A Ring by Spring

They took the beginning scene from Legally Blonde and dumped it into a Hallmark movie about a girl who gets a ridiculous future reading from a fortune teller at a fundraiser. Some of the characters even resemble those in Legally Blonde (see the bowling scenes)!

Rachel Boston's character goes through a journey -- not just of falling for the right guy, but of figuring herself out. In the beginning, she's not annoyingly cynical. Getting married is always what she wanted in her vague future. But this winter, she's jolted with a wakeup call. This sends her on a quest to discover why she's failed at relationships, and what she really wants and doesn't want for her future. Throughout the film, she has a progression of learning lesson after leason, growing more and more wise. She is being molded into a girl who's ready for her happier future. The music in the final scene is very sweet.

I would rate most Hallmark movies around a 5 out of 10, but this one is just plain better than the norm. Rachel Boston is the main reason why. She is charming, delightful, and easy to relate to. Her exploration of past romantic failures is not always exciting, but it is an interesting concept. There is a realism to it that I quite like, even if I had to strain a bit to believe that her character would have struggled so much.

It's not a perfect movie (it suffers from the same Hallmark-mandated plot requirements), but I do recommend it because it packs an effective emotional punch.

If one word could describe this movie it is "cute". The star (Rachel Boston) is cute. Her co-stars are cute. The actors playing her parents are cute. The plot is cute. Stefanie Powers isn't "cute"; she surpasses mere cuteness and moves into a realm of glamor that is all her own.

Boston plays a successful business consultant who has never been particularly interested in being married. She receives a reading from an exotic medium (Powers) who tells her, "You will receive a ring by spring...or you will never marry." This followed by a break-up with her long-term boyfriend starts her on a voyage of self-discovery that is perplexedly observed by her friends, her parents, her ex-boyfriends and Tom, the good-natured CEO of the company she is currently working for.

Boston is charming as the young woman entertaining questions of romantic destiny and Powers' small but pivotal role as the mysterious Madame Rue rounds out the attractive cast. Really, it's a slight film but perfectly entertaining.

I thought this was great.

A really fun and funny Hallmark film, with Rachel Boston (who has a little few Emma Stone comedic similarities about her) in the lead.

With some lovely messages about finding the right person, not just the person you think you should be with, this was great.