Wedding of a Lifetime

I am kind of annoyed with this Hallmark romantic comedy...you either love someone or you don't. Being with them is not about making your career aspirations come true.

This film starts in a very dark place with a couple making the decision to break up, but before they are able to tell their family they are ambushed with the surprise that they are one of four couple contestants on a popular national morning show to win a "wedding of a lifetime".

Initially their plan becomes have a good time meanwhile intentionally loosing the contest. Right from the beginning they let a competitive couple from Chicago get under their skin...and then it is game on!

Filled with ridiculous tv game show like trivialities...there is more "comedy" than romance in this film.

I will say I was glad they didn't end with them going through with the paid for wedding. The ending in fact was the best and most romantic part of the entire film.

To my romantics...I am sorry to say that I would probably give this movie a miss.

I won't regurgitate the plot, but this one really shines on several fronts. First it was an unusual plot for Hallmark. Not pulled out of the usual grab-bag of tricks. The acting was top notch from the leads. Brooke D'Orsay always adds a certain sweetness and authenticity to her roles, but this one gave her more comedy and drama to work with. Her heartbreak at the beginning of the film was very touching. I loved that they acted like mature adults despite some tense situations. Even when they had an argument, they were were still supportive of each other. The next day after the blow-up, they even apologized to each other.

Last but not least, instead of the "Big Misunderstanding" with 15-20 minutes to go, darned if they didn't have the exact opposite. The crisis actually brought them together even closer.

To add to the positives, the secondary cast was great, and didn't have the usual predictable reactions. The bickering host couple was very funny, and I loved that the publicity from the show saved their businesses.

This was a really fun film. Bennett is allowed to show his impressive physical comedic talents with a director who knows how to use it. It was fun to watch his great chemistry with co-star Brooke D'Orsay, who is wonderfully appealing and fun in her performance as well. They have both been allowed to bring comedy to their previous films separately, and are great here. I WISH Hallmark would do more comedic material. They have such a great company of regulars that are capable of it. But very few of their "rom-coms" have much "com" in them. Kudos to the writers as well. "Wedding of a lifetime" had both and I look forward to more from all of them!!

I think that this is one of the best Hallmark movies I've seen in a long time. The two lead actors were perfectly cast they had such chemistry. The entire cast was wonderful. Hallmark must have hired new writers because it seems like they did not follow the standard formula with this movie. Brooke was wonderful as always. She is such a beautiful actress. The scenery was also beautiful. I hope that the writers and directors at Hallmark continue to think outside the box and produce more movies like this one. That is all I have to say about this movie and the actors and actresses in the movie....

5.4 stars.

What did I just see? Is there such a craze for reality tv these days that people fall for this kooky stuff? The first hour was ok, mainly a halfhearted attempt to provide a dose of reality. It's about two people who have been engaged for 10 years. First of all, they look to be in their mid 30s, and they never had kids, postponed due to injuries and family issues...I see no reason why they didn't just tie the knot years ago. The premise is too farfetched. Then they end up on a wedding reality show which is surreal and not fascinating. The contests are random and dumb, with no meaning, no point. I was thinking to myself: what is this juvenile garbage? And the acting was off plainly due to the odd dialogue. The actors don't know how to translate it onto the screen, and you can see they are struggling.

"Wedding of a Lifetime" was a wasted 2 hours of my life. So this is a joke, right? I'm waiting for the punchline. They attempted to bring order to the story in the last 15 minutes, but it was already too far gone.