Nous deux, c'était écrit

No butchers, bakers, or candlestickmakers but an earnest small-town bookstore owner who discovers that her beloved store is under threat from corporate property developers. Much like the durability a generic plastic chair, Hallmark's success/ubiquity is undeniably down to their dogmatic adherence to formula. Not always compelling, often anodyne, but modestly appealing if you are in the right mood for sugary, treacle-thick sentiment. The Story of Us is genuinely sweet, with amiable protagonists, agressively small-town charm, and the erstwhile lovers O'Dell Sawyer (Sam Page) and Maggie Lawson's (Jamie Vaughn) inexorable romance feels far less contrived than usual.

For one thing, this story is too much like too many other stories on the same channel. So many plot points are almost an exact copy of others before this.

How can a man even consider shattering the heart of the woman he supposedly loves. Crushing her soul. Destroying her dreams. The movie makes it very clear how much the store means to her. It upsets me that she even considers him if he would do anything to harm her that way. He can't possibly love her if he would do that. OK, I realize that it appears to be career suicide to do otherwise and if that's the way he sees it, then be honest and walk away from her, and he should have realized that long before it came to crisis point.

Maggie Lawson is the only redeeming thing about this movie as a happy and delightful young lady. Sam Page - meh. Not bad, but not the spark of Lawson. The couple who kept dancing around each other made a cute side story. Jacob Richter, as Jamie's ex, Matt, was a total non-entity - no life at all.

I watch Hallmark romantic comedies for one reason: to be whisked away to another world where reality isn't the number one priority. This movie was perfect for me! I love this cast! Maggie and Sam play off each other perfectly. Maggie's comedic sense is so good and Sam had the great sense as to play off our of her perfectly to make it work beautifully and not make her look silly. Yes, predictable storyline. But I don't mind. The set was beautiful aesthetically, love the cast, I can watch without cringing at language or violence, happy ending, and a kiss at 57 minutes after the hour. That's why I watch these movies and this one was perfect!

6.4 stars.

There are a couple good scenes having to do with the romance between the supporting cast. They have the chemistry that our leads could learn a lesson from.

Let's see, we have a chef, a real estate developer, a bookstore owner, bookstore owner's assistant, a parent, the leads parted ways when they went to college, he stayed in the big city, she stayed at home and bought the bookstore, he now works for the big real estate developer and is part of the process of buying out the whole block to replace it with condos and tear down the bookstore and historical buildings. Did I miss anything? "The Story of Us" is just way too cookie cutter to ignore. There is absolutely nothing original in this movie. Even the dialogue is the same, with an absence of extraordinary or unique. The leads are too civil with each other, there is no indication of any previous attraction between them, no flare at all. High school sweethearts, I don't buy it. There is an interrupted kiss which did not belong in the first place, so yay for the interruption.

I'm starting to realize how difficult it must be to produce a really good film. "The Story of Us" could have been great, it's not easy to figure out what exactly makes for the magic in a story. I'm thinking it's in the editing, to be honest. Get the music just perfect with the pacing and change a few lines, intonations and expressions maybe? Good luck.

It's just a copycat film of a dozen other copycat films which copied something way back probably 20 years ago that is rarely aired anymore. At least they were able to produce a near average film with no major mistakes.

Even though it's a "seen it all before" premise and setting, 'The Story of Us' still sounded like if done right it could be quite charming. Originality should never be expected from Hallmark, and while they have done some surprisingly good changes of pace they are generally reliant on one formula with changes in setting. Even when unoriginal though, there are still plenty of Hallmark films that are charming and light-hearted with a nice cast.

'The Story of Us', the second Countdown to Valentines Day film of 2019 after 'Valentine in the Vineyard' (am reviewing the previous two of the Vineyard trilogy before that one), definitely has its plus points and is a watchable effort. It is though also rather hit and miss, with some things working and others not. Basically watchable but with nothing really all that special, and a case of the supporting cast being better than the leads (prefer Maggie Lawson of the two personally, Sam Page varies depending on the material).

Am going to start with the good. 'The Story of Us' looks lovely, Hallmark often delivers on the scenery even in the misfires (and boy were there plenty in 2019) and it is beautiful to watch and quite photogenic. While not the most memorable in the world, the music does fit at least and doesn't feel overused or intrusive, common problems with Hallmark.

Furthermore, 'The Story of Us' does boast some cute and warm-hearted moments and the middle act has a nice light edge. Really liked the supporting cast, Frances Flannagan and Jenny Mitchell are both solid and Marco Grazzini and Zibby Allen are immensely likeable and sparkle together. Their chemistry is a lot more convincing than the leads' and their story is more interesting.

On the other hand, Lawson and Page aren't anywhere as good. Page particularly looks stiff and going through the motions, and really did not like his character and his treatment of Lawson's character to the extent that one questions his love. Lawson has a little more presence but still found her quite dull and the writers did try too hard in getting one to sympathise with her character by making her excessively anxious and forelorn. Their chemistry doesn't gel either, they seemed disconnected and the relationship doesn't develop, neither do the two characters.

Moreover, the script tends to be awkward, any attempts at playfulness comes over as cheesy and contrived, any conflict lacks tension and any dramatic moments don't resonate as there is not enough to invest in. The story is predictability taken to extremes and could have done with more energy and consistent charm. It also could have gotten going quicker and the final act is rushed and too neat. The characters are underdeveloped in general, with the best characters by far being Rick and Lucy. Forgot to say that charisma-free Jacob Richter gives the worst performance.

Concluding, watchable as a one time watch but very mixed here. 5/10.