what they perceive as a date from hell, would then want to spend lots of time together with that same person, just to get back at the dating service that set them up?
The bump in the relationship, which occurs about 3/4 into most rom-coms, was in this one too, but it seemed kind of stupid. So, she's all upset that Will didn't tell her that Dash was his son, rather than his nephew, even though she just made that assumption without asking him? And that's supposed to be this massive betrayal, even though Ellen and Will hardly even have a relationship yet? The big reveal happened on what was technically their first date, after all. And it wasn't even anything that bad. He didn't even really lie to her. He just withheld information. It just seemed really fake and forced. I think they should've figured out a more realistic reason for their budding relationship to get derailed. I also think it would have been tons better if Ellen had found out early that Dash was Will's son, and that he had shared with her his trauma about his failed marriage. There would have been a lot more chances for the two of them to bond with each other.
So, all in all, this was a decent movie. As a rom-com, it delivered what it needed to. You had two attractive people, originally standoffish, but eventually falling in love, bringing you to the satisfying, happy ending. Throw in the cute kid for bonus points, and you have a winning combination. Overlook the rough edges in the script, and you'll doubtless enjoy it.
Christmas Bedtime Stories (2022)
Very disappointing
I wanted to like this movie, and for 90% of it, I did. Sadly you can take a perfectly fine movie and absolutely destroy it in the last 5 minutes with a stupid, ridiculous ending, as happened with this movie.
Most of this movie was about military widow Danielle's struggle to get over her husband's death and move on with her life. She seemed to be the smiling, optimistic picture of a widow who had dealt with her grief and was facing a bright future. She was engaged to Pierce, a great guy who was nothing but supportive and who got along great with Danielle's daughter Audrey. But after revisiting episodes of her life with her husband Colby through bedtime stories of him to Audrey, it was obvious that she wasn't over her grief and hadn't let him go. The "signs" she kept seeing seemed to be a manifestation of that. In a well-written, well-executed movie, this would have been a story of Danielle's journey through dealing with her grief, culminating with her eventually forging a new life with Pierce.
The actors gave some great performances. Erin Cahill was beautiful, sweet and vulnerable, and she really made you feel for Danielle's plight. Steve Lund played the classic good guy to perfection, coming across as caring and kind in every scene. How sad that his talent was totally wasted in this movie, playing the proverbial "wrong" boyfriend. I can see how maybe she would be hesitant about marrying him, given the fact that she really wasn't over Colby, and given the fact that their relationship had mainly been one of friendship rather than love. But why did she consent to marry him if that were the case? And why did they spend an entire movie developing the relationship with Danielle and Pierce, making us really like him, only to have the rug puled out from under us when the two unceremoniously broke up.
So, the elephant in the room with this otherwise thoughtful and well-written movie was the horrible ending. I'm convinced that the screenwriters originally intended to have Danielle wind up with Pierce and have the bedtime stories about Colby be a vehicle for her to deal with her grief. But the powers that be at Hallmark must have decided that they wanted to bring back Colby instead and have her be with him, and forced that cheesiest of all cheesy endings. I can't imagine any other reason why the writers of the first 9/10 of the movie would have written the last 1/10 that badly.
I might have even been able to stomach having Colby miraculously return, had that return been a little more realistic. So, he was being held as a POW and escaped when US forces raided the POW camp. Fine. But at least have him be debriefed and hospitalized, as would doubtless have happened. At least have him look like he'd been in a prison camp for 3 years. At least have his rescue be headline news that everyone would have known about. Having him show up unannounced, looking the picture of health, having somehow flown halfway around the globe without anybody knowing (even the general of the base), and having him show up, just in time to dance with his daughter at the daddy-daughter dance -- well, there's only so much disbelief that you can suspend.
So, sorry, I can't recommend this movie that highly. I feel bad about that, because there was obviously a lot of effort given by some talented people to try to make this a meaningful and touching Christmas love story. But the bad ending just ruined it for me.
Somewhere in Time (1980)
Possibly the best romance movie ever
Somewhere in Time is in a class by itself. You could call it science fiction or fantasy, and it's both of those, but mostly, it's a sweet, tender romance. Seeing this movie as a young man when it first came out, I was totally captivated. Seeing it over 40 years later as a much older man, I could still feel the magic.
This movie is not about witty, amusing banter between the two romantic leads. Admittedly, there isn't really much development of the romance at all. It mostly happens in a beautiful set of montages. But it doesn't seem to matter. This movie is about creating a mood, and it does this extraordinarily well. It's about capturing the pure essence of love and romance and committing it to celluloid. Nearly every scene where Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour are together has a mystical, ethereal quality to it. The setting at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac island is stunning. The period costumes are spot-on. You really feel like you have been transported back to 1912. The cinematography, with the soft, fuzzy lenses and rich colors, creates the perfect mood. There is nothing to break the spell. There is an almost spiritual quality to the interactions between the two lovers. Even the scene where they make love is beautiful and sublime, very tastefully done and not cheap or tawdry. Only when they are sitting on the floor of the hotel room eating fried chicken does their relationship threaten to veer off into the mundane, and at that point, the romance is over and he gets sucked back to the present.
