I thought this movie was reasonably entertaining. Apparently, a lot of other IMDb reviewers didn't agree with me. What I liked most, though, was that it was more original than your typical Hallmark offering. There was no return to a small town to connect with an old flame. No noble small business in danger of destruction by an evil corporation. Nothing to do with food, wine or dogs. This movie was based on a book, so I guess that allowed Hallmark to escape the tired, cookie-cutter storylines generated by their standard cabal of writers.
The performances were pretty good. The character of Lauren wasn't super likable, but to be fair, Catherine Haena Kim played her to perfection. She is a commitment-phobic workaholic who pushes away every guy who gets close to her, and that's how Catherine played her. It would have been nice for us to see glimpses of a caring, flesh-and-blood human being under that cold exterior, but that only came at the very end. Raymond Ablack was great as her super understanding friend Nate, who is secretly in love with her. As a character, I thought Nate was just a little too perfect. He's a caring soul who devotes his life to foster kids, and he is a selfless friend to Lauren, and lets her take his friendship for granted way too many times. I'm glad that he eventually stopped taking the abuse from her and put her in her place toward the end of the movie. My teenage daughter would call him a simp, which is slang for a guy who is so in love with a girl, he lets her walk all over him. Thankfully, he eventually got a backbone.
I think this is a fairly clever twist on the classic "A Christmas Carol". Lauren certainly isn't as odious as the original miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, but in her own way, she is just as toxic in the way she historically pushes away good guys who sincerely love her. I do wish we had seen her show more regret as she cycled through her past relationships, and more realization that Nate was more than just a friend. She didn't really change until close to the end, when she sees Nate proposing in the future to another (let's be honest, much nicer) girl. That's way too quick of a character arc.
Many will make a big deal out of the fact that the cast of this movie was more racially diverse than we usually see on Hallmark. I personally couldn't care less, as long as the actors give good performances. I did, however, enjoy that the heroine and her family were Korean and that Korean food and culture played a role in the movie. It just made it more interesting.
To summarize, this movie, though not perfect, was enjoyable enough, and I give it a lot of points for originality.
The performances were pretty good. The character of Lauren wasn't super likable, but to be fair, Catherine Haena Kim played her to perfection. She is a commitment-phobic workaholic who pushes away every guy who gets close to her, and that's how Catherine played her. It would have been nice for us to see glimpses of a caring, flesh-and-blood human being under that cold exterior, but that only came at the very end. Raymond Ablack was great as her super understanding friend Nate, who is secretly in love with her. As a character, I thought Nate was just a little too perfect. He's a caring soul who devotes his life to foster kids, and he is a selfless friend to Lauren, and lets her take his friendship for granted way too many times. I'm glad that he eventually stopped taking the abuse from her and put her in her place toward the end of the movie. My teenage daughter would call him a simp, which is slang for a guy who is so in love with a girl, he lets her walk all over him. Thankfully, he eventually got a backbone.
I think this is a fairly clever twist on the classic "A Christmas Carol". Lauren certainly isn't as odious as the original miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, but in her own way, she is just as toxic in the way she historically pushes away good guys who sincerely love her. I do wish we had seen her show more regret as she cycled through her past relationships, and more realization that Nate was more than just a friend. She didn't really change until close to the end, when she sees Nate proposing in the future to another (let's be honest, much nicer) girl. That's way too quick of a character arc.
Many will make a big deal out of the fact that the cast of this movie was more racially diverse than we usually see on Hallmark. I personally couldn't care less, as long as the actors give good performances. I did, however, enjoy that the heroine and her family were Korean and that Korean food and culture played a role in the movie. It just made it more interesting.
To summarize, this movie, though not perfect, was enjoyable enough, and I give it a lot of points for originality.