The Engagement Plot (2022 TV Movie) User Reviews

A Tale of Two Halves, stick with it

[Jackbv123 · 7/10 · 25 August 2022]

This is a movie which can be divided into two halves. A bad half and a pretty good one.

Is it bad acting when it is deliberate? The acting and the story were deliberately exaggerated in the first half. There was a definite hit on the romantic reality show genre. The actors all seemed so unnatural in this part. While there were definite aspects of the story that were spot on, such as Kelcie, I find it hard to believe the scenario of what was happening to Wil's business could really happen. But that seemed necessary to set up the romantic story in the second half and the engagement plot.

Rachel Boston has a very appealing personality and I have always enjoyed her in this kind of role. She has very nice chemistry with Trevor Donovan. I felt the attraction between them. Unfortunately, the setup took up so much screen time, basically the whole first half of the movie, and then there were a few other distractions in the second half so in total, their relationship screen time was diluted.

The story in the second half was more natural even with the conflict and twist. Not a huge twist. I'm sure some people saw it coming. It was obvious the deception would come out, but I didn't see how that would happen.

As to Rachel Boston's figure, it sure looked obvious how the director was trying to hide it. Boston welcomed a baby in early 2022 and I'm not sure when this was filmed. Either way, it should be irrelevant if reasonable efforts are made to minimize it. And it is done quite often.

There is a religious aspect to the story. Hannah is called Holy Hannah for a reason. This movie treats her faith sympathetically but without a lot of preaching or Bible thumping. More than anything, it emphasizes that Hannah makes choices based on a certain moral code, especially with the ultimate aim of honesty. And she is also allowed to make mistakes because she ends up taking responsibility despite tremendous embarrassment.

Overall, I have a positive take on this movie. The bad half is deliberately used to set up and emphasize the good half. Much of that is thanks to Boston.

Rachel Boston shines

[ISmellSnow · 7/10 · 26 August 2022]

This is one of Rachel's best performances. She nails every scene and moves the audience with her emotions. How dare other reviewers make remarks about her pregnancy during this film! Women film movies while pregnant all the time, and the director did a great job trying to hide it. I did not find it distracting at all.

Trevor Donavan was also very good in this film, he plays this character perfectly. I also enjoyed the performances from the best friend and the father.

The comedy was better than an average made-for-TV movie, thanks to Hanna, Carly, and Leo.

Overall, not a bad movie but certainly not the best. I recommend watching it at least once and give it a 7/10 for this quality of movies.

Good but could have been better

[grammajanie-28811 · 6/10 · 16 January 2023]

This was an okay movie that had the potential to be better than it was. But I still enjoyed it somewhat. The 2 leads are some of my favorites, so even though I didn't see any really chemistry between them, they're still good actors and carried the story pretty well. Sadly, I'm so turned off by the Bachelor franchise in general that the first bit of the movie was cringy for me - but pretty well done, superficiality and all. Good performance by Hannah's Dad as well, liked his down to earth task with Hannah. The editing was choppy at times, just not as smooth and professional as it should have been making it hard to follow the plot.

And now to the biggest issue for me - Rachel Boston is an excellent actress and is always chic and stylish, no matter what type of character she's playing. This time she was consistently dressed in frumpy clothing and over-sized sloppy coats that leads me to believe that she was probably pregnant during filming. Come on, these movies take 2 weeks to film - was it not possible to carve out that much time when she had her normal figure? It was almost as distracting as the overdone hats.

Not the best

[jeffrapage-92221 · 23 August 2022]

Leave it to Brian Bird to produce a movie with two wonderful actors but make it boring poor Trevor looked very uncomfortable through the entire movie then you had Rachel who's hiding her pregnancy through the whole entire movie really wasn't much chemistry between the characters I wish Brian bird would stay away from making romance movies and just stick with his when calls the heart cuz this is the second movie he's produced for UPtv and neither one of them were good.

Surprisingly enjoyable

[herrcarter-92161 · 7/10 · 3 November 2023]

I thought this movie would be cheesy, but I decided to give it a try because I've liked Rachel Boston in other movies. I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed it. The fake engagement, or its variants, is one of the most overused plots in rom-coms, and it's never believable, because something that stupid would never happen in real life. They almost pull it off with this one, though.

This movie works on a few levels. First, it's a satire on the fakeness of "reality TV" in general, and "The Bachelor " in particular. Second, you have Rachel Boston. Her portrayal of Hanna was spot on. The Hallmark veteran can do rom-coms in her sleep. She's so warm and engaging that you can't help loving her. Her character and the people in her life seemed so genuine and real. I especially liked her father and they had a great relationship with each other. Trevor Donovan as Will was also decent. Any number of actors could have played the role as well or better, but he was fine. The two of them had reasonably good chemistry. I also liked that they had Hanna be a woman of faith, and that they portrayed that in a positive light. They weren't preachy about it, but it was clear that her faith made her the person she was.

