Who cast this movie? Mom and dad are more of an age to be grandparents.
17 Reviews
Casting?
cmeredith-8880827 October 2020
picking up strangers
SnoopyStyle30 January 2022
Jane (Ann Pirvu) is devastated after losing both her boyfriend and her job. She is headed back home for Thanksgiving. Despite her better judgement, she picks up a stranded motorist on the side of the road.
Ann Pirvu is doing her quirky single gal who doesn't need a man but actually needs a man. She is doing her adorable best. There are some questionable aspects of the story. It's suppose to be cute but it's very questionable. I wouldn't suggest picking up a stranger on the side of the road. Also the sibling rivalry leans too far into real hate. It needs to be fun, not angry. The brother is a real problem. I'm willing to buy Pirvu's cuteness acting and accept the standard rom-com tropes despite the shortcomings.
Ann Pirvu is doing her quirky single gal who doesn't need a man but actually needs a man. She is doing her adorable best. There are some questionable aspects of the story. It's suppose to be cute but it's very questionable. I wouldn't suggest picking up a stranger on the side of the road. Also the sibling rivalry leans too far into real hate. It needs to be fun, not angry. The brother is a real problem. I'm willing to buy Pirvu's cuteness acting and accept the standard rom-com tropes despite the shortcomings.
Gag worthy
kholton-2672224 August 2021
Not even worth a star
ali-1089411 May 2023
Shockingly bad ...time I can never even claw back. Seen better acting in school plays. Chris (I think that was the lead male character) & the dad were the only ones who actually 'acted' and as for the brother...oh brother! Just, no...noone would behave like that, it was simply embarrassing. Diabolical. Bad script, no story line and just toe curlingly bad all round. And still I need to go on to fill the 600 word criteria... please do not wast your valuable time on this, dreadful, painful, badly acted, non story mashed up from all other bad made for tv movie scripts. I can't even believe I managed to limp through it myself, so you don't have to.
Nice movie, reused plot, different characters
Didi_braun25 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The fact that this is the third or forth film with the same storyline (falling in love while pretending to be a couple to the family) starts to be annoying. The casting was also strange, while some characters seem convincing (friend, receptionist) others are so out of place (brother and sister in law), the parents have no connection, no similarity with the daughter, no credibility. What made the movie enjoyable to me, were the main actors. They did a great job, considering the mediocre writing, I think Anca Pirvu's character was supposed to be like that - childish, expansive, impulsive (maybe it was a bit too much here and there), but exactly this made it different from the rest of the movies with the same plot. It made the film more realistic in a way.
Childish main character, reused plot, horrible overacting by most
jenn_caukwell26 October 2020
Adult main character has temper tantrums... seriously?! The brother and sister in law had horrible acting, the mother wasn't much better. The only 2 actors that really didn't over act would be the father and Chris.
As for the plot, all that's happened here is combining other hallmark movies. Baking competition, done Fake relationship, done Returning home, done
What a waste of time.
As for the plot, all that's happened here is combining other hallmark movies. Baking competition, done Fake relationship, done Returning home, done
What a waste of time.
Leading Lady is Pathetic
kmcdermott-5940911 October 2020
Horrible writing!
dahotnessk24 October 2020
The main character and the "love interest" were mediocre. ZERO chemistry. The script vs how they delivered it was totally off. The connection was also very forced. My main issue was that brother! Am I the only one that was annoyed with his flamboyance? I stopped watching during the scene when he totally went off on her in the meanest way I had EVER seen in a hallmark movie. Didn't care to see how it ended. This movie should not be played in rotation!
