One thing I definitely don't like about Hallmark movies is their cheesy titles. This one sounded like it would be a clone of so many of their other rom-coms that take place in a vineyard. Actually, it was about a man finding a message in the bottle from a woman, and starting an anonymous online romance with her. It's basically You've Got Mail or The Shop Around the Corner, with the message in the bottle trope added in. A much better premise than the tired vineyard storyline.
This was a pretty decent Hallmark rom-com. Sure, it was formulaic, but not obnoxiously so. You had good online interactions between. Abbey and Nick, followed by a contentious interpersonal relationship between the two of them. The battles between them IRL seemed a bit exaggerated and forced, with such memorable bad lines as "You do it your way, and I'll do it the right way". Fortunately, those squabbles gave way quickly to a more amiable in-person relationship between the two of them. I thought the leads had decent chemistry and the dialog between them, for the most part, seemed real and natural.
You had to do some major suspension of disbelief to buy some of the storyline. For example, consider the vanishingly small chance that the very woman whose bottle Nick had found hundreds of miles away would be Abbey, the woman he would be forced to work with at their company. Or what about the stupid way that they remained conveniently anonymous to each other and without any agreement to do so, as in You've Got Mail? Even after agreeing to meet in person, they don't give up the cloak of anonymity. These are plot points that could have been handled better to make them more believable.
There were a couple of other cringe moments that the screenwriters could have handled better, such as when Nick unintentionally insults the client by saying that his wife's sweater was part of an ugly sweater contest. That was over-the-top stupid and unbelievable. I also thought that Nick's reasons for refusing to meet Abbey for their proposed date were weak at best. Of course, this had to happen to preserve the flow of the anonymous online lovers storyline, but it could have been handled better.
One other thing that also bugged me was when Nick gives Abbey the oft repeated compliment, "You look beautiful". Almost always in this situation, the girl is dressed in an outfit that is truly stunning. In this case, Abbey is dressed in a frumpy dress with a frumpy hairstyle. Couldn't the Hallmark wardrobe and hairstyling people at least have gotten those details right?
Otherwise, it was a fun, engaging rom-com, with a satisfying ending.
This was a pretty decent Hallmark rom-com. Sure, it was formulaic, but not obnoxiously so. You had good online interactions between. Abbey and Nick, followed by a contentious interpersonal relationship between the two of them. The battles between them IRL seemed a bit exaggerated and forced, with such memorable bad lines as "You do it your way, and I'll do it the right way". Fortunately, those squabbles gave way quickly to a more amiable in-person relationship between the two of them. I thought the leads had decent chemistry and the dialog between them, for the most part, seemed real and natural.
You had to do some major suspension of disbelief to buy some of the storyline. For example, consider the vanishingly small chance that the very woman whose bottle Nick had found hundreds of miles away would be Abbey, the woman he would be forced to work with at their company. Or what about the stupid way that they remained conveniently anonymous to each other and without any agreement to do so, as in You've Got Mail? Even after agreeing to meet in person, they don't give up the cloak of anonymity. These are plot points that could have been handled better to make them more believable.
There were a couple of other cringe moments that the screenwriters could have handled better, such as when Nick unintentionally insults the client by saying that his wife's sweater was part of an ugly sweater contest. That was over-the-top stupid and unbelievable. I also thought that Nick's reasons for refusing to meet Abbey for their proposed date were weak at best. Of course, this had to happen to preserve the flow of the anonymous online lovers storyline, but it could have been handled better.
One other thing that also bugged me was when Nick gives Abbey the oft repeated compliment, "You look beautiful". Almost always in this situation, the girl is dressed in an outfit that is truly stunning. In this case, Abbey is dressed in a frumpy dress with a frumpy hairstyle. Couldn't the Hallmark wardrobe and hairstyling people at least have gotten those details right?
Otherwise, it was a fun, engaging rom-com, with a satisfying ending.