The Story of Us

No butchers, bakers, or candlestickmakers but an earnest small-town bookstore owner who discovers that her beloved store is under threat from corporate property developers. Much like the durability a generic plastic chair, Hallmark's success/ubiquity is undeniably down to their dogmatic adherence to formula. Not always compelling, often anodyne, but modestly appealing if you are in the right mood for sugary, treacle-thick sentiment. The Story of Us is genuinely sweet, with amiable protagonists, agressively small-town charm, and the erstwhile lovers O'Dell Sawyer (Sam Page) and Maggie Lawson's (Jamie Vaughn) inexorable romance feels far less contrived than usual.

Even though it's a "seen it all before" premise and setting, 'The Story of Us' still sounded like if done right it could be quite charming. Originality should never be expected from Hallmark, and while they have done some surprisingly good changes of pace they are generally reliant on one formula with changes in setting. Even when unoriginal though, there are still plenty of Hallmark films that are charming and light-hearted with a nice cast.

'The Story of Us', the second Countdown to Valentines Day film of 2019 after 'Valentine in the Vineyard' (am reviewing the previous two of the Vineyard trilogy before that one), definitely has its plus points and is a watchable effort. It is though also rather hit and miss, with some things working and others not. Basically watchable but with nothing really all that special, and a case of the supporting cast being better than the leads (prefer Maggie Lawson of the two personally, Sam Page varies depending on the material).

Am going to start with the good. 'The Story of Us' looks lovely, Hallmark often delivers on the scenery even in the misfires (and boy were there plenty in 2019) and it is beautiful to watch and quite photogenic. While not the most memorable in the world, the music does fit at least and doesn't feel overused or intrusive, common problems with Hallmark.

Furthermore, 'The Story of Us' does boast some cute and warm-hearted moments and the middle act has a nice light edge. Really liked the supporting cast, Frances Flannagan and Jenny Mitchell are both solid and Marco Grazzini and Zibby Allen are immensely likeable and sparkle together. Their chemistry is a lot more convincing than the leads' and their story is more interesting.

On the other hand, Lawson and Page aren't anywhere as good. Page particularly looks stiff and going through the motions, and really did not like his character and his treatment of Lawson's character to the extent that one questions his love. Lawson has a little more presence but still found her quite dull and the writers did try too hard in getting one to sympathise with her character by making her excessively anxious and forelorn. Their chemistry doesn't gel either, they seemed disconnected and the relationship doesn't develop, neither do the two characters.

Moreover, the script tends to be awkward, any attempts at playfulness comes over as cheesy and contrived, any conflict lacks tension and any dramatic moments don't resonate as there is not enough to invest in. The story is predictability taken to extremes and could have done with more energy and consistent charm. It also could have gotten going quicker and the final act is rushed and too neat. The characters are underdeveloped in general, with the best characters by far being Rick and Lucy. Forgot to say that charisma-free Jacob Richter gives the worst performance.

Concluding, watchable as a one time watch but very mixed here. 5/10.

I LOVE this movie! It's truly one of the best Hallmark movies out there thanks to the cast! and the main couple are both amazing actors and yes I could see the end from a mile long, and their chemistry is questionable but it was still a beautiful movie! and for a bookworm like myself, the book store "True Love" is a dream! Loved every second of watching this movie!

For one thing, this story is too much like too many other stories on the same channel. So many plot points are almost an exact copy of others before this.

How can a man even consider shattering the heart of the woman he supposedly loves. Crushing her soul. Destroying her dreams. The movie makes it very clear how much the store means to her. It upsets me that she even considers him if he would do anything to harm her that way. He can't possibly love her if he would do that. OK, I realize that it appears to be career suicide to do otherwise and if that's the way he sees it, then be honest and walk away from her, and he should have realized that long before it came to crisis point.

Maggie Lawson is the only redeeming thing about this movie as a happy and delightful young lady. Sam Page - meh. Not bad, but not the spark of Lawson. The couple who kept dancing around each other made a cute side story. Jacob Richter, as Jamie's ex, Matt, was a total non-entity - no life at all.

Jamie Vaughn (Maggie Lawson) runs a small bookstore in Waterford. Her store and the business district is threatened with redevelopment. The developer sends in architect Sawyer O'Dell (Sam Page) who came from the town. He also happens to be Jamie's former love.

This is a standard Hallmark romance movie. The premise is standard. The romance is standard. The problem is the limited heat in the relationship. They should try harder to be enemies for at least the first half of the movie. They need to heat up the connection with more combustible fuel. The second half would be Sawyer's redemption arc. I thought that the development would be the perfect vehicle for their fighting. The movie has the standard Hallmark light touch and that is its major flaw. It keeps the connection at a low simmer until the flame goes out for good. The love triangle comes too late to generate any spark. Jamie is better off dumping both guys. The secondary romance has more heat.