A Love to Remember (TV Movie 2021) Poster

(2021 TV Movie)

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7/10
While You Were Sleeping
Jackbv12313 May 2021
The general story of this movie is a complete knockoff of While You Were Sleeping. It is hard to better Sandra Bullock. Yet Rhiannon Fish, whom I've never noticed before, is excellent as quirky Tenley. I happen to love quirky. She and Edward Ruttle have chemistry, mostly thanks to Fish.

The story is a bit wild even if predictable, but anything coming out of this premise is going to be a little wild. Larissa is a nice touch because the viewer knows something is up. Betsey has the confidence of someone much older, but she also adds a good element to the story.
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7/10
Pleasant
tmccheyne13 March 2022
Pleasant enough copy of Whilst you were Sleeping, my favourite film of all time, but still quite engaging in its way.

Bill Pullman and Sandra Bullock could never be copied, but still like the pair and the family.
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5/10
The trailer summarized the whole movie
pianowil-9587113 April 2021
Who needs to watch the movie when the trailer gave it all away?!
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6/10
A twist on 'While You Were Sleeping' ...
Design8812 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Part of me wants to rate this TV movie version of 'While You Were Sleeping' really low because I love that movie so much and this was a very weak script built around a very similar premise...but I couldn't.

In spite of the lead actress driving me crazy with her irritating giddy laughter, her speedy and shrill line delivery and her appalling appearance (not her fault the costume designer was stuck in the 80s) I actually enjoyed the show.

When she and Everett first meet there was a hint of a spark. But, after that, there didn't seem to be much chemistry between them. Mostly his 'look' was very off-putting and the two of them didn't seem to have anything in common. Their interactions seemed so contrived. She being clumsy followed by a lot of fake laughter from both of them. In the end I saw that flicker of attraction again so I guess it all worked out.

Unlike Sandra Bullock in WYWS, she has more opportunities to tell the truth to the family who don't seem at all concerned their son is in hospital recovering from a coma but always fails too get the chance. This also becomes a bit too contrived.

But, I enjoyed the ensemble cast and the mother was a great character and well acted. Also Judith's best friend and his younger sister gave enjoyable performances. Even the girlfriend acted well when she came to reveal herself as the 'mistress' she feared she had been.

I enjoyed it overall and ignored the gaping holes and impossible scenarios in this script. It's a premise I love so I still smiled at the end.
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1/10
Bad remake of a classic 90s rom com Warning: Spoilers
It's really hard to 'judge' a movie with fresh eyes when it's a remake of an older movie. Really hard not to compare characters and plot and writing and chemistry between protagonists. This is a very cheap knock-off of While You were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. Spoiler alert unless you've seen that movie then my review isn't spoiling anything new. I feel like the producer had an idea to do a remake and wanted to update it a bit, but I mean 1995 is a long time ago, so maybe they forgot the details of WYWS, so they piece mealed their script together with a bunch of loopholes. And he/she should have done the exact same script or gone in a completely different direction. You can't pick a couple of elements and then stick them together and expect it not to be a choppy disconnected mess. In WYWS, Lucy and Peter had never even spoken to each other so he didn't know she existed. In this, J and T knew each other online at least for a year. Also in WYWS, the family knew that Peter was engaged, they just had never met the fiancee. This family is written exactly the same as the og family, gregarious, friendly, loud, and supposedly close to their son (unlike in the og movie) so there's no way A) they wouldn't even know he was married, and B)wouldn't interrogate Tenley for wedding photos or other details. Everett, the best buddy since K school, didn't know either. Not really plausible. In the og movie, the 2 dudes were actual brothers but they weren't really close because Peter was a corporate suit and disconnected from his family and their 'small town vibe'. Then there are little idiosyncrasies like Tenley's complicated relationship with her mom she mentions at the beginning but that story line is ignored completely so there was no point in even mentioning it. The other disaster is Tenley and Everett having no real chemistry- again I'm comparing to Bullock and Pullman in WYWS, those 2 were completely in sync. There were a lot of little things thrown in for filler, that didn't do the plot any favours, the sister in theater, the sister with the secret boyfriend. They just seemed like the writer went to the detail store and bought a bunch of random details to throw into the movie to fill it out. My last beef is with Tenley, I'm not pushing to stereotype green thumbed people, but she works in a garden all day, and none of her clothes were appropriate, all I ever saw her in were dresses and blouses and dress shoes. Not saying she had to be in coveralls the whole movie, but certainly any realism for such a role would have put her in jeans or khakis and work boots etc suitable to a job surrounded by soil. Lastly, when the truth finally comes out and Everett gives her his how dare you speech he calls it 'his family'. It is not 'his' family. He was introduced as Jared's best friend and while he mentioned a few times to her they were joined at the hip, he never went to the hospital much, in fact the whole family didn't seem sincerely stressed that their son was in a coma. in WYWS the whole family was visiting Peter in the hospital constantly, the brother sat with him often and talked to him and played cards etc. Never saw Everett in there once except for the beginning scene with he has to be there for when Tenley shows up so they can do the who are you what are you doing here scene. All in all, don't waste your time with this. Go find the og, bullock and Pullman did a way better job in While you Were Sleeping.
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3/10
Full of holes
Kallithrix18 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I usually enjoy a cheesy romance movie, and I'm not expecting fantastic production values and Oscar worthy acting from something made for TV. But at least the script should be held together with a bit more tape than this. There are just so many plot holes it's impossible to suspend your disbelief.

