Valentine Ever After

I had not read any info about this one when it came on so I was happily surprised by the detour the plot took. An unsure engagement leads 1 new fiancée' to escape with her silly best friend on an adventure. The two gal pals have fun banter and land themselves in silly situations. Certain "souvenir photos" made me laugh. They end up on a ranch and of course there is a Hallmark-esque fundraiser. This has more comedy than most and the two lead actresses are believable friends and funny together. Autumn Reeser is perfect in her role as is Vanessa Matsui. Autumn's character has her choice of two very different men and definitely makes the right decision, of course. I enjoyed watching their sweet romance develop and the beautiful scenery.

There is a lot of humor in this Hallmark formulaic movie. What sets it apart are the supporting characters; I wanted more of them and less if the leads.

I'm a big Autumn Reeser fan and this was a nice change of character. Usually she plays charming, lovestruck roles but this was a truly comedic role for the most part. Her facial expressions during the various snafus are funny without even speaking. That's good acting when you can express an emotion to the audience without words. I admit the plot is pretty contrived and when the movie moves from comedy to serious romance in the second half it kind of loses something. Her sidekick in crime is also appealing and has a flair for comedy too.

This is a film you have to have staying power for.

For the first 30 mins or so it does tend to try and coast off of Autumn Reeser's warm personality and easy comic timing, with the plot being a bit clunky under her boots.

It does grow into itself though, and proves ultimately to be good fun.

The male lead is earnest enough, but this is Reeser's show, and she carries things well.

All in all, it's proves to be good fun.

This is certainly my favorite Hallmark movie. All of the actors are good in this one, especially the leads. Eric Johnson is a hunky cowboy and Autumn Reeser plays a girl with a brain and a heart. The scenery is gorgeous and the love story is not contrived like many. One scene between Julia and her fiancé seems ad libbed and a little awkward, but that is a minor flaw. I have seen both of these actors in other movies, and liked their performances, but they are just plain excellent in these roles. When Ben rides up on his horse to greet the stranded girls, he is a cowboy.

I watch a lot of Hallmark movies, but I watch this one over and over.