Amoureux juste pour l'été

This sweet entertaining tale is better than most lightweight movie romances. The onscreen love match works particularly well because Brant Daugherty (as Jason Humphrey) is quirky, awkward and definitely funny in his pursuit of Hayley Sales (as Pen Campbell), a highly desirable budding author. Formerly a couple in their adolescent years they went their separate ways. One summer though, both coincidentally return to their hometown and meet up again. The charm of the story is compounded by their two mischievous well meaning but meddling grandmothers who match-make at every opportunity. The chemistry between Jason and Pen is believable as it would not be a stretch if they were a couple in real life. Jan and Pen decide to form a pact fooling their grandmas that they are dating to ease the pressure. The run time is perfect, the script is realistic, and the support cast lend credence to the story. It's enjoyable to watch.

A sweet movie with a simple and predictable storyline.

It was just okay. The ending kiss is always a deciding factor as to whether or not the story is good. I expected the leads to be together but I truly didn't feel the spark at the end. It will most likely be just a one time watch for me.

Fake dating plots aren't original but this is funnier than some. Whilst there needs to be a certain amount of awkwardness in this scenario, I think having more natural moments would have increased the rewatchability - I felt the pairing was less convincing at the end and lost a bit of momentum. However, I would like to see a sequel where they are more settled as a couple and helping each other with their creative projects, because that was the best scene. It's quite a big cast with a big age range, so there'd even be potential for a family TV series.

This is a fairly typical romance, which combines a couple of tropes, which I'm not going to discuss because I'm not into spoilers.

Most of what is going on his below the surface, and I liked it, because there is no "other woman" or "other man", which is often introduced to create false conflict. Most of the conflict is internal of the characters. And while a no surprises approach to the plot is used, it's a very pretty film to look at. There are some beautiful scenes of the lake, on the pier. Often just for a few seconds, but quite stunning. The photography is actually very good in this film, and I think a lot of romantic comedies are not respected for their direction and photography, but they are often very well done and really add to the story. This is no exception.