Okay, there were parts of the movie you really had to take with a grain of.salt. Like, why two reasonably nice, normal people would even agree to go on that ridiculous TV show in the first place. Or why Will, who clearly liked Hanna because she was so down-to-earth and genuine, would have ever chosen someone so obviously fake and superficial as Kelcie. Or why either of them would agree to that ludicrous fake engagement, particularity Hanna. But you overlook those things because the rest of the story is pretty solid.

This movie isn't out to win any Oscars. But it's a fun, pleasant rom-com, with likable characters, good relationships and fine performances. The happy ending is pretty satisfying and not too cheesy. If you're a rom-com fan, you'll definitely come away from this movie with a smile on your face.

Had potential, but one small hole let all the air out.

[Lily-32 · 4/10 · 5 December 2022]

It was a great premise. It was a fresh take on the over done Bachelor-esque reality tv trope. It wasn't surprising. It wasn't meant to be a twist surprise. It was still predictable. But it was still different enough.

But one little thing ruined it all. The lack of comeuppance for the producer. The worst he gets is a weak reprimand from the interviewer. The bad guys were cartoonish which was bad enough but this guy went evil to an extreme. Why have him push back at all against his boss during the show if he was going to go to this level of awful anyway at the end? They should've just had him be that bad from the get go. And then he gets chewed out in a way that he obviously could care less about and that's suppose to appease the audience?

Yes in real life he'd likely get away with it. But this isn't real life. So they had all the room to satisfy the audience. They chose not to.

And yes, I'm focusing on that more than anything because again, it's a small point that ruined the whole thing. Left me utterly disappointed.

One final point, evil producer catches Will off guard in an ally (like I said, cartoonish) and Will honestly thinks there are no further strings to the interview? Kelsie showing up was seen a mile away but we're to believe he and his lawyers wouldn't attempt to head off more bad press by smelling a skunk in the upcoming interview itself? And no one involved in the script caught the stupidity of that? Are they that dumb or do they think we are?

When you treat your audience like idiots they tend to not come back for more.

Fun to watch

[twittertwitterx · 10/10 · 30 August 2022]

Six months ago, William stole Hanna's heart and shattered it in front of millions of people on a reality TV dating show. And now the big-wig CEO is back on Hanna's home turf in Minnesota and wants her to forgive him? Fat chance of that. But life is swirling around faster than snow in a blizzard, and despite her objections, teaming up with William seems like the only option to rescue her reputation. William has never regretted anything more than the day he gave that ill-fated interview for the reality show, The Price of Love. But while he can't change the past, he's determined to fix the future. He just needs to convince Hanna to forgive him-and pretend to be engaged with him.

Trevor Donovan was a great choice for Will.

UP lets us down.

[gfrasmd · 1/10 · 22 August 2022]

I have really liked Trevor Donovan and Rachel Boston in many other production. This time I feel awfully disappointed. The premise of this movie is stupid and it continues along as such. Actually, the movie loudly declares the base sense of moral values and limited intelligence of the producers. Why should a young, handsome, brilliant tycoon consent to participate in a "reality" circus to select his fiancee, and give the producers limitless power over his life for 18 months, is beyond anybody's comprehension. Then, that he should propose to his second choice, when easily convinced to give up the one he is attracted to, it appears asinine. Is he so desperate to settle for marrying whatever comes?

Further, that he goes back to the one previously discarded, proposing a fake engagement, in order to save his business, is downright offensive, if not abject.

So, here we have a hero who proves to be an insensitive, superficial jerk of the highest degree.

Why should Hanna, a sensible, down-to-earth, saintly girl agree to participate in such base reality show and expose her private life to the world, it is absurd and psychologically unsound. How could she fall in love with a miserable individual like Will, I could never fathom.

Hence, the story is stupid, the characters are phony, and the unavoidable sweet ending gets thrown in like a scoop of molasses on a pile of garbage.

TV movie producers seem to have developed a degrading view of the sense of value, and the intelligence, of their audience.

Loved it

[rhonnie-43139 · 10/10 · 23 August 2022]

This was a good movie and I liked the plot and cast. I think it was a good and fast moving story with some nice moments. However, it seemed like the lead actress was hiding a pregnancy which was a bit distracting. I would still watch it again.

Wishing for Something More Original

[omijer · 4/10 · 22 August 2022]

As a faithful tv movie viewer, this film left me sadly disappointed. The story was predictable and unoriginal. And, while this is the comfort zone one expects from a made-for-tv movie, this story felt contrived and forced. One can always clearly see how a plot will develop and how it will end, but this one seemed to cross a line into being a bit too predictable.