How can she sign consent for medical treatment as his next of kin when he's not even married? Don't insurance companies check that kinda thing? And they keep going on about how it saved his life - would the hospital really pull the plug on a guy for want on someone's signature on a form? (I don't know, I'm British so we just rock up to a hospital and they treat you without too many questions asked). It seemed very contrived just so the family would have a reason to be grateful to her.

And speaking of his family... why don't they question why he never told them he was married? Why don't they find it odd that they don't live together, she doesn't have a ring, her last name is different (explained, but still suspicious) and she doesn't seem overly concerned about him being in a coma? But more importantly... accepting they ignore all this and believe she's his wife, WHY DOES HIS BEST FRIEND START ROMANCING HER??

In the mid part of the film the 'wife' and the best friend act like they're dating - they spend way more time together than is necessary for their mission to 'save the business' (including a totally gratuitous night time footie kick about) and exchange many flirty looks. But while she has no obligation to the coma guy, you'd think he would at least feel a twinge of guilt. People have drawn parallel's with While You Were Sleeping, in which the brother moves in on the coma guy's supposed fiancee, but despite not being on good terms with him at least he felt bad so he held himself back. In this story the dude doesn't seem to have the slightest compunction about hitting on the woman who's supposed to be his best friend's wife - that's not the sort of guy you want to get the girl in the end.

As for the Sandra Bullock substitute... she was really really annoying. Hyperactive and verbally incontinent, she reminded me of a puppy who's cute but just... won't... stop... yapping. She had no chemistry with the love interest - their interactions basically consisted of her being clumsy and then them hysterically laughing about it in a very forced way. Her version of the Sandra Bullock reveal speech where she says she loved being part of his family just comes across as cringe. The kiss scene was also pretty awkward, and the camera cutaway so suddenly and jerkily i swear the camera guy fell over.

Basically I only watched it to see if it got better and it really didn't.
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2/10
Another planet
This movie is so out of touch. The protagonist looks, and acts, like Mary Poppins, and she's only about 22? Not on this planet. She dresses like it's the 60s..and is Mary Poppins with the maturity level that is little girlish.

Worst fashion choices..ugh, and she's dumb as a rock.

It's also a VERY cheap knock off of While You Were Sleeping. Shameful.

