Betty's Bad Luck in Love

This was a cute romantic comedy mainly because of the two romantic leads and their great chemistry. Both Laci J Mailey and Marco Grazzini are young and attractive and even though the script wasn't perfect they made it work and I enjoyed seeing these two together.

The story starts when Betty is in high school. Spurred by her friend Mya she gets up the courage to talk to her crush...only to have a curse put on her by another girl who liked him...fastforward to today when Betty actually crunches statistics for a living doing risk management. Every time she has gotten close to a boyfriend something has happened to him or she has called it off before it can. She has a new neighbor move in, a high risk taking traveling photographer...who doesn't seem daunted by what could happen to him. He even plays rugby!

I loved the banter between our two leads and I have to say that the character of Alex was almost too perfect and I loved his apartment's aesthetic! I think most guys would have run from Betty, good thing she is beautiful.

This Hallmark romance left me a little disappointed. I think the two stars are very watchable, but the story lacked variety.

Betty (Laci J. Mailey) has gone through her adult life under the belief that she was cursed. Consequently, she has seen every romantic relationship fail, and she believes she is better off not getting involved. When a new neighbor moves into her building, she notices his charms, but she wants to keep Alex (Marco Grazzini) at arm's length.

They both feel the attraction, so they dabble in dating. Betty withdraws whenever there is a hint of a problem, but never tells Alex why. This kind of behavior occupies much of the film, effectively undermining the charm of the two stars.

It's a fun, fresh idea: A woman who's convinced that she's a bad luck charm for any man she dates. Between this and her job as a risk analyst, she has become a nervous wreck. And it's hilarious!

In real life, would the guy be too scared off to give her any more chances? Probably! But this is one allowance I'll make for a romantic comedy.

Even though I guessed that the movie would go for that late plot twist with Eleni, I'm still glad it did. I think it was the only mature direction to take the story.

My only big complaint: Isn't men and women playing rugby together a huge no-no? I mean, it's a full contact sport. And men are bigger and physically stronger than women. That's just a fact.

The story starts 20 years earlier than present time, when Betty and her friend are teenagers at school. They are sitting at a table outside when the boy Betty has a crush on comes by. A jealous girl comes by and puts a "hex" on Betty, forever she will have bad luck with all her boyfriends.

Twenty years later in New York City (actually shot in British Columbia) Laci J Mailey is Betty. She lives in 4B. She is thriving as a risk assessment professional but has a long string of failed relationships. She really believes in the hex put on her all those years ago.

So most of the story here is Betty battling the hex but in essence she is allowing herself to be doomed by her belief in it. It comes to a head when she meets the ideal guy, a news photographer, Marco Grazzini as Alex, who moves in above her in 5B. As they get closer Betty finds ways to sabotage the relationship. Until a revelation when she and her best friend look up the girl who put the hex on her.

My wife and I shared the same take, this is NOT one of the better Hallmark movies. It comes across as a low budget movie which is a bit overly silly in some places and the script is marginal at best. But it also isn't any worse than a typical rom-com TV show, just a bit longer.

At home, on DVD from our public library.

Betty's Bad Luck in Love shows the story of a woman who believes her love life is doomed after a curse is put on her earlier in her life. This movie goes into detail on two woman who are self-centered and focused on their predicaments. While I think the movie's theme is to remind viewers not to take ourselves to seriously all the time, the plot seems to reinforce their inward focus and selfish point of view.

While most Hallmark movies have unrealistic plots and storylines, most have some interesting characters and unique situations to explore. However, Betty's Bad Luck in Love is movie which is doomed - not just her love life. My wife and I made it halfway through this creepy drivel before we switched to watching something more interesting.