This was a very cute movie. I really enjoyed the performances from the leads. Who could not be enchanted by cute-as-a-button Emily Mae Young as the little girl Jenny? Yasmine Bleeth as Holly was also great. She it up the screen in every scene she was in. And Dean Winters was very enjoyable as the overgrown kid, but loveable good guy Harrison. I enjoyed the developing relationships between Harrison and Holly, but especially between Harrison and Jenny.
The problem with this movie was with the script. I'd give the screenwriter an A for effort, but maybe a C for execution. There were just too many bad plot elements. First off, Harrison is portrayed as a total slacker. He can barely afford his rent, yet he never gets serious about managing his money. His career as a novelist is a joke and he doesn't even take his part time job as a tech writer seriously. With so little disposable income, he still goes out to eat at the cafe every day (which even Jenny calls him out on). And, stupid of all stupid moves, when he's facing eviction from his apartment, he rips up the check that his ex-girlfriend had given him for babysitting Jenny! Why Holly would even consider dating someone so irresponsible with his money is beyond me. And why Jenny's mom would consider leaving Jenny in the care of someone so irresponsible is a mystery too. It was also pretty unbelievable that someone as poor as Harrison could afford to live in such a nice, oceanfront condo.
The unbelievable plot elements continue. Who, in their right mind, would just drop off a kid at some strange place, no questions asked, as Harrison did on multiple occasions? And why would an adult like Holly just accept that Jenny just showed up at her office by herself, without trying to return this 6-year-old to her caretaker Harrison? And what about the publisher just graciously accepting Harrison's dodo stories, and them magically becoming number one bestsellers? I suppose it could happen, but how realistic is it? It's very hard for anyone to become a published author, let alone a bestselling author. And then there's the scene at the end, where Jenny's mom, after having fought tooth and nail to retain custody of Jenny, just capitulates and hands over custody to Harrison.
Looks like the screenplay was written by the director, and I'm guessing he didn't get a whole lot of pushback from himself. Someone should have pointed out a bunch of the above weak plot elements to those involved in this production, before they committed it to celluloid. A little polishing of this screenplay would have made this film much more enjoyable and believable and less eye-rolling, because otherwise, it was a very nice story.
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