Overall this film was just embarrassing to watch. I couldn't watch it all the way through.
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8/10
Why all the bad reviews??
weniwuna21 April 2021
Do any of you watch Hallmark??? Almost every movie is predictable in that you know right from the start that somehow these two people are going to end up together, whoever that couple is. It's the journey and imagination that makes it enjoyable. Someone said the lead actress was annoying, but I thought she was absolutely quirky adorable. Someone else said there was no chemistry, but I disagree. Yes, the premise was stolen to some degree from a Sandra Bullock movie. However what happened and how deeply she got her self into the mess and why was not the same. The only thing that bothers me, and it always bothers me in these TV romcoms, is when the two people get together finally after two hours, they kiss and the movie is abruptly over. It would be nice to see a little bit more of what happens next. Even five minutes more! But as soon as there is a kiss, the movie end. That being said, I still recommend it.
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2/10
I couldn't make it.
krs-9220217 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
It is very rare that I don't finish movies generally and even more so when it is a romantic movie. There was so much about the storyline that I was verbally angry about (Why was there a food tray in front of a person just coming out of a coma?, Why didn't anyone question why they weren't living together?) I continually paused it to do other things rather than watch this contrite crap of a movie. I couldn't stand the female lead character. She was ditzy and did made me angry more than sympathetic to her plight. I just had to quit watching it to calm my blood pressure.
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2/10
Another rotten script.
Avidviewer-0284715 April 2021
Can't believe someone greenlit this film, must have been desperation during the pandemic. At least the cast and crew made some money during hard times.
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1/10
Hallmark film gone haywire
Angroboda2 January 2022
I know it's techincally not a Hallmark film, but the premise is similar to what they usually produce. Except, the script and the acting was terrible. The actors did not have any chemestry, and most of the time it felt like they were reading the lines from the script at the same time it was being filmed. Awkward reactions, as if they were out of place, and the film had so many loop holes and bad scene transitions that is was downright cringe.
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1/10
disgraceful
lucyann12229 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I won't comment on the bad acting, it's common in this kind of films, but the screenplay is outrageous,. An amateur film made by nine year olds would have been more plausible. She saves his life by signing up fake documents?? The whole family cheering at dinner while the son is in a coma?? Okay, the public of this genre of films is not sophisticated, but this film is offensive of their intelligence.
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10/10
Disagree with other reviews
tinatalksavon2 May 2021
Both my hubby & I enjoyed this movie. It was cute & funny, and we all need some humor. I thought Tenley was cute, and her many 'accidents' were funny. I also thought the leads DID have chemistry.

IMO - Just watch the show(s) and quit nit-picking it to pieces!!!
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1/10
Terrible script, terrible directing, terrible acting
tnosnibor31 March 2021
I usually like these made-for-TV romantic comedies. I know that they're cheesy, but they're usually enjoyable. This one is junk. The lead female is annoying and has zero chemistry with the guy she ends up with at the end of the film. I watched the first act and decided I could not waste another hour and 15 minutes watching. I skipped straight to the last act.

Terrible script, terrible acting, terrible direction. Terrible movie. (As a Canadian, I am appalled to think that government money was likely given to this production.)
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5/10
This movie confirms that remakes are never as good as the original.
rezza616 April 2021
This movie's plot is the same as While You Were Sleeping, except it doesn't have great actors. A mediocre copy. Why spent time watching this?
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4/10
Believability compromised prouction values
cbisbee-739951 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Sorry if this review is short and spoilers added, but the sitting bench at the hospital says it all about the production quality herein. The bench is off the walkway, in the dirt, with plants in front of it. No architect or designer in their life would put a bench just anywhere. A one time viewing is all its worth..
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5/10
Shameless ripoff
herrcarter-921615 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It takes a lot of chutzpah to take the plot of the classic rom-com While You Were Sleeping and completely rip it off and repackage it into a modern movie, but with a worse script and without the irreplaceable talents of Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. To be fair, I actually really liked Rhiannon Fish's performance as Tenley. She's cute, perky and fun, and carries the movie much further than it had a right to go on its own merits. Edward Ruttle as Everett was just so-so. Not that engaging. I really didn't like his scruffy look, either. I kept wanting to tie him down and give him a haircut and a shave.

