Love in the Forecast

If anyone needs a meteorology-themed Hallmark movie, check out Cloudy with a Chance of Love. It's funny, has a great cast, and emphasizes the complicated science (!!) involved in weather forecasting.

This movie tried to establish a strong female character with big ambitions and career goals on the horizon. Unfortunately, a weak script and (I hate to say) portrayal on the part of Busby couldn't carry this one off.

I found the characters very annoying and the story boring. The fake rain was funny. I didn't understand why she was so unhappy with her job? Don't all meteorologists get told what to saw by a team of weather specialists? The whole nature is better than science was a bit weird as was how all the men in the town were cast under some sort of spell and kept buying her stuff only for her and the neighbour to eat it all. Also the mom is clearly close to her in age but is wearing a grey wig- so fake! Was there no one else available?

The movie is cute and typical Hallmark fun but the casting of the mom is so far off it's distractingly laughable! She wears an awful grey wig but looks younger than the star! In reality she is only a couple of years older than the woman that plays her daughter. Please. Aren't there some late fifty year olds that can act? Of course there are. Shame on you for miscasting.

Leah (Cindy Busby), who works for a local television station, is a hapless dater. She decides to forego dating to focus on her career and moving out of her parents' house.

She buys half a duplex and discovers an attractive bachelor lives in the other half. Within the constraints of her no-dating policy, they become friends---perhaps more?

The story of this romance feels slapped together; small details seem incongruous. The characters are so cheery they feel unreal, like they are talking sitcom-ese. In short, everything feels staged. It is staged, but it shouldn't feel that way if we are to buy in to their story.

The actors do a fine job with the material they have. The leads, Cindy Busby and Christopher Russell, are likable and worthy of other material that allows them to be more authentic.

Hero teaches heroine to forget the science and to predict the weather by flowers, fish, and stuff like that. It's nice to see an original concept instead of the stereotypical storyline, but this one really backfired. The actress, who is approaching 40, looks too old for the part considering the heroine was just finishing her degree and trying to start a career in meteorology on TV. And as others already pointed out, the heroine and her mother look like sisters and the age difference of only 4 years is really noticeable. I also felt that there was no real chemistry between the leads. But overall, it was watchable, and I liked the music.