The Perfect Catch

Nikki Deloach takes the plaudits for this small-town tale of a single Mum trying to make her Grandpa's diner business work, whilst juggling he role as Mum, having a no-risk taker of a boyfriend and finally having Chase, an old flame Baseball star, walk back into her life. She has such transparent ,emotional & photogenic features that takes you into her story. Good job ! I also loved Andrew Walker's struggle to get a good relationship with his Dad, which will resonate with many men out there. A cute film & the chemistry between the 2 leads works well.

Jessica (Nikki Deloach) is a single mom running her late grandpa's small town restaurant while facing new competition. She's dating insurance salesman Brett. Her old flame Chase Taynor (Andrew W. Walker) is back home visiting his parents. He can't find a new team after allowing a grand slam to lose the World Series in game 7. He starts teaching her son Wesley to play baseball.

This is a Hallmark channel movie. It's better than most of its kind. Grading on a curve, this deserves a passing grade. The leads are long time solid actors. Neither really got to be stars but both have worked consistently. They fit the characters and have solid chemistry together. They are photogenic with some depths of lost. The story is basically good looking middle age people finding their way back to each other again. It doesn't get much simpler than this.

I love the chemistry between Nikki and Andrew sparks fly immediately. She never looks at Brett once like she does Chase. Wesley does a great job as Jessica's son.

It does seem at times like Chase (Hallmark veteran, Andrew Walker) is a better fit for her son as a stepdad rather than for Jessica (Nikki Deloach) but on the whole this is a good Hallmark film, and a darn sight better than some of the drivel they've been serving up to us recently.

It's not perfect, it does take a long time to warm up, and compared to the father who walked out and Jessica's boyfriend at the start Chase is by far the better option, but this remains a solid if unspectacular Hallmark film, with all the normal moments and plot points being covered in a nice way.

Overall, a good film.

Although it didn't sound particularly original story-wise, 'The Perfect Catch' was still seen because of the two leads. Nikki DeLoach and Andrew Walker very seldom disappoint, their filmographies are hit and miss and so are their characters, but they are often among the best things of the misses. Do consider them two of Hallmark's best regulars and ones that near-consistently deliver, and have also seen them together before (and liked them).

'The Perfect Catch' really is well worth catching, and that is not being hyperbolic. And it is not just for them, though they are the main reasons. Was not all that impressed by the 2017 Spring Fever films on the whole, especially 'Like Cats and Dogs', but 'The Perfect Catch' did impress me a good deal and is easily the best of them. With it being the only one to be above good. Liked 'Moonlight in Vermont' too, though with some reservations, but the others didn't do it for me.

Not much to criticise, though there is very little new which did make it very easy to tell where the film was going to go. Especially in the final quarter, which was a little over too soon and neat.

Did think too that while pleasant enough the music had a bit of a repetitive quality to it.

However, both DeLoach and Walker are terrific and equally so. So many nuanced emotions and sparkling feel for comedy, and they wholly succeed in making their characters likeable despite seeing those types of characters before many times. Their characters, and the characters generally as an overall whole, are not meaty but they enagge and don't bore or irritate or make frustrating decisions. Being neither too perfect or have too many overblown character flaws, have seen plenty of those recently so that was a relief. Their chemistry is very genuine and truly endearing, can really tell that the two love working with each other. Lisa Durrupt steals every scene she's in and makes a potentially annoying character entertaining.

Visually, 'The Perfect Catch' is slick and attractive. Hallmark often did deliver on the scenery, the locations were seldom authentic to the real thing but they still looked great and lovingly shot, and this film is no exception. The script doesn't feel stilted or cheesy and there is a very good natured feel good vibe to the playful, charming interactions. The story is very cute without being too cute and is very heart warming and light on its feet.

Summing up, well worth catching. 8/10.