Christopher Reeve was perfect for this role. You feel his passion for finding the woman he has fallen in love with. He perfectly captures the extreme longing that would lead a man to overcome all obstacles, even time itself, in this case, to be with the woman he loves. He has a very endearing, kind of shy awkwardness that makes him instantly likable and relatable. And the constant, haunted look in his blue eyes is just perfect. Jane Seymour is wonderful too. Her performance transcends her obvious physical beauty. She exudes a certain grace and class that truly makes you believe she is a great actress from a bygone era.
Movies about time travel, by their nature, have plot holes, and this was no exception. However, they get away with it better than most time travel movies. You are led to believe that Richard Collier's visit to the past, rather than being a deviation from the normal flow of time, is an integral part of it. The only illogical plot point that was never explained was where the watch came from. Elise gave it to Richard in 1972, and he left it with her in 1912, but where did it come from in the first place? Also, Elise seemed to be very clued into the fact that Richard is from the future, but how did she figure that out? My wife suggested that she realized it because she heard Richard humming Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, a piece that wouldn't be composed until 1934. That's a weak explanation at best, though. I wish that, before his untimely exit to the present, he had told her that he was from the future and had explained that he had used Dr. Finney's self-hypnosis technique to travel back in time. That would have accounted for the fact that she had Dr. Finney's book and read it over and over.
Is it realistic that these two people could really fall in love in the space of only 2 days? Of course not. But this story isn't about realism. It's a fantasy and an idealized version of true love, and that's precisely why I, and millions of others love it so much. This isn't a perfect movie, and if you wanted to, you could find many reasons to tear it apart. But why? Just enjoy it for what it is. An unabashedly sentimental romance that takes you on a journey into the beautiful, magical experience of falling in love, without any unnecessary distractions. An achingly sad movie that tugs at your heartstrings, yet ultimately gives you a hopeful ending, where our two star-crossed lovers are allowed to be together, young and beautiful, in the eternities. What more could you ask of a romantic movie?
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Great 80's nostalgia
I saw this John Hughes movie when it first came out in the 80's. Apparently, it didn't do too well at the box office at the time, which is a shame. I recently watched it again and, though it's not necessarily a perfect movie, it definitely deserves a place with more successful John Hughes films, such as Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club.
Where this movie succeeds is with the performances of the young stars, Eric Stolz, Mary Stuart Masterson and Lea Thompson. They seem real, genuine and relatable. The story of someone in a love triangle with a perfect-on-paper person and their best friend and ultimately choosing the best friend is as tried-and-true as they come, but it never gets old. I liked the fact that Amanda, the perfect dream girl, was not the fluffy, superficial, pretty girl that you might expect from such a story. She had some substance to her, and was suffering from her own set of insecurities. She had as much of a character arc as the hero of the story, Keith, as she ultimately learned that she could stand on her own and didn't need to seek validation and popularity from a relationship with an abusive, rich boyfriend.
I read that John Hughes had originally intended the Molly Ringwald character in Pretty in Pink to end up with her best friend Duckie, instead of the rich boy Blaine, but that audience test groups hated that ending and forced the stupid ending where she went back to Blaine. Hughes apparently wrote Some Kind of Wonderful to get a second chance at getting the ending right, where Keith, in this case, ends up with his best friend, the tomboy Watts. It was definitely satisfying to see them get together in the end. It was also satisfying to see Amanda's scummy ex-boyfriend Hardy get his comeuppance, when the gang members showed up at the party and came to Keith's defense.
Now the negatives. The movie was unbelievable in a lot of ways. For example, the Watts character was way over-the-top masculine. Tomboy is one thing, but really? I never believed that she would've been attracted to Keith, or, more to the point, that he would've been attracted to her. I also didn't buy that Keith was this geeky loser and social pariah. Eric Stolz is a good-looking guy and Keith didn't really come off as socially awkward. So he was into art. So he worked as a grease monkey at a gas station. Big deal. Maybe his friendship with Watts could've tainted him by association. But they should've made him more convincingly geeky. I also found it incredibly stupid that he would blow his college fund to take Amanda on an expensive date and buy her expensive diamond earrings. I never saw the logic in that, especially after he became convinced that she didn't even want to go out with him, but was playing him for a fool. What was he trying to prove, exactly? That he could compete with the rich kids in terms of money? His dad's reaction to this was also totally reasonable, and any rational parent would've reacted the same way. Why the dad backed down is anybody's guess.
Unbelievable plot points aside, this was a reasonably engaging teen romance and coming-of-age movie. For those who were young in the 80's, it's also a fun trip down memory lane. Definitely worthy of a watch after all these years.