The Story of Us

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.

6.4 stars.

There are a couple good scenes having to do with the romance between the supporting cast. They have the chemistry that our leads could learn a lesson from.

Let's see, we have a chef, a real estate developer, a bookstore owner, bookstore owner's assistant, a parent, the leads parted ways when they went to college, he stayed in the big city, she stayed at home and bought the bookstore, he now works for the big real estate developer and is part of the process of buying out the whole block to replace it with condos and tear down the bookstore and historical buildings. Did I miss anything? "The Story of Us" is just way too cookie cutter to ignore. There is absolutely nothing original in this movie. Even the dialogue is the same, with an absence of extraordinary or unique. The leads are too civil with each other, there is no indication of any previous attraction between them, no flare at all. High school sweethearts, I don't buy it. There is an interrupted kiss which did not belong in the first place, so yay for the interruption.

I'm starting to realize how difficult it must be to produce a really good film. "The Story of Us" could have been great, it's not easy to figure out what exactly makes for the magic in a story. I'm thinking it's in the editing, to be honest. Get the music just perfect with the pacing and change a few lines, intonations and expressions maybe? Good luck.

It's just a copycat film of a dozen other copycat films which copied something way back probably 20 years ago that is rarely aired anymore. At least they were able to produce a near average film with no major mistakes.

I watch Hallmark romantic comedies for one reason: to be whisked away to another world where reality isn't the number one priority. This movie was perfect for me! I love this cast! Maggie and Sam play off each other perfectly. Maggie's comedic sense is so good and Sam had the great sense as to play off our of her perfectly to make it work beautifully and not make her look silly. Yes, predictable storyline. But I don't mind. The set was beautiful aesthetically, love the cast, I can watch without cringing at language or violence, happy ending, and a kiss at 57 minutes after the hour. That's why I watch these movies and this one was perfect!

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.

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.