I Want to Marry Ryan Banks

Ryan Banks (Jason Priestley) starts out faking as an actor in Hollywood with his best friend Todd Doherty (Bradley Cooper). He becomes a big star and Todd is his agent. However, his latest film is a bomb. He's being downgraded to the B-list. Todd is given 3 months before his boss Ed lets go of both Ryan and Todd. Todd sees the outlandish reality TV being pitched and comes up with a reality show to find Ryan a bride. Charlie Norton (Emma Caulfield) is one of those girls who was entered by her sister.

Looking back, it's crazy that Bradley Cooper was the sidekick but that's the pecking order of the time. In the end, he's the romantic lead anyways. The digs at the reality TV system are tame for today's standard but they're sharp jabs back in the day. It has a bit of Cyrano de Bergerac. As a rom-com, there are no surprises. This is a nice cute rom-com with some touches of its times.

I started watching the movie, expecting it to be just another waste of two hours; but it was much better than I ever thought it would be. The ending was so sweet! and the actors/actresses were very good. I loved it.

Its incredibly predictable, the acting is that great, the plot is simple, but who can resist a fun romantic comedy-especially one where the underdog gets the girl! I loved Bradley Cooper in Alias and he does a great job in this movie. I also love how they make fun of the reality dating show on the film. In fact one of the contestants on I Want to Marry Ryan Bank is in fact one of the contestants that was snubbed on the Bachelor. Gotta love that Is this film going to be a romantic comedy classic? No. But every time i see it on Fox Family I can't resist watching it. Its a feel good movie that can't help make the viewer smile

Longtime friends Ryan Banks (Jason Priestly) and Todd Doherty (Bradley Cooper) are resorting to rather desperate measures. You see, Ryan was once a major film star and Todd has been his equally successful agent. Ryan was Todd's first client, a job that resulted from Ryan needing an agent, fast, when he was approached by a producer at a casual party. But, alas, show biz is always on to the next big thing and Ryan is in a slump. Therefore, in order to save BOTH their jobs, Todd tells his firm that he has a plan to boost Ryan's profile and have future jobs come pouring in. What is it? Well, there is going to be a new reality television show launched called I Want to Marry Ryan Banks. A dedicated bachelor, Ryan will finally find the woman of his dreams among ten beautiful finalists, like The Bachelor. It will end with Ryan on one knee, ring box in hand. The agency likes it. Meanwhile, a struggling book store owner/barmaid, Charlie (Emma Caufield) has had trouble in the romance department, too, despite being very pretty. To remedy this, her sister and brother in law sign her up for a tryout on the Ryan show, without her knowledge. After some reluctance, she agrees to do it. Wouldn't you know, Charlie ends up being one of the finalists! But, uh oh! This book seller actually spends more time with Todd and likes what she sees. Also, unknown to her, Todd, the smarter one, actually feeds conversation bits to Ryan, via earphones, so that she is unwittingly falling for lines Todd invents, not Ryan. What a merry mix-up might be brewing! Yes, ladies, here is your chance to see Cooper, before he was more famous, in a sweet, nice romcom. Priestly, natch, was the bigger star at the time, having been on 90210. He was and is handsome and talented, giving a charming turn here, too. As for Caufield, she is quite lovely and has the added bonus of coming off as bright and chipper. No, this reviewer won't reveal the ending, but with such great looking stars and fine costumes, sets, and lines, what's not to love romance fans? Reality says take the time to find it for a near future showing.

But it probably is the best TV movie I've seen, certainly for a while.

The script isn't terribly complex, but the jokes pretty much work, and it isn't going to start a couples argument if you are watching it together. The acting is a cut above normal TV fare, as you might expect, and it was obviously made just to entertain, which is refreshing these days.

Give it a spin when you want something to put you in a good mood before bedtime and you don't feel like making your brain work too hard.