A few of the secondary characters (the tv show contestants) seemed to be over-acting in order to define their roles.

Add to that, the distracting issues of Rachel Boston's trademark giggle between spoken lines, and the fact that she was visibly quite pregnant, and spent the film hiding her pregnancy with big pocketbooks, coats held closed, and fluffy, billowy dresses.

In addition to his leading man's script conflict, poor Trevor Donovan looked visibly uncomfortable throughout. He's a wonderful, attractive actor, a reliable leading man. But one got the feeling he was not enthusiastic with this role.

And as a faithful fan, I will remain true to made-for-movies, but I will expect more honesty and quality in future stories.

Who edited this movie?

[doxinmom · 2/10 · 23 August 2022]

When he breaks up with Hannah after producer lies to him....he calls her Erin. Who edited this awful movie? Have seen main actors in other movies and they weren't this bad.

Another Good One

[rfieldj · 10/10 · 6 September 2022]

Another great film with Trevor Donovan, who never disappointed his viewers. In fact, I would even go so far as to refer to Donovan as the King of this genre. I also enjoyed the rest of the cast as well. No one disappointed me this time. They all gave great performances. And you could see that they worked hard.

And that's rare with all films nowadays. I'm not always this positive. The entire film seemed to flow so naturally that once again I didn't realize how quickly the time passed. There was also a certain spark with this film that's not always there with other films in the romance genre.

It's a feel good movie that takes you away from life's issues. The perfect and safest kind of escapism that sometimes we all need and crave. I'd watch it again and I would recommend it to others without hesitation.

Slow and boring.

[Avidviewer-02847 · 2/10 · 9 October 2022]

90 minutes of ups and downs and subplots, then we finally get to the end we all knew was coming. I almost hit the off button a few times, it got so boring. Trevor Donovan and Rachel Boston are pros in the rom-com format, but even they couldn't save a bad script. I've seen them both in much better productions and they can both play dramatic and comedic roles well. Everyone thinks they can write a rom-com, but it takes a skill, like writing murder mysteries is a skill.

For the bachelor contest, they could have zeroed in on the final two contestants and spent more time with residents of Hannah's small Colorado town, it would have been more interesting. The locations were beautiful that I assume were in Colorado, but they might have filmed it in BC or Alta, Canada. The supporting cast was good.

I need a Will in my live.

[hunkeydora · 10/10 · 30 August 2022]

Oh how I enjoyed my time spent while watching this movie. I started it right as I was leaving on a trip which entailed lots of sitting. I laughed out loud, had some pretty big smiles, a few grumpy face moments and possibly a couple sighs. My hubby kept asking me for updates and what was happening in the plot to cause my many different moods. He'd smile and shake his head at me, I'd smile back and dive right back into this fun read.

A fun twist on the Bachelor/Bachelorette premise with all the twists and turns you might expect of a couple who met on a reality TV show and the aftermath of the show. The book starts several months after the show and a pretty epic blunder on the Bachelor's part. With a little bit of a hidden agenda, work pressure, longing of the hearts, relentless paparazzi, some behind the scenes intrigue and much more going on, the question is whether or not Hanna and Will can forgive each other and have closure or possibly move forward with their lives, happily and together.

There are many great moments throughout this movie. Not just great moments between the couple but moments of individual, quiet reflection, growth and healing. These two characters were well developed. I wasn't quite sure when I started reading if I should expect that or, if this would be more of a lighthearted and fun fluff type movie. I was very pleasantly surprised that it was fun and fluffy, but it was also full of depth and some great gems scattered throughout.

This movie is a mess. Old actors playing young ones...why???

[rg79912 · 4/10 · 27 January 2023]

So, I expected to really like this. I usually like Trevor Donovan and have been enjoying Rachel Boston movies for the past couple years once she began playing mature characters and acting her age, letting go of the cringe cutesy character she started as. She apparently decided to return to the cringe role in her 40s and it does not suit her. First off, she looks at least 44, even with all the makeup, so she absolutely doesn't pass anywhere near 30 and cannot compete with young 20 year olds...let's be realistic here. Her clothes in the 20 yr old bohemian style was just embarrassing. Her trying to play the personality that worked when she was 20...no, just no. Please grow up finally. It did not work and made this film so unbelievable immediately. Trevor Donovan looked so old and dried out...get the man some moisturizer please. He looked closer to 50 which was shocking to see his age progression from his more recent Hallmark movies. His acting was just not good in this either, and I usually enjoy his acting well enough. The premise for this show was hard to believe. I wanted to see these moments that led to them falling in love, but we didn't get real focus on it, so it was hard to believe that she fell for him and had her heart broken. Even more so that he seemed to really like her, and it felt like it was purely because she was the only older and not entirely infantile social media obsessed woman there. So whatever, he loves her but he doesn't even ask her about her comment about him being better off with someone else? Just went for the awful chick with no thought whatsoever. Honestly it says a lot that she was his runner up to begin with. She was the worst. So then to save HIS BUSINESS from the fall out of his stupid decision that he didn't think through at all...he decides he needs her back??? And she's supposed to just go back with him and forget and help him and make herself look like a doormat and idiot? Literally setting a bad example to all the women supporting her everywhere in her social media fake world. Such an awful script and story. I mean who wrote this and thought, "Yes, this is such a great idea to reintroduce him and bring them back together! She'll win him...in the end!" Nevermind the fact that she claims he broke her heart. So dumb.