The Writer Obviously Has Family Issues
ashieash11 November 2020
From the beginning of the movie it is clear that the writer has a very stilted perspective when it comes to family dynamics. The main character is a millennial that is developmentally arrested at the age of 13. Her brother is written as the main villain and is given zero depth. He's just obtusely mean whenever he's in the scene and all of his interactions with his sister are just him being rude while she complains that he is rude. The parents are written like boring white bred grandparents, complete with the busted tropes of "mom always cooks" and "dad likes radios". I couldn't take this movie, it's characters, or the story seriously at all. It felt like the writer was just trying to sort out their own family problems in the frame of a tacky Thanksgiving romance. How did this get made? Don't waste your time on this one, it's not even the funny sort of bad. It's just boring and whiny and filled with empty scenes to stretch the run time. Watch Holidate instead!
The acting is very bad
melaymont7 February 2021
The acting is horrible! And the plot has already been done countless times. Is this simply a chance to give some unknown actors something to work on? They can't keep the plot straight...the brother comes in on his sister and Chris and says, it's true you two are seeing each other then in the next scene he is saying they must be fake dating....does the brother believe they are dating or not??
Almost unwatchable!
hallmarkmov26 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The movie started off well. A 20 something going home for thanksgiving and her life is falling apart. She dreads facing her parents and her brother and meets someone familiar on the side of the road and helps him. And then it seemed like they changed writers and directors from there cause it went veryyyyyy downhill!!! Her parents don't act like her parents. They seem soooo awkward! She hasn't been home in so long so shouldn't they be excited? Shouldn't they want to spend time together?! She is barellyyyyyy with her family except at these strange parties they host and forced into a pie making competition which goes so horribly and soooo misguided in the script. She is throwing fits and cries at every turn. The parents have glimpses of being like parents and then seem to be strangers. The love interest is a stalker- I don't know why anyone would fall inlove with this girl from kindergarten . It's all very creepy and nothing is really explained. The brother is so overly mean to her that it cannot be redeemed. The fiancé is so random and food poisons everyone , the love interest is there for a job interview and doesn't have a cell phone to text and say sorry can't make it?! If it wasn't on Pluto tv for free I would have turned off the stream. There was nothing related to the movie title- maybe it should be learning to love a brat? Skip it- don't bother with it, you rather watch something else on repeat.
Childish lead actress
lynn-5299529 February 2024
This is the second Hallmark movie that I have watched today in which the lead actress was childish and eschewed any makeup making them plain and boring. Other female actresses were beautifully made up and far more attractive and interesting. The lead actor isn't high romance material. His acting was fine, but he needed completely different hair, and his wardrobe is sloppy. Bad casting. The writers' humor was abrasive. The conversations were too squeaky. Sequencing along the plot line was out of order. This could be the fault of editing. This movie was painful to watch. The only reason why I got through it was due to the time it took to type my review while trying to ignore the dialogue.
One of the Hallmarks I could watch over again!
tebrekke21 October 2020
I've seen some of the reviews, and mostly they're complaints about the main character. I have to disagree. I believe the writers made her more juvenile on purpose, to show her growth through the movie. I found the two main characters very believable and real. Though this story line has been done several times previously, I felt these two were more real than most, especially the male character of Chris. The humor between them, and honesty, and normal, non hallmark style, drama infused dialogue is a refreshing watch.
While its not perfect, its definitely one of the better ones out there. Finally.
While its not perfect, its definitely one of the better ones out there. Finally.
a sort of improvisation
Kirpianuscus13 February 2022
It seems unfair to define this film because it seems only a puzzle using pieces from other Hallmark films, proposing, in essence, almost nothing. A film in which a selfish character , in unrealistic manner, after a sort of fake relation, preserving, so fresh , memories from school years, discovers the love of her life. Unfortunatelly, the taste of improvisation is present scene by scene.
Cute enjoyable. Not for critics.
theemfexpert27 March 2021
Enjoy it for its simplicity and acting. Ann Pirvu is truly cute, charming and heart warming. The camera work, lighting and scenery all add to watching this innocent lovely family oriented movie. It was overall a pleasure. The right title and cast. Many lessons from the messages in this production. Worth watching.
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