The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

I love Kunal Nayyar and Lucy Hale, so I was excited to see this movie. It was great to see Kunal in a more serious project. If you liked the book, the movie follows the book for the most part. The little girl, Maya is adorable. She was probably my favorite part of the movie. I loved watching her grow up.

The effects of the changing seasons in front of the bookstore added a nice touch. It was fun to see it take place in Massachusetts because I grew up there and recognized a lot of the scenes from Cape Cod. It was also nice to see more diversity in the cast, especially on Cape Cod. Overall this movie truly captured people coming together who love to read.

I loved seeing Kunal as a main character. As I'm recovering from hand surgery, I'm digging into movies I don't normally watch.

I will now seek out this book to read. I feel because it was in a movie setting I may have missed some little details from the book.

There was solid acting in this movie. I do have to say David Arquette did some brilliant acting. I loved Lucy Hale and Christina Hendricks, but their characters and the teenager's character were not really fleshed out.

If you are in need of tears and laughter, this is the story for you. Some reviews call it Hallmarkesque. It isn't quite the Hallmark story you're used to watching. There is more here. It probably would have done better in a limited series form, so that these actors could have had more time to move within these characters. All in all I gave this an 8/10. Critics didn't dig it, but the viewers did. That is the most important part of story telling. Does your audience engage? I did.

I have never left a review but felt compelled to do so when I saw the poor reviews from critics. Often times I don't agree with them and feel that they are trying to prove a point or be more critical. This did not have a "Hallmark" feel to it as the acting was far superior especially from the main character. The writing was good and it's a good story. That was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. The scenery/locations are nice as well. Yes there are no violent or violent sex scenes so if you're looking for that you will have to look elsewhere. But if you're looking for a good plot with some humor and warmth that leaves you with a pleasant feeling afterwards, you have found it.

Loved this movie. Great characters and a bit of an intricate story. Very sweet and romantic. Loved the book references.

It may look like a hallmark movie but it is so much more. The story twists and turns but ends up all connected making for a satisfying yet bittersweet ending.

Loved seeing Raj from the Big Bang theory in a starring role. He really carried it off.

The scenes of Alice Island were picturesque and very inviting. The Island Books store was also inviting. All in all I would love to visit. The child actors were very good and sometimes had some good lines.

A great way to spend an afternoon or evening.

Really excellent film. Touching, clever, great characters dialog, and especially the acting was superb. A good example of how to do character growth well.

Lucy Hale does a great job in her role, but the performance of the male lead, Kunal Nayyar, really does make the film. I now want to try.to find more movie featuring his acting.

The love story is a lot less contrived than most. It doesn't suffer from the same contrived manufactured drama (problems/conflicts) that so many love stories do. The problems that exist make sense given the characters. It's refreshing since I dislike most romantic comedies based on the way they seem to force problems into the story. As a result, in this film it seems less like the characters are following a script. (In reality of course, there is a script, just a much better and more believable one than the average rom-com script.)

Highly recommended!