For Love or Money

An enjoyable British comedy with over-the-top humor worthy of Monty Python. Samantha Barks, who displays real comedic talent, finds out that a former classmate was about to sell a business for a lot of money. Her boyfriend, who should have been wearing a top hat and a handlebar mustache, convinces her to marry him so she can get half the money then share it with him. However, the victim finds out about the plot and does everything he can to insult and antagonize her so she will quit. The movie is a lot of fun for those who can suspend disbelief and not be offended by the fact that the characters are more caricatures than people. The primary problem is that the script would have been wonderful for a one-hour TV sitcom. After an hour, I was saying, enough already.

Was this written by an 8 year old?! Atheist comedies are a dime a dozen these days, but most still exert effort to justify their take on the subject. Whether you call that education or simple expression, it's there. Even entertaining at times. But this one just wants to be an atheist movie with all the wit of a grade schooler. Lazy writing that just ruins the fun.

I've rounded up to a 7 because I think the one star reviews are a joke. In my book, this is significantly better than plenty of the generic Hollywood romcoms produced, and far better than 90% of the stuff produced by Hallmark or Lifetime, and it has clearly been done on a relatively low budget.

Having said that, if you generally enjoy those types of movies and look forward to that stereotypical formula, then this will likely not be for you. If you are bothered by a little bad language and offended by a priest professing to be an atheist, then this is not for you. If you have a problem with absurdity, then this is not for you.

The best things it has going for it are its short runtime, its plot which moves along quickly, and its decision not to conform to type. There are a couple of funny moments and a couple of heartfelt moments, though its quality varies when it leans into the absurd. It likely won't appeal to an American audience because its scenes aren't written to build to a laugh.

There is likely a much better film in there somewhere but it would require a serious rewrite. Almost all of the scenes would need to be funnier and the character relationships and interactions put on more solid footing. Having said this, I liked most of the characters, the acting was solid enough, and I didn't mind the ending.

It is worth a one-time watch but I'd be unlikely to make any effort to watch it again. Could have much been better, could have been far worse! 6/10

Really enjoyed this one. Wasn't expecting much because I didn't know any of the actors but, boy, the dialogues are brilliant. Watched with my gf and we had a great time. Definitely a feel good movie. Highly recommended.

Not to be confused with the michael fox one from 1993. Growng up, mark (robert kazinsky) has always admired connie (samantha barks) from afar. So when she makes moves on him as an adult, he proposes right away. The viewers can see that she's just a gold digger. Mark's housemate can see it. But will mark figure it out in time? It gets a little painful to watch when they are being mean to each other, but oh well. The minister steals the show, with his fussing and cussing. Fun little adventure. On the roku channel. Directed by mark murphy.