Coup de foudre au Plaza

A beautiful postcard of New York. The thing I enjoyed most was being able to watch this with my whole family and not cringe waiting for a stupid toilet humor joke to appear. It never did. My teenagers liked it too. My son for Natasha Henstridge and my daughter for Michael Vartan. My wife and I commented that we could not remember the last time we could sit with the kids and ALL enjoy something. This film told a story that felt comfortable but not old or done. The ending came with a twist which we all liked too. If you are not just a cynical person and have are willing to let a story unfold then this is for you. As a guy it takes a lot to hold my interest when it comes to romantic movies and this one did. I recommend it and we need more of these films to watch.

I just can't understand the negative comments about this film. Yes it is a typical boy-meets-girl romance but it is done with such flair and polish that the time just flies by. Henstridge (talk about winning the gene-pool lottery!) is as magnetic and alluring as ever (who says the golden age of cinema is dead?) and Vartan holds his own.

There is simmering chemistry between the two leads; the film is most alive when they share a scene - lots! It is done so well that you find yourself willing them to get together...

Ignore the negative comments - if you are feeling a bit blue, watch this flick, you will feel so much better. If you are already happy, then you will be euphoric.

(PS: I am 33, Male, from the UK and a hopeless romantic still searching for his Princess...)

Anna is a teacher who is in the big city to register at a large department store for her approaching wedding. Charlie, a writer, is there for the same reason. Their partners, it seems, have very busy lives and have left it to Anna and Charlie to deal with the mundane tasks of their engagements. It happens that Anna and Charlie meet at the store and strike up a conversation. When they run into each other later at a restaurant, they decide to share a meal. It appears a friendship is blossoming. Throughout a week, they will meet several times. Is the "just friends" routine becoming something else? This is nice, dignified story about two adults who go down a road that each of them did not expect to travel on. Engaged to others, they share a mutual attraction but make it clear that promises to their partners are very important to them. This makes the demise uncertain. Henstridge and Vartan are very elegant and attractive people who convey their mixed-up feelings effortlessly. The costumes and sets are alluring, too. If you would like to try an adult love story with scruples and gentle humor, for a change, this one is quite lovely.

Rom-coms are notoriously hard to get right, when one such genre piece is all but a direct to DVD offering it really doesn't bode well for a good film. It Had To Be You isn't a great film, but it's the sort of sweet and harmless piece that fills a time slot when you are stuck for a viewing one afternoon.

Natasha Henstridge {Anna} and Michael Vartan {Charlie} play two pretty people, who are soon to be married to other people, who get to know each other in the course of planning their respective weddings in the Big Apple. Cue pretty people clearly meant to be together unable to do so out of loyalty to their respective, and clearly wrong for them, intended aisle walking partners. Cue best friends involved, gags and set ups come and go and the ending is never really in doubt. There's even time for some demon exorcising thrown in for added emotional impact.

If that sounds cheekily simple in summary? Then that's because it's befitting the film. It's a simple tale that's been told many times before, both better and worse than this. Vartan and Nat fail to generate much chemistry yet remain charming throughout, and the comedy is good enough to raise a smile or two. Particularly from Michael Rispoli & Olivia d'Abo as the couple's best friends. It's decently shot and unobtrusively directed, while that obvious ending still has the ability to warm the cockles of even the coldest of hearts. Should have been better for sure, but by no means a time waster in the basic sense of the saying. 5.5/10

It was a happy accident to stumble across this movie while channel surfing. The New York setting (a very effective use of locations not always used in the movies) got me, and the characters held on to me. It was a sort of formulaic plot, but that didn't matter so much, as it was a film with people that you could like and emphasize with.

Having been familiar with Natasha Henstridge only with her Science Fiction and TV roles, it was a major revelation to see her in a gentle, likable part. I hope that she gets other roles like this.