Win, Lose or Love

This is a pleasant enough romance over some school parents committee. The actors Helena Mattson and Corey Sevier make a cute couple. The little drama at the end about some sports equipment is the usual formula and a bit contrived.

Not too different from other TV movie romances but fine if you are in the mood for this kind of movie.

There are so many movies similar to this, a USP is required to make it really stand out. I'm not sure it has that, what it does have is charm and a gentleness to it.

Helena Mattsson is stunning and very likeable, casually dressed throughout, she still looks like she just stepped out of the page of a fashion brochure. Corey Sevier is a little too busy with his mannerisms but came on strong near the end. Catherine Hicks and Parker Stevenson as the old thespian loving couple gave a lesson in underplaying a romantic pairing, I thought they were terrific.

The kids did well and Greg Grunberg was suitably wacky.

This may not stick in the mind for too long but is perfect for a date movie or wet Sunday afternoon.

This move relies a lot on the ridiculous and exaggerated for humor. If that appeals to you, you may enjoy this movie.

The basic tension in the movie seems to be that Middle School (they looked younger) is either about sports or other activities, but the parents association can't tolerate both. One scene has the association president ripping down flyers for non-sports events and replacing them with sports flyers. This tension means that the two leads embark on childish battles against each other. This lasted exactly half way through the movie in commercial run time. Both the lead parents are guilty and makes it hard to like either one for that half.

For the non-humor part of the movie there is some very sappy stuff including a long scene on the swing set. Sappy can be good and if that appeals to you, again, you may enjoy this movie. Usually I like it, but I was still too annoyed by the ridiculous aspect and my dislike for the characters. The sentimental popped up too fast which of course eliminated all the hostility between the leads.

The two kids are a plus, especially Kayla Madison. There is also a secondary romance between Parker Stevenson as the faculty member and Catherine Hicks as Emma's grandmother co-caregiver.

Greg Grunberg is a joke and he was meant to be, but I found it annoying.

The movie ends with an emotional speech and another ridiculous plot development.

I really didn't enjoy the school politics of this movie, where some parents are less mature than their kids - yes I know that is realistic! However I love that it encourages balance of activities / work and family. I'm also a fan of the age range - that it is three generational, and that characters of all ages get new experiences. It is always hard to be respectful of the past but get on with living life now, and this movie shows you just gotta do new things when the time is right. If you can push on past the different perspectives / personality clashes, there's a really moving, deep side that's worth hanging in for.

Love having these sort of movies in the background while I am doing boring and undemanding work but I found this movie to be flat, boring and meaningless with very irritating lead characters across the board but most especially "Clara" whose personality seemed more like something from a horror movie that all potential partners should flee from. The two stars seems generous.