Snapshot of Love

I love a good romance and when I saw this one I thought 1. It has a number of great actors 2. The plot is good 3. Of course with any hallmark movie we all know it has a happy ending but that is what I am looking for when I watch a movie like this, I like for my mind to be taken away from reality and into a story that is written well, acted well and produced well and that is what I found with this movie and the scenery was gorgeous as well. I liked the fact that there wasn't just one main romantic couple in this movie and of course there is also a little bit of drama that of course it rectified!

This is not an original storyline but it is the best version I've come across. So many of the decisions regarding work, family, relationships etc are totally understandable and trying to get your head around things not working out is definitely the norm for many. There's nothing nasty, just one sneaky person who causes a bump or two, but they too are just trying to get adjusted. Obviously there is a bit of tension in the plot in order to have a story, but most of the time it is really relaxing, especially for a wedding-themed movie. The characters aren't desperate to be coupled up by a certain age, so it is more watchable for middle-aged ... and potential retirees, as this is covered too. There's no children, but this is an all-age friendly movie about the work/life balance.

The network I watched this on and the production company that produced it can both be hot and cold, so when I chose between two Saturday night rom/coms, the Hallmark movie won. And it had one of the worst premises I have ever seen so I was done in 15 minutes and switched to my recording of this movie.

The story is fairly common where it revolves around the week before a wedding with some leisure and some planning. Shane is a huge movie star. Jessie was once a top photographer but left the rat race behind with a vengeance. She has some aspects of her personality that are borderline irresponsible. She might be mistaken for a slacker, but she keeps coming through.

I'm not a fan of when the leads meet and one or both tears into the other. This movie had a brief moment where the big movie star said leave me alone, but they quickly cleared up the misunderstanding. I liked it.

The conflict is done a little differently than you might expect in a couple of different ways. And unlike a lot of rom/coms that blow something totally out of proportion, in this movie it makes sense why one of them is so upset. In this genre you know there has to be a reconciliation, but this obstacle was almost too much to overcome.

Natalie Dreyfuss and Anthony Konechny have good chemistry. A lot of screen time early is spent with them getting to know each other. The banter is good.

BTW - this movie gets a D-, almost an F, in my pet peeve, size of text messages.

A sweet and gentle film, visually gorgeous settings, locations, interiors and clothes.

But a warning on the music: viewers will hear and see the famous and much-loved minuet from Boccherini's string quintet (Opus 11 No.5), apparently miraculously performed by just four players instead of the necessary five, both at rehearsal and in performance. (This is the unspoken joke for the audience in the old movie The Ladykillers, where neither the incompetent criminals nor their adorable landlady realise that they are rehearsing a quintet upstairs having brought in only four instruments).

Back to this movie: next, a second violin and a viola can also apparently share a desk and sheet-music, despite their music being written in different clefs.

Thirdly, all of them - still only four players - can apparently read their string quintet music from a printed sheet of piano music.

And at the end, I'm still left wondering where that second cello needed for the quintet has disappeared to...

Apart from these hilarious musical howlers, it's a delightful film.

This is actually rare Reel One Entertainment TV movie which is technically done very well which means they can be properly done, but most of time they aren't - they always have to screw something. Maybe there was a bit of more stock footage then it should, but that would be it. Audio quality was good and soundtrack was on the mark.

Natalie Dreyfuss was good again, but so was the whole cast. Writing and directing were pretty good, too.

The only reason why I didn't rated this movie as above average (7*) are the following two things: 1) Jessie's prehistoric Ford F-100 truck was over the top.

2) Fake location. No, it wasn't shot in California no matter how many times they said and showed stock footage. If you watched other ROE TV movies, you will recognize Kelowna, BC, Canada because so many other movies was shot there, and it just ruins immersion. It's the same stupid thing they copy from Hallmark, but to be honest Hallmark is way worse in that department. I can understand shooting in BC, and pretending to be WA or OR, but CA is just way too much.

And don't watch trailer if you plan to watch the movie as with every other ROE TV movie, it shows everything!