Coup de foudre et petits arrangements

Another forgettable rom-com, this one filmed in Australia. It was filmed around Brisbane, Australia which is beautiful and that's about the best thing I can say. The script is another cliched mess, not very well written. Rhiannon Fish overacts in everything I've seen her in, she's beautiful but can't act. When producers cast a bad actor in a lead role it brings down the production. Don't know where the director was, probably directing remotely or asleep. Erin Connor and Steve Nation are the best of the rest of the cast. Renee Herbert's acting is natural, O'Halloran and Colley are just ok. Not Hallmark quality.

A 2022 Australian made rom-com "A Perfect Pairing" is much better.

Renee Herbert stole every scene she was in. She was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise sometimes awkward story.

The story line is your typical fake relationship that grows into a real one, with the ever present miscommunication and misunderstanding right before they realize they belong together.

It's not the acting I have an issue with, it's the stale plot lines that keep getting regurgitated on The Hallmark Channel and other channels that are simply cookie cutters of the same thing. It would be nice if someone could come up with something new. Perhaps look at the Pride community more and leave the boring same ole in the past.

One more take on the "fake boyfriend" scheme. Rhiannon Fish plays Rory who, with her dorky-adorable sister Cleo, joins their parents, in a renewal of their vows at the very B&B where they fell in love. This is, definitely, not one of Rhiannon's better performances. There, she unexpectedly finds her ex and his new love interest, and becomes unglued. Impulsively, she convinces the B&B owner, Noah, played by James William O'Halloran, to pose as her new boyfriend. The rest of the plot develops along predictable lines. At first, Noah appears almost like a hapless klutz. Yet, he soon proves to have appreciable human dimensions and turns out to be a real "prince". Rory's family are very warm and pleasant people with captivating qualities. The problem with the show is Rory's character. Her embarrassment and discomfort are so enormously overplayed that she appears childish, emotionally disturbed, if not semi-hysterical for a good half of the movie. Honestly, I felt uncomfortable, just watching it all. Happily, she tones down in the second half. From there, the movie offers some sweet moments and glimpses of family values and sensible romance, as one would have expected. While this may reassure that a usually endearing actress has not totally lost it, it is not enough to completely salvage the production.

Awkward.

Unrealistic.

Cringeworthy.

At least at the beginning.

But then there is some fun banter and some nice getting to know you moments between the two leads. And the Lily Lake B&B is located in a lovely setting near some beautiful waterfalls cleverly known as "The Falls". The movie also uses a lot of split screens in a way I found to be (mostly) effective. And the background music is quite good.

Still, a B&B with no WiFi?

No TVs in the rooms?

A front desk with no computer?

A front desk person who goes into another room, puts on headphones, and dances obliviously right when guests are expected to be checking in at 4pm?

Rhiannon Fish is not for everyone, but I enjoyed her in this movie and in the recent A Picture of Her. She's quirky, fun, spirited and engaging. And a little silly. And she looked great in this movie, especially in that white hat. Unfortunately, I didn't like how her role was written in the scenes involving her ex, Jason, who dumped her back in NYC, but just happened to be checking into the same B&B where Rory and her family were staying. I would have preferred it if her character had been written with more of a backbone.

James Williams O'Halloran was solid as Noah. Frankie Savige was savage as Rory's heartless boss Melody. Erin Connor had some lovely moments playing Rory's mother, and Renee Herbert was sweet and enthusiastic as Rory's sister Cleo.

Bottom line, it was worth watching.

"You'll look back one day and you'll realize that all the little things, they add up to be the big things in life. And that makes every moment so much more precious."

"There are two moments in life, those you miss and those you seize."

The beginning of this film is just plain awkward and hard to watch...thanks in large part to it's lead actress Rhiannon Fish, but as the film goes on if you stick with it...it settles down into a decent Hallmark Romance with some good getting to know you moments and an excellent male lead James William O'Halloran. In addition to the very awkward beginning there is also the miss cast ex-boyfriend played by Callahan Colley who doesn't seem age appropriate for our lead.

This tells the story of a jr pr executive who end up doing pr for a small bed and breakfast owner in exchange for him playing her fake boyfriend for her parent's vow renewal. The message is slow down and don't miss out on the important moments.

"There are two kind of moments in life, those you miss and those you seize."

Romantics will enjoy this film if they can get over the initial awkwardness. The lead is not only handsome but really help pull this film together.