Dating the Delaneys

I love both Rachel Boston and Paul Campbell, they are the best thing about this film. Their banter and silly puns somehow work because of their chemistry and charm.

This is the story of three generations of Delaneys, who are at very different places in their lives...but all are "starting to date". Maggie Delaney is at the heart of this story as a divorcee who is finally ready to dip her toe into the dating pool and her friend Michael Taylor is happy to help her "practice" her dating skills. Maggie's daughter is chasing after a high school boy who doesn't seem interested, while the new kid in her class seems to only have eyes for her. Finally Maggie's mom brings in a surprise for her daughter as she has a new man in her life as well.

Must love corny puns to truly appreciate this romance that is heavy on baking and support.

I watched this movie for the third time the other night and I was impressed. Maybe I'm slow on the uptake. The main two characters took their time and warmed up to one another, gradually. These two are wounded ducks, so to speak, each having lost a spouse and that makes them cautious about love and commitment. Both have children which makes things even more complicated and their slowness in realizing that they are attracted to one another is natural. The puns the two main characters tossed back and forth was at first mildly awkward for me but when you are dating and comfortable you let down your guard and let the real person out. I do recommend this movie but you need to be patient and let it unfold.

Let me say that I love The Hallmark Channel and I really liked the actors in this one.... BUT. The main characters with the exception of the grandmother are completely clueless. I found myself wanting to slap both Maggie and Emma. The amount of atrocious behavior they both put up with from their love interests was just unrealistic. Any normal person would have told these men to bugger off. Hallmark romance movies are typically written to include the big misunderstanding and when there's about 3 minutes left in the movie, it's everyone gets their happily ever after but this one was completely dragged on and just not believable. Michael and John's character were way too tolerant. No man would stick around if the women they're interested in acted this clueless. If I had to sum this movie up in one word, it would be LAME.

Campbell and Boston always are great but the over use of puns made the characters rather ridiculous and one wishing to fast forward through the dialogue, especially the wine tasting event and backyard family BBQ. Loved the restaurant first blind date scene. Now that was good.

8.2 stars.

Two single parents start to practice date each other so they can be prepared for real dating. After a couple of outings, what if one of them hopes for this to be more than practice?

This is another wonderful film that caught me off guard. The title is not the most flattering, but since four out of five Delaneys are dating, it makes sense. There are a lot of really corny puns and dad jokes interspersed throughout, but it makes for decent comedy, fills the gaps, and it's a family movie. It is cringe at times, but it's still fun. To elaborate: the two leads go on several fake dates because they agree they need practice for the real thing. We can see that this gradually becomes more than practice. Classic Hallmark.

After time passes and together they have honed her skills for real dates, we expect her to catch a hint, but she chooses to ignore it. Does she like him for more than a friend, it's difficult to ascertain. I feel it's her subtle way of getting on board with the idea that he could be Mr. Right. She is a real jokester, and this feels like a very secretive scheme on her part, he is the butt of the ultimate joke...but we will never know for sure.

The anticipation is palpable, we are rooting for this to work out, which Hallmark always delivers. This film is a hiatus from the usual formulaic humdrum, a pleasant vacation from the same old construct. There is no critical moment, no temporary falling out, no major misunderstanding or disagreements, no interrupted kiss...this is simply about a woman going on a bunch of meaningless dates, each man being stranger than the last.

On inconsistency that affects the credibility of her character is when she is dating the wine tasting symphony enthusiast. This guy is a total troll of the worst kind and I can't imagine anyone would tolerate his attitude and behavior. He was disgusting, and her reaction was inconceivable. Any normal woman would have doused him with her wine and stormed out.

The side stories were well developed and added so much to this film: the daughter and her crush, the sons with basketball, and fishing, and the ex-husband being a half-hearted lame dad. There is so much depth to this film, it's a must see.