This is hardly a perfect movie. I mostly liked it and wanted to like it. Jessica Lowndes and Wes Brown certainly gave good performances as long-time BFF's Brooklyn and Devin. You know from the start that they are destined to be together, and they don't even try to hide the fact that Devin is in love with Brooklyn. She's a little more coy, feigning that she doesn't have feelings for him, though not too convincingly. I felt a reasonable amount of chemistry between the two of them. Lowndes is very expressive and makes us relate to and sympathize with her character, even though her actions throughout the movie are often less than admirable. Brown also makes you feel Devin's pain, as he longs for a relationship with Brooklyn, but thinks she doesn't feel the same way and lets himself settle for second best with Stephanie. The two stars are definitely eye candy, as you would expect from a Hallmark romance.
Okay, so the storyline is pretty goofy and unbelievable. So Stephanie, the powerful, competent daughter of a big magazine editor is reduced to a simpering schoolgirl because she thinks Devin is hot, and she feels she has to enlist Brooklyn's help to get him? And Brooklyn goes along with this, even though she obviously likes Devin herself, just so that Stephanie will get her business on the cover of her dad's influential magazine? And, after it becomes clear that she and Devin have nothing in common, Stephanie still wants to pursue him, and even gets Brooklyn to do the Cyrano de Bergerac thing, having her feed her lines through a bluetooth device? And then, after Brooklyn hears it from Devin's own mouth (via bluetooth) that he's in love with her, and there's no need for her to pretend that she doesn't have feelings for him, she still pushes him toward Stephanie? Okay, at some point, the plot gives you just one eye roll too many.
The opening scene with the two of them in high school was a little cringe, too. He definitely looked geeky. Rather exaggeratedly so. But so did she. And she was supposed to be the hot, popular girl who was out of his league. Neither of them really looked like teenagers. Maybe hiring look-alike teen actors might have been better?
In the end, Brooklyn and Devin finally get together, and Stephanie conveniently hooks up with Devin's brother Matt, a much better fit for her, and all is forgiven on all sides, with the two lovebirds singing an innocuous, forgettable love song together. Satisfying, happy ending delivered. Can we all say, "Awww"?
So, this wasn't a bad movie, and I mostly liked it. But the script certainly could have used some polishing. Not sure how you could have redeemed the basic premise of the movie to make it less cheesy, though. Fortunately, the performances saved the movie and made you invest yourself in the characters. A thumbs up from me, though kind of a weak one.
Okay, so the storyline is pretty goofy and unbelievable. So Stephanie, the powerful, competent daughter of a big magazine editor is reduced to a simpering schoolgirl because she thinks Devin is hot, and she feels she has to enlist Brooklyn's help to get him? And Brooklyn goes along with this, even though she obviously likes Devin herself, just so that Stephanie will get her business on the cover of her dad's influential magazine? And, after it becomes clear that she and Devin have nothing in common, Stephanie still wants to pursue him, and even gets Brooklyn to do the Cyrano de Bergerac thing, having her feed her lines through a bluetooth device? And then, after Brooklyn hears it from Devin's own mouth (via bluetooth) that he's in love with her, and there's no need for her to pretend that she doesn't have feelings for him, she still pushes him toward Stephanie? Okay, at some point, the plot gives you just one eye roll too many.
The opening scene with the two of them in high school was a little cringe, too. He definitely looked geeky. Rather exaggeratedly so. But so did she. And she was supposed to be the hot, popular girl who was out of his league. Neither of them really looked like teenagers. Maybe hiring look-alike teen actors might have been better?
In the end, Brooklyn and Devin finally get together, and Stephanie conveniently hooks up with Devin's brother Matt, a much better fit for her, and all is forgiven on all sides, with the two lovebirds singing an innocuous, forgettable love song together. Satisfying, happy ending delivered. Can we all say, "Awww"?
So, this wasn't a bad movie, and I mostly liked it. But the script certainly could have used some polishing. Not sure how you could have redeemed the basic premise of the movie to make it less cheesy, though. Fortunately, the performances saved the movie and made you invest yourself in the characters. A thumbs up from me, though kind of a weak one.