When Love Springs

Rhiannon Fish's Rory is a contradiction but I think that is the point. On the one hand she can be a confident mover and shaker, but on the other hand she panics easily. And yes, the scene where she falls apart in front of her ex is definitely cringeworthy. It was way overplayed. Was it supposed to be funny? I might have been tempted to laugh if I hadn't been shuddering over the stupidity of it. I suspect some viewers were laughing at how bad it was. All of that to set up the fake boyfriend act. Fish continues for just a bit longer to spew out a combination of blabber and good advice while she sounds like a voice recording played at double speed. Good luck to Noah trying to figure out which is which. Actually Noah is quick to figure Rory out. He is also a bit of a contradiction where he sees through Rory's facade yet also has insecurities over his position as innkeeper.

If the fake boyfriend isn't enough of a cloud hanging over Rory's peace of mind, we quickly get a hint of another pitfall looming for her down the road.

It was seeing Rhiannon Fish's name in the credits that attracted me to this movie, so I have seen a few of her efforts on Hallmark. This may be the worst of those in terms of acting, or rather it is for almost half the movie. This part of the movie seems completely unnatural for her. Rory's hyperactivity softens a little toward the middle, especially her rate of speaking. The story settles down also as we watch the couple bond. While Act 1 was a silly disaster, Act 2 and beyond is more like a typical Hallmark movie. Both story and acting.

The common stories about one lead being jilted by a selfish ex often have her acting in desperation in the middle of starting something new with someone worthwhile, as is the case here.

Up to a point near the middle I was thinking to myself how unfortunate was Fish's appearance. With her hair up and the professional attire, even outdoors, Rory was almost austere. I knew Fish had a softer, more appealing side to her. Either by accident, or more likely by intention, the director changes all that suddenly. The transformation of Rory, both visually and emotionally, has taken place.

The evil boss pops up and echoes back to cringeworthy Act 1. Once again, overdone. Her scene in itself is important to the story, the problem is the overacting.

Well all stories have a conflict or obstacle. Three things come together to bring that about, one coming out of one of the others. Rory's insecurity temporarily blinds her to the obvious and it makes sense for the Rory we have come to know.

Once you get past Act 1, this movie fits right into the genre and is well done. If Act 1 had been toned down, this could be a very watchable movie. Even with that, the viewers can grit their teeth and persevere. Deduct 1 to 2 stars for the beginning.

One more take on the "fake boyfriend" scheme. Rhiannon Fish plays Rory who, with her dorky-adorable sister Cleo, joins their parents, in a renewal of their vows at the very B&B where they fell in love. This is, definitely, not one of Rhiannon's better performances. There, she unexpectedly finds her ex and his new love interest, and becomes unglued. Impulsively, she convinces the B&B owner, Noah, played by James William O'Halloran, to pose as her new boyfriend. The rest of the plot develops along predictable lines. At first, Noah appears almost like a hapless klutz. Yet, he soon proves to have appreciable human dimensions and turns out to be a real "prince". Rory's family are very warm and pleasant people with captivating qualities. The problem with the show is Rory's character. Her embarrassment and discomfort are so enormously overplayed that she appears childish, emotionally disturbed, if not semi-hysterical for a good half of the movie. Honestly, I felt uncomfortable, just watching it all. Happily, she tones down in the second half. From there, the movie offers some sweet moments and glimpses of family values and sensible romance, as one would have expected. While this may reassure that a usually endearing actress has not totally lost it, it is not enough to completely salvage the production.

They went way too heavy on the goofy cornball jokes in the opening 20 minutes. It was a struggle to get through it. I would describe the lead character as preposterous, immature, quirky, unrealistic, and annoying. It's hard to get into a movie when the lead is so over the top.

Even the flirting is cringeworthy. I feel like I'm watching a Saturday Night Live skit -- and not a particularly funny one either.

Maybe the movie gets better after the first half hour, but I just couldn't take it past that point myself. I really hope Hallmark gives up on this sillier side of their usual genre of movies.

I almost turned this off a few times through the first half hour. Ms Fish, lead actor, so completely over-played the goofy, ditzy role that I thought 'I can't sit through an hour and a half of this'. Cringey is putting it mildly. Luckily, she toned it down a bit as the film went on. I liked the male lead, James O'Halloran; very handsome and likeable. Renee Herbert plays the sister, and I really liked her. She played the part very naturally, I'd like to see more of her. The parents were played by actors who were also very natural and believeable. The plot itself is the same re-tread theme, right down to the evil boss and pretentious B & B travel critic (who says 'splendid'?!). Nothing new here at all.

Awkward.

Unrealistic.

Cringeworthy.

At least at the beginning.

But then there is some fun banter and some nice getting to know you moments between the two leads. And the Lily Lake B&B is located in a lovely setting near some beautiful waterfalls cleverly known as "The Falls". The movie also uses a lot of split screens in a way I found to be (mostly) effective. And the background music is quite good.

Still, a B&B with no WiFi?

No TVs in the rooms?

A front desk with no computer?

A front desk person who goes into another room, puts on headphones, and dances obliviously right when guests are expected to be checking in at 4pm?

Rhiannon Fish is not for everyone, but I enjoyed her in this movie and in the recent A Picture of Her. She's quirky, fun, spirited and engaging. And a little silly. And she looked great in this movie, especially in that white hat. Unfortunately, I didn't like how her role was written in the scenes involving her ex, Jason, who dumped her back in NYC, but just happened to be checking into the same B&B where Rory and her family were staying. I would have preferred it if her character had been written with more of a backbone.

James Williams O'Halloran was solid as Noah. Frankie Savige was savage as Rory's heartless boss Melody. Erin Connor had some lovely moments playing Rory's mother, and Renee Herbert was sweet and enthusiastic as Rory's sister Cleo.

Bottom line, it was worth watching.

"You'll look back one day and you'll realize that all the little things, they add up to be the big things in life. And that makes every moment so much more precious."

"There are two moments in life, those you miss and those you seize."