Paul Campbell and Hilarie Burton were perfect in their roles as the leads in this movie. Few Hallmark movies in recent memory have had leads with such great on-screen chemistry. The dialog between them was natural, fresh and funny. Paul Campbell is one of my favorite Hallmark actors. He's always witty, sarcastic, a little goofy, but always likable and funny. Hilarie Burton was great too, playing the harried corporate working woman with sufficient stress, while still keeping her relatable and likable. I'd have to give this movie first prize for title that least matched the storyline. From their first scene together in this movie, you know these two have a love connection. No surprise there.
The chemistry between the leads is the main reason to watch this movie. That, and the comedy. I watched it with my wife, and she was laughing out loud at the many funny lines and amusing hijinks. Often, the producers of rom-coms forget the com part. A rom-com needs to be funny as well as romantic, and this one definitely was. I also liked how the other side characters figured prominently in the storyline, such as Josie's parents and her sister Mindy. These supporting characters also had significant character arcs, which you don't often see in a rom-com.
Okay, so it wasn't a perfect movie. Josie's boyfriend Richard was so cartoonishly unlikable, you found it hard to believe that she would even want to be with him. They should have made him a bit less jerky. The whole premise of having Maxwell show up at Josie's parents' anniversary party in order to make Richard look better by comparison was a real stretch. The mom was over-the-top annoying as the controlling perfectionist for the first half of the movie, but makes a 180 degree turn in the second half to a nice, normal, loving wife and understanding mom. I never believed this transition. It seemed to be brought about by her daughter Mindy finally standing up to her at the party and telling her she wanted to be a singer, and then having Maxell lead Mindy and the rest of the party in a rendition of "Bill Baily, Won't You Please Come Home", with even the mom and dad joining in at the end. This whole scene was really weird and unbelievable. How many people would know the words to this very old classic song? You have the whole room singing along, flawlessly repeating every lyric correctly. They should have come up with a more modern, more well-known song. And the parents just joining in enthusiastically? Really? And after this one moment, having the stiff mom and dad just magically chill out and become more normal with each other and their kids? Come on! Also, the part about the grandpa feigning senility and not speaking to Josie's uptight parents, though slightly amusing, seemed a bit out there. Who would really do that? If you wanted to, you could find multiple other details to nitpick about, such as the Faberge egg at Josie's parents' house. These eggs are more like museum pieces, and they are incredibly expensive. Who would give such a gift to their wife for their anniversary, other than maybe Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos? I guess it makes sense that the egg was actually a fake that he gave her to impress her when he was still not wealthy enough to give her such an expensive present. And who would just leave a Faberge egg out on a table in their house, where it could easily be stolen or damaged?
I did like how virtually everyone in the movie had been less than honest with each other about something and how they eventually came clean and fessed up. Maxwell's admission that he had been the one who had toilet papered Josie's house as a teenager was especially funny. When you watch this movie, you've just got to ignore its many flaws and enjoy it for what it is. The relationship between Josie and Maxwell really is one of the best that I've seen in a Hallmark rom-com, and it's enjoyable enough to make up for the movie's other deficiencies.
The chemistry between the leads is the main reason to watch this movie. That, and the comedy. I watched it with my wife, and she was laughing out loud at the many funny lines and amusing hijinks. Often, the producers of rom-coms forget the com part. A rom-com needs to be funny as well as romantic, and this one definitely was. I also liked how the other side characters figured prominently in the storyline, such as Josie's parents and her sister Mindy. These supporting characters also had significant character arcs, which you don't often see in a rom-com.
Okay, so it wasn't a perfect movie. Josie's boyfriend Richard was so cartoonishly unlikable, you found it hard to believe that she would even want to be with him. They should have made him a bit less jerky. The whole premise of having Maxwell show up at Josie's parents' anniversary party in order to make Richard look better by comparison was a real stretch. The mom was over-the-top annoying as the controlling perfectionist for the first half of the movie, but makes a 180 degree turn in the second half to a nice, normal, loving wife and understanding mom. I never believed this transition. It seemed to be brought about by her daughter Mindy finally standing up to her at the party and telling her she wanted to be a singer, and then having Maxell lead Mindy and the rest of the party in a rendition of "Bill Baily, Won't You Please Come Home", with even the mom and dad joining in at the end. This whole scene was really weird and unbelievable. How many people would know the words to this very old classic song? You have the whole room singing along, flawlessly repeating every lyric correctly. They should have come up with a more modern, more well-known song. And the parents just joining in enthusiastically? Really? And after this one moment, having the stiff mom and dad just magically chill out and become more normal with each other and their kids? Come on! Also, the part about the grandpa feigning senility and not speaking to Josie's uptight parents, though slightly amusing, seemed a bit out there. Who would really do that? If you wanted to, you could find multiple other details to nitpick about, such as the Faberge egg at Josie's parents' house. These eggs are more like museum pieces, and they are incredibly expensive. Who would give such a gift to their wife for their anniversary, other than maybe Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos? I guess it makes sense that the egg was actually a fake that he gave her to impress her when he was still not wealthy enough to give her such an expensive present. And who would just leave a Faberge egg out on a table in their house, where it could easily be stolen or damaged?
I did like how virtually everyone in the movie had been less than honest with each other about something and how they eventually came clean and fessed up. Maxwell's admission that he had been the one who had toilet papered Josie's house as a teenager was especially funny. When you watch this movie, you've just got to ignore its many flaws and enjoy it for what it is. The relationship between Josie and Maxwell really is one of the best that I've seen in a Hallmark rom-com, and it's enjoyable enough to make up for the movie's other deficiencies.