This movie is one of a series of movies known as the Love Club, and I'll start by stating the positive:
- the cast of actresses are competent and interesting;
- I love the reinterpretation of that same opening scene by the characters' points of view; to me, that's pretty novel still.
- the concept of this movie- the themes - were good/strong.
What I disliked and swayed my rating was the slowness of this movie. I just kept thinking that the same cycle of Sydney loving/crushing on Byron, then him letting her down, then him trying to show some modicum of interest...back to Sydney loving/crushing on Byron, then letting her down....(ad nauseum).
In the meantime, a perfectly awesome guy (Theo) is lying in wait.
It seemed implausible because everyone can see that Byron was a truly poor love interest on every level. He displayed narcissistic traits, if you really want to get deep, but overall he was just so boring and not into Sydney. Sydney is fetching in every way and incredibly kind, but the lesson I took was that if we don't set boundaries and implement self-respect, it's difficult to expect it from others.
The friends who help steer Sydney's life are just strange - I agree with another reviewer. What gave them this spare time to go spend at Sydney's house, and do they all not work? A little bit of storyline to support this situation could have helped strengthen the believability of the story.
The awful nature of Byron and that other gal that he ends up dating is truly off-setting. Both of them are so very snotty that it seems incredulous, esp when his new Chick confronts Sydney in the restroom..."You had your chance, it's my turn now!" -- no one talks like this in real life, and there was not enough reason to warrant that kind of venom (even in movie-tv-world).
I did love the fact that Sydney had flaws and imperfections, like her injury, which meant she could not just ace the race by magical healing. I loved that she was a romantic, but I just kept waiting....and waiting.....for her to realize that Theo was so much better.
I loved the movie in some ways, but not enough to rewatch. This movie is extremely clean-cut, other than a little alcohol, so it's pretty safe for any audience.