But then lost the plot. In the beginning, the reveal of the couple not being married and deceiving everyone in their lives was surprisingly well done. I could believe they loved each other as friends, but couldn't quite make the leap to marriage. But once the wedding competition came around, it got super silly.
I also feel like after a decade, something should be said or done. We all know that couple that is comfortably common law married. Their relationship and lives were way too entangled after a decade for a competition like this to show them they loved each other. Romcom or not, they were together too long for this. Is it really so much easier to lie for so long? Did neither of them find themselves attracted to someone other than each other thus questioning the relationship? What about money problems, career problems? Basic and petty "i'm sick of seeing your face everyday" problems? I find it hard to believe that there were no obstacles over that ten years that could have made them fish or cut bait.
Brooke and Jonathan had good chemistry. Jonathan can be very goofy and hammish when he's being comedic, but Brooke balanced him out. They did not have romantic chemistry to me, but to be fair, in Hallmark movies, a lot of the actors only have one or two
people that they can sell romance with onscreen (ex. Andrew Walker with Nicki DeLoach and Bethany Joy Lenz, Autumn Reeser and Jesse Metcalfe, Cindy Busby with Christopher R and Ryan Paevey). The scene of him running back to the house from the store so that no one would know he didn't live there was the perfect amount of slapstick. That was probably my favorite scene of the whole movie.
The contest scenes were fun and not too cringy, but one of the more sincere couples really deserved to win. I was disappointed they didn't go for the less predictable option. Plus, after ten years, these two are probably a courthouse couple anyway. For anyone who watched General Hospital in the 90s, there was a storyline where Lucy pretended to love Mac, and Felicia pretended to be with Kevin. The reason why escapes me, but by the end of the storyline, at the "wedding," I remember Felicia and Mac finally expressing their feelings and deciding to marry each other. I was barely a teen at the time, but I remember that story and it was super sweet (I should see if it's on YT). I kind of hoped this would sort of flow like that. At a certain point, I felt this movie had one too many scenes and I just wanted a resolution. Also this movie had the typical romcom "misunderstanding," and I was hoping for something a little more creative since these two were already a couple and their relationship should really be beyond that trope.
I've been watching HM movies since the days of like one new movie a month, but the ones I'm enjoying these days are the ones with reconnecting couples because the writers have to attempt to write beyond the tropes. Meet cutes are great, but I like the change up sometimes. And let's be real, a lot of the more veteran HM actors are getting a bit too "mature" for typical meet cutes. One of my favorite outside of the norm HM movies is Just The Way You Are. This one should be right up my alley, but it fell into the typical HM romcom plot points in the third act. Which I don't hate, but it didn't fit this story. Given that they were together for a DECADE, it would have been nice if the movie had avoided that.
Not bad for one watch, but it's not a favorite and as I said it dragged a bit after a while.
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