Vote One For Love 2023 (Prime Video/Freevee streaming)
This film is about CANDACE (Natasha Wilson) a Washington, D. C.-based political operative who is sent back to her small hometown in Wyoming to assist DEREK (Jesse Hutch) in his bid for mayor. It seems Candace's company supports politicians in order to move them up the political food chain--local, state, federal positions, and so on. Well, of course, as a romance movie, the wrench in this story is that Candace and Derek were an item in high school. Candace wasn't keen on going back to her small town to help Derek, although Derek seemed okay with it.
I was not familiar with Natasha Wilson, but she did an excellent job throughout this film, and I will be seeking out more movies she's done. Jesse Hutch of course is a very prolific romance film star and needs no intro to fans of the genre. Joining the primary cast were teens Sophia Carriere as Alex, Candace's niece who is staying with her grandparents (Candace's parents), and Jordana Summer as Naomi, Derek's daughter. (Naomi's mother was a nonentity that Derek never married, as she ran off when Naomi was born). Jess Brown stars as Stacy, Derek's sister and Naomi's aunt. Those are the major actors here. All were really and truly very good.
Over the course of helping Derek to be elected mayor, Candace realizes just how perfect Derek is for the job--she just needs to get his campaign in order--it was not when she arrived--but over the coming days she gets things done. She and Derek also seem to realize over the next few days that they probably missed out on something good in high school. At this point it might not be a conscious realization, however, but we the viewers can tell. They aren't quite ready to face this with each other--living in different states with different careers and all--but Candace's niece Alex isn't missing any of this, nor, it seems, is Derek's sister. Daughter Naomi on the other hand is not at all keen on the idea of her dad and Candace getting together--she told Alex that Candace wasn't good enough to be with her dad and not good enough to be her mom, either. The two teen girls had a big fight over this, which made for some interesting scenes.
Later, Candace's D. C. boss, Gavin (played by Ash Lee) began to really put the pressure on Candace to get Derek to commit to even greater political commitments if first their D. C. company can get him elected mayor. After that, Candace felt obligated to pressure Derek in turn, and Derek felt like he needed to fight back because he had no desire to be more than a mayor. That created tension between them, and Candace especially was unhappy about that.
Later, Derek and sister Stacy were chatting on the porch one evening about how well-suited Stacy thought Candace is (and was--in high school) for him. Derek agrees, but it is her political pressure that has him annoyed--though he is keeping that to himself. During this conversation, daughter Naomi came around the side porch and accidentally overheard her dad and aunt talking. She stopped and listened, and realized she had been wrong about her dad and Candace, and instantly regretted the fight with Alex.
From there we get to the final scenes, which I won't spoil. Will Candace work things out regarding her D. C. job? Will she and Derek's daughter make peace? Will she and Derek get together, and how will they work out being 2/3rds of the country apart?
This was one of the FINEST romantic movies I have ever seen. It wasn't a comedy, it was more of a drama, but it was NOT one of those heavy-handed, annoying dramas that make you want to roll your eyes and change channels. This movie did not depend on tired old tropes that most of us romance movie fans are, frankly, tired of. Sure, going home and meeting an old boyfriend has been done, but that is about the ONLY thing we've seen done before--and the method was sure different. The teenage girls and their relationship was a great aspect of the film because it was important to the girls, but also important to the adults---dad and aunt. And the final scene? Both different and wonderful.
I really cannot recommend this movie more--I'd call it a must-see if you enjoy romance films.
This film is about CANDACE (Natasha Wilson) a Washington, D. C.-based political operative who is sent back to her small hometown in Wyoming to assist DEREK (Jesse Hutch) in his bid for mayor. It seems Candace's company supports politicians in order to move them up the political food chain--local, state, federal positions, and so on. Well, of course, as a romance movie, the wrench in this story is that Candace and Derek were an item in high school. Candace wasn't keen on going back to her small town to help Derek, although Derek seemed okay with it.
I was not familiar with Natasha Wilson, but she did an excellent job throughout this film, and I will be seeking out more movies she's done. Jesse Hutch of course is a very prolific romance film star and needs no intro to fans of the genre. Joining the primary cast were teens Sophia Carriere as Alex, Candace's niece who is staying with her grandparents (Candace's parents), and Jordana Summer as Naomi, Derek's daughter. (Naomi's mother was a nonentity that Derek never married, as she ran off when Naomi was born). Jess Brown stars as Stacy, Derek's sister and Naomi's aunt. Those are the major actors here. All were really and truly very good.
Over the course of helping Derek to be elected mayor, Candace realizes just how perfect Derek is for the job--she just needs to get his campaign in order--it was not when she arrived--but over the coming days she gets things done. She and Derek also seem to realize over the next few days that they probably missed out on something good in high school. At this point it might not be a conscious realization, however, but we the viewers can tell. They aren't quite ready to face this with each other--living in different states with different careers and all--but Candace's niece Alex isn't missing any of this, nor, it seems, is Derek's sister. Daughter Naomi on the other hand is not at all keen on the idea of her dad and Candace getting together--she told Alex that Candace wasn't good enough to be with her dad and not good enough to be her mom, either. The two teen girls had a big fight over this, which made for some interesting scenes.
Later, Candace's D. C. boss, Gavin (played by Ash Lee) began to really put the pressure on Candace to get Derek to commit to even greater political commitments if first their D. C. company can get him elected mayor. After that, Candace felt obligated to pressure Derek in turn, and Derek felt like he needed to fight back because he had no desire to be more than a mayor. That created tension between them, and Candace especially was unhappy about that.
Later, Derek and sister Stacy were chatting on the porch one evening about how well-suited Stacy thought Candace is (and was--in high school) for him. Derek agrees, but it is her political pressure that has him annoyed--though he is keeping that to himself. During this conversation, daughter Naomi came around the side porch and accidentally overheard her dad and aunt talking. She stopped and listened, and realized she had been wrong about her dad and Candace, and instantly regretted the fight with Alex.
From there we get to the final scenes, which I won't spoil. Will Candace work things out regarding her D. C. job? Will she and Derek's daughter make peace? Will she and Derek get together, and how will they work out being 2/3rds of the country apart?
This was one of the FINEST romantic movies I have ever seen. It wasn't a comedy, it was more of a drama, but it was NOT one of those heavy-handed, annoying dramas that make you want to roll your eyes and change channels. This movie did not depend on tired old tropes that most of us romance movie fans are, frankly, tired of. Sure, going home and meeting an old boyfriend has been done, but that is about the ONLY thing we've seen done before--and the method was sure different. The teenage girls and their relationship was a great aspect of the film because it was important to the girls, but also important to the adults---dad and aunt. And the final scene? Both different and wonderful.
I really cannot recommend this movie more--I'd call it a must-see if you enjoy romance films.