Too old

[lindae-06916 · 2/10 · 24 August 2022]

I believe the female lead was pregnant. Kept covering up her tummy. This isn't the first time I've seen Hallmark film and romantic comedies with a pregnant woman. Doesn't fit the story.

Trevor Donovan is charming

[IMAHugeBitch · 10/10 · 30 August 2022]

I'll watch anything Trevor is in, and I enjoyed this movie very much. Keep the Trevor movies coming. The scenery and the acting was great, it is a real feel good movie. I read the book so i kind of new what was up. I was rooting for Will and Hanna even though I kew he wasn't going to pick her. Trevor was the perfect bachelor. This is now my favorite Trevor movie with Love Finds You In Charm a close number two. Rachel was pregnant but it wasn't that much of a distraction. The supporting cast was fun and the hotness of Trevor was especially present in this movie. I will for sure be watching this movie again. I highly recommend this movie for all Trevor Donovan fans and fans of rom coms. UP tv should do a series with Trevor. A family type show would be great. Look forward to another movie next week.

Gobble Gooble

[johne-55952 · 2/10 · 24 August 2022]

If you like Colorado Spring scenery you might enjoy the visuals. The reality show piece at the front is shot in a castle owned by a pretty intense religious group (The Navigators) and its generally not open to the (secular) public.

Other than that its pretty awful. Ms. Boston can often save a movie with her acting skills but its just not enough in this case. Part of the problem is the male lead (who I admit I don't like) is such a terrible actor that it actually exacerbates the really cheesy dialog. The plotting is one of the 5 standard Hallmark plots with a few more twists but the directing/editing is so terrible that you could lose your way.

If you want to see a better version of this check "I Want to Marry Ryan Banks."

If you want to see Colorado, keep your thumb on the fast forward.

Sexy Trevor Donovan in a Tux!

[ChiOmega · 10/10 · 30 August 2022]

This was such a fun story. I loved the way they kept the plot moving and changing at every turn. The one thing that bugged me was how naive the main characters suddenly were toward the end. But even this hiccup couldn't keep me from enjoying the story and their delightful ending. The chemistry was well done and I enjoyed all the insight into a dating TV show and the aftermath of suddenly being in the public eye. Trevor Donovan is very easy on the eyes. I'd recommend this to those who enjoy a light-hearted rom coms and am giving it 9 stars. Great cast and the location is spectacular. I believe it was filmed in Colorado Springs, and produced by Brian Bird, creator of When Calls The Heart.

Seen this before

[ab-84038 · 3/10 · 22 August 2022]

There was nothing really new or original about this script. The plot of a girl going on the "Bachelor" or in this case a knock-off of that type of dating show, has been done before.

It's pretty bad that even 3/4 through the movie you couldn't really tell if anybody had real feelings anymore. And, that supposedly "good people" like Hanna, would participate in a fake engagement for money was the wrong way to go.

Why not just have Will realize he loved her and then go after her?? Would have been a better story than the fake and engagement that came up with.

Undeserving of her love

[MickyG333 · 8/10 · 10 February 2024]

8.2 stars.

"Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to get sick". This one line of sage wisdom that the lead female quotes, is what I gleaned from the whole experience of watching 'The Engagement Plot'. What makes this movie great comprises a short list of invaluable lessons about love and relationships.

It starts off like 'The Bachelor'. She is the oldest woman in the bunch of female candidates, and he eventually chooses her, but the producers are not happy because she's too goody goody. #holyhannah is how the fans refer to her, but instead of being a dull and Bible thumping sort of personality, she's endearing, lovable, and the right woman for him. Unfortunately, he takes the producer's advice, things run amok, and his life falls apart financially and emotionally.

There is so much more to be said about this film, but it speaks for itself. I will say this: watch it and discover the hidden treasures that await you. Be sure to soak up the wonderful ideals this woman has adopted for her life and how these ideals serve to transform all the people around her, including an undeserving wealthy man.

I wish the male lead would emote more effectively, especially the depth of his character's sense of loss due to the breakup and her absence from his life. It's not fully captured in his portrayal, but in the end we get the full picture, not without assistance from her brilliant performance. I must say this is one of Boston's best.