The Awakening

I happen to like some of these Harlequin movies. Don't ask me why, I just do.

"The Awakening" is a 1995 TV movie that stars Cynthia Gibb and David Beecroft. Wide-eyed Gibb is very much the gamine as Sara, with a straight, short haircut and big bunny slippers as she runs around the home her parents left her trying to figure out how to keep the bank from taking it. Then a bounty hunter, Flynn, (Beecroft) comes along looking for her tenant, who seems to have gone. Sara ends up going with him on his search and gets a physical and emotional makeover along the way.

It's so great to see Beecroft, whom I enjoyed so much on Falcon Crest many years ago. He's very sexy and good in the role of a man afraid of intimacy who falls for Sara. Cynthia Gibb has a tour de force role - she's a plain Jane in the beginning, a young woman who's stifled all of her spirit due to overprotection by her parents. Working with Flynn, she's required to dress better, look better, and she's inspired to take on different roles. She's terrific, a very likable actress, and the two are great together.

You take a chance with Harlequin movies, but the good ones are fantasies and a lot of fun. Every once a while, it's nice to see an old-fashioned light romance with no special effects, no hidden meanings, no wormholes, and no violence. It's a nice break.

OK, so it's Good Friday, I'm sitting down with a coffee and wanting to chill in front of the TV. I switch on, and catch the opening credits of the movie. No idea what it is, but decide to give it a try. Suddenly there's this babe, dressed in work gear and dragging screens about. So I stay for a while longer. The movie begins to degenerate into a predictably tame *quote* thriller *unquote* that goes nowhere, but the real story is the girl. Sure, we know she's really a live one, and we know that in the end her and the guy will end up together, but really, who cares? The chance to see the girl unfold and grow is what the movie is all about. And to be honest, it's been done a lot better, and often. So? I didn't have anything else to do for an hour and a half, so that's OK.

Average performances, given the less than average script. If you've nothing else to do, try it.

This is a Harlequin romance. That tells you most of what you need to know to decide if you want to watch it or not.

What I liked about it was the chemistry and one VERY entertaining scene (at least, it made me laugh out loud) about halfway through where one makes a pass at the other and... gets a response bearing absolutely NO resemblance to anything they (or I) were expecting. I won't spoil it, but it contains the line "It's not nice...". Well played, movie. Well played.

Aside from that little nugget, the rest of the movie contains few surprises, but is watchable. There are occasional moments of chemistry and decent acting, as well as some campy moments which mostly work, at least if you aren't stringent in your demands from such. Occasional eye-roll-worthy bits didn't stop me from liking the movie enough to mildly recommend it. Just don't expect the moon.

It amazes me that people watch a movie titled "Harlequin's The Awakening" and then complain about it being a romance. It takes all kinds, I guess.

One thing that may be missed at first is that this movie is actually intended as a comedy as well as a romance with a few thriller elements at the very end. But basically, it's a romantic comedy. The first time watching it, the comic elements can be a little annoying because they are of the oops! variety.

The star and chief reason for seeing this movie is Cynthia Geary. Not just because she is beautiful--who isn't in a romance movie--but because of her enormous appeal. It's a shame that this appears to have been her only starring role. So, see it for her if for nothing else. (But not if you're expecting Citizen Kane or anything of that sort.)

It starts out as a cute endearing small town drama, but soon degenerates into cheesy romance novel territory, with the mundane small town woman being whisked away on a wild adventure by her mysterious handsome stranger. It's worth watching though, even if only for the hilarity of our hero delivering the ridiculous line "when I see white (picket) fences I want to burn them down", in a seductive whisper.