6.7 stars.
I love the actors, the story is wonderful, and the feelings are real. I really like the ambience provided, taking us to the cityscape and then back to mom's house in the country. The atmosphere is captured perfectly and there's decent entertainment value. We have ok chemistry, and I like the actors, and there are some fun parts too. So why only 6.7 stars?
If you look past the beautiful people, cinematography, and warm feelings and focus on the dialogue, nuances, and interactions, you get a swift smack upside the head. There are so many blatant inconsistencies, illogical conclusions and an overall lack of common sense, it's absurd.
First: In the flashbacks, the actors used to portray them as high-schoolers share absolutely no resemblance. Why not use the actual actors, make them look younger. She already looks 25, he could be made up to look maybe 25 with some work. Would've been more believable.
Second: Too many Godwinks happen and they aren't even plausible. He hits her in the head with the tree? Come on. So cheesy. Even if these are miracles, they ignore them as if simple coincidences over and over? Who does that? Not even an atheist would.
Third: the dialogue with his boys, when he tells them they may have to move, the younger son says "You said we'd like Boise, and we do. If you think we'll like Seattle, we will. Wherever you are is our home." I laughed with scorn at this. No way a kid around 8 years old would have the intelligence, vocabulary, and certainly not the wherewithal to make such a statement.
Fourth: our two leads are about to kiss, but they don't because she has a boyfriend? She doesn't really have a boyfriend, trust me, you'll see. The next time our leads go to kiss and there's no possible way it could be interrupted (good old Hallmark) in the middle of nowhere, and yet it is interrupted... by insecure feelings. There's a Godwink for you.
Fifth: her boyfriend for 6 months, long distance, no chemistry, nothing at all. This is not credible.
Sixth: Our male lead and his ex-wife, why did they divorce? We have no clue what's going on there, and they don't show anything that would clarify it for the audience. She comes to visit, they talk, it's amicable, she's got a new "fiancé" and he gives her his blessing like no big deal?
Seventh: He has full custody of the boys, yet he's unemployed? Huh? The mother always gets custody, unless she has agreed the father to have it, and why would any normal mother do that? She seems to be functional, so it's not as if a judge would rule in his favor.
The ending was good.
I love the actors, the story is wonderful, and the feelings are real. I really like the ambience provided, taking us to the cityscape and then back to mom's house in the country. The atmosphere is captured perfectly and there's decent entertainment value. We have ok chemistry, and I like the actors, and there are some fun parts too. So why only 6.7 stars?
If you look past the beautiful people, cinematography, and warm feelings and focus on the dialogue, nuances, and interactions, you get a swift smack upside the head. There are so many blatant inconsistencies, illogical conclusions and an overall lack of common sense, it's absurd.
First: In the flashbacks, the actors used to portray them as high-schoolers share absolutely no resemblance. Why not use the actual actors, make them look younger. She already looks 25, he could be made up to look maybe 25 with some work. Would've been more believable.
Second: Too many Godwinks happen and they aren't even plausible. He hits her in the head with the tree? Come on. So cheesy. Even if these are miracles, they ignore them as if simple coincidences over and over? Who does that? Not even an atheist would.
Third: the dialogue with his boys, when he tells them they may have to move, the younger son says "You said we'd like Boise, and we do. If you think we'll like Seattle, we will. Wherever you are is our home." I laughed with scorn at this. No way a kid around 8 years old would have the intelligence, vocabulary, and certainly not the wherewithal to make such a statement.
Fourth: our two leads are about to kiss, but they don't because she has a boyfriend? She doesn't really have a boyfriend, trust me, you'll see. The next time our leads go to kiss and there's no possible way it could be interrupted (good old Hallmark) in the middle of nowhere, and yet it is interrupted... by insecure feelings. There's a Godwink for you.
Fifth: her boyfriend for 6 months, long distance, no chemistry, nothing at all. This is not credible.
Sixth: Our male lead and his ex-wife, why did they divorce? We have no clue what's going on there, and they don't show anything that would clarify it for the audience. She comes to visit, they talk, it's amicable, she's got a new "fiancé" and he gives her his blessing like no big deal?
Seventh: He has full custody of the boys, yet he's unemployed? Huh? The mother always gets custody, unless she has agreed the father to have it, and why would any normal mother do that? She seems to be functional, so it's not as if a judge would rule in his favor.
The ending was good.