Love & Jane

With a different female lead, I might have really liked this for a Hallmark 'film'...I was particularly impressed when the classic Hallmark telltale sign that the final scene has arrived and you just know the credits will roll immediately...passed right by and the story continued, to provide a proper conclusion. Vaguely better writing with this Austen outing, and the odd fantasy elements meshed well with the book club, fan obsessed background. The fantasy element also consistently helped drive the plot along; Jane pushed the lead to make better choices in her life. Who wouldn't want Jane around to help us do that?

I'm pretty sure I've been a fan of Alison Sweeney in my younger years, on Days, but she's stilted and awkward throughout, and it is beyond distracting. She's not the ONLY poor actress (the "Jane" actress seems to be putting on a British accent - couldn't they find a Brit for the role? Otherwise, her acting is fine) in the cast, but as the lead, it's egregious. There were only a few moments of authenticity with her, like the popcorn fight with Jane. The bookseller's initial business idea was poorly conceived, to the point that nobody got it, but unlike others, I loved the sexy lead actor with the gravelly voice - or grew to love him, as we're meant to. Mr. Whitcomb was delightful! The Punjabi coworker/friend was good, too - both her acting skills and realistic subplot elevated the film's overall level and I wouldn't be surprised to see her in non-Hallmark fare. That is to say, there were a few bright spots, even among the actors, but the casting was...inconsistent.

I love Jane Austen, I love romcoms, even Hallmark predictable ones, but this one was too boring to enjoy. While the original idea was interesting and promising, the execution was poorly made.

The main character was acting too childish for a person in their 40s. Like, I might expect that self-centered, daydreaming behaviour from someone in their 20s, maybe early 30s, but when you're a full grown up person, being arrogant and judgemental is not cute or funny. All the quirkiness seemed just cringeworthy. They "work" story is also not clear since it seemed like much fuss with the questionable result but it's normal for Hallmark people to have jobs where they don't understand what they're doing.

I feel like "Jane" character brought pretty much nothing to the plot. She was just there, but didn't inspire or do anything.

As for the chemistry - there was little of it. Probably because the characters had at most only one conversation longer than 5 minutes. The main guy tried to make the spark, but it was too difficult because the leading lady just treated him so badly every time. Still he was after her like a wet puppy. I see that they tried to make him the Darcy-esque figure, but it was probably better in paper.

Also, what is wrong with the Americans that tend to shorten everything, saying "P&P", "Pride", "Sense" etc instead of actual book names.

There have been other stories where one of the leads sees and talks to a ghost, but this story is a bit different. This story is quirky. The flow is convoluted at times. But most of all it is filled with words and quotes and hero worship. I also assume there are general references to Jane Austen without quoting, but I am no expert on Austen. At times the story is nonsensical beyond the ghost, but I think it is meant to be. I never understood what Trevor was trying to do with the bookstore.

Regarding the flow, one example is how in the middle of Lilly's story, her struggles with the presentation, her book, and her relationship, everything pauses while she plays matchmaker to her best friend. Complete pause. Everything focuses on that. And then Lilly's story is back. Other movies have a subplot like that, but the complete pause for it was distracting.

Alison Sweeney and Ben Ayers had some chemistry. It is surprising that came through because they had so little screen time together given everything else going on.

I didn't like Lilly's character, but I suspect Austen fans might find her perfect. She lives in the clouds, not to mention has a relationship with a woman dead 206 years. (Not sure of the significance of the "just 206" line.) She worships Austen like some god. Austen's wisdom trumps all logic.

Some of the acting other than Sweeney and Ayers is not good, but perhaps the overacting is intentional. There is some dialogue that many will find witty. At least the Trevor's investment idea at the end got a laugh out me.

Two more weeks of Lovuary and Jane Austen stories on Hallmark.

The first time I watched this I thought it was a little choppy, I wasn't disappointed as much as not as satisfied as I thought I would be with a Hallmark Love-uary 2024 Austen inspired film starring Allison Sweeney, who I love, and Benjamin Ayers.

When I watched it the second time, I appreciated it much more...and I want to unpack that a little bit.

During my second viewing I wasn't distracted by thoughts of 'where is this story going?', because I already knew and it allowed me the freedom to appreciate all of the great classic literature quotes (not just Austen) and the references or imitation of Austen like a marriage obsessed mom who has multiple daughters and the matchmaking that Lilly does that is very Emma-esque. I also had more time to appreciate the quirky tech savvy male lead Trevor Fitzsimmons, played by Benjamin Ayers. He may be one of those socially awkward tech geniuses, often lost in their own thoughts and minds...I really appreciated that he was still well read, and how books have special meaning for him thanks to his librarian mother. This gave him a great interconnection with Allison Sweeney's Lilly. I also liked the discussion around change, that people have the ability to change...and like the lesson of Persuasion sometimes deserve a second chance.

The story itself is about Lily, who works for an advertising firm, and is the president of a Jane Austen book club. Seven years ago she won a literary award, but hasn't capitalized on her talent. One night she wishes she could ask Jane Austen herself for help and then she appears.

There is a whole subplot about confidence, which I appreciate but am not sure it was as fully fleshed out as they think it was.

I think this is still a recommendation from me to fellow romantics and fans of Jane Austen, but like me you might have to give it more than one viewing. I will say that my favorite character was the truck driver Barry, who was enjoying Austen on his longhauls via audiobooks!

I can't describe it any better really. It's just really strange.

I've seen these actors in other movies and I actually quite like them but there is no chemistry here. So that part of the romance movie gets scratched.

The story is imaginative, which I don't mind, but it doesn't work. I don't actually know why, I've seen this concept of someone seeing a ghost who acts as a life coach before but it doesn't work in this movie. It's distracting in a way. This is one of those concepts that you either leave untouched or you pull it off, otherwise it just makes the whole movie weird.

I feel like the relationship development between the two leads is lacking. For whatever reason, it felt dry. I didn't get the impression that they actually grew closer together on a personal level. They just "ran into each other" a bunch of times and started to be nice and civil towards each other. This makes the ending awkward. We all know how these movies end, it's a requirement for the genre, and therefore, the romantic storyline that came before has to at least work a little bit in terms of romance. They missed that boat with this movie because the romantic relationship between the leads is so dry.

In short, it's rare for me to say to skip a hallmark movie but this one is definitely not worth your time.