The believability of the plot of While You Were Sleeping was iffy at best. The plot of A Love to Remember was downright ludicrous. How would this family ever buy that Tenley was actually married to Jared, when he had never even mentioned her to any of them? How did Everett not think it was strange that she still lived in her own apartment, even after supposedly being married to Jared? How is a hospital going to just assume that Tenley was Jared's wife, without any supporting documentation, and how were they supposedly not going to provide him life-saving treatment unless this supposed wife signed some forms? And how is the future of Jared and Everett's whole company, not to mention Jared's parents' house, suddenly dependent upon Tenley taking over Jared's duties? They hadn't even met her until a few days ago, and they were willing to entrust her with such life-altering responsibilities? I could go on with more eye-rolling plot holes, but do I really need to?

I never really bought the whole romance between Tenley and Everett either. Even Bill Pullman and Sandra Bullock's relationship in While You Were Sleeping was a little cringeworthy, given that she's supposed to be engaged to his brother. But at least they had rather palpable chemistry. In A Love to Remember, Tenley and Everett didn't even have that much chemistry, and he wasn't just hitting on his best friend's fiancee, he was hitting on his wife (or so he thought). If you're going to produce a rom-com, particularly one where there is a love triangle (or supposed one, in this case), the love story has to be realistic and engaging, and in this case, it just wasn't.

I would like to see Rhianon Fish in other movies in the future, because it seems like she is truly something special. As for the rest of the cast, not so much. I hope she is given movies with better scripts than this weak, faux version of a beloved, classic movie.
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9/10
Charming and enjoyable to watch
leondeklerk30 June 2021
We all want to escape reality, which is why we love to watch movies. Even though the story line is similar to 'while you were sleeping'. It is still a very good movie to watch. The female lead character is played so well. She draws you into the story with her charm, optimism and kindness. Who would not fall for Tenley. Highly recommended to all who wish to escape the harsh reality of life and be swept up by the optimistic romance. A feel good film.
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1/10
Most Irritating of so called Romances
I like 'cheesy' romances but this was just horrible. Started off ok with a cute female lead, who then turns into a complete moron.

As for the parents who had no curiosity as to why their son living at home didn't tell them he was married to a girl living with her friend..well, er..!

This could have been a decent hallmark style romance if the female lead had come clean soon after the doctor mistake, and then continued with the family as a consultant to help the company.

However, the dark cloud created by 'While you were sleeping' seems to have infected this movie with the same nonsense.

One really has to be in the same coma as the internet boyfriend not to find this movie irritating. Just as those who gave Sandra Bullock's awful movie a thumbs up that spawned this stupidity of a so called romance.
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8/10
A Tide of Calamity
lwmtem10 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Two social media horticultural buddies for a year decide to meet for their first time, but a bicycle accident puts him in the hospital where his doctor mistakes her identity and has her sign surgical consent paper for life saving surgery, before his thanks her for getting there so quickly as his wife.

Before she knows it, all those close to him flock to his side as the doctor explain that his life was saved by his wife. Dearest Mom, Dad, Sis & best friend are stunned by the news as she tries to explain, but no one gives her a chance as they take her home for a family welcome.

A crucial proposal was in the works with a hard deadline. The best friend is unprepared while she is skilled in most of it as they work to teach him how to wow the grant committee just days away while trust and attraction build each day. Soon an unraveling begins and they part, hurt and alone, until each learns a vital lesson!
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9/10
More Depth Than While You Were Sleeping
bigsis_je10 September 2022
I know While You Were Sleeping is a classic, and I did like it...but I remember it being kind of basic. Surprisingly, A Love to Remember seemed to have a lot more depth and variety. There were even some plot twists and surprises that I didn't anticipate. Good writing!

And, of course, the new face Rhiannon Fish is just adorable. In both this movie and the Hallmark movie, Journey of My Heart, she brings a cuteness and a comic relief to two roles of highly intelligent - potentially nerdy, awkward, but pulls-off-normal - women. She's a joy to watch!

How many more characters until I get to six hundred?
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