Il mio finto fidanzato

This movie was very predictable. I knew exactly what was going to happen before the opening credits even came on! However, as predictable as it was, the movie was much better than I expected. I'm not a big fan of Melissa Joan Hart, but I really liked the movie. It was like watching a good movie for the second time (you know exactly what's going to happen, but you still want to watch it and end up loving it just the same).

It was basically about Jennifer and Vince - two strangers who meet through a mutual friend and are both broke - pretending to be engaged so they can get the gifts and the money. However, little do they realize, they end up falling in love. Their only problem is, do they go through with the wedding plan?

MJH is one of those actresses who rarely gets big hits but always delivers a watchable performance, often rescuing films that would otherwise be pretty missable. Here she looks less cutesy than in previous years but is still full of character.

The script is unoriginal and the situations formulaic but there are some funny moments. The Monkey and his henchmen with their 'green' credentials are actually quite amusing. Lawrence never convinces as a leading man, even if he does look like the love-child of Vin Diesel and Brad Pitt.

If you're a fan of Hart then this won't disappoint, but don't expect to be splitting your sides.

Jennifer (Melissa Joan Hart) is sick and tired of being stuck at the single loser table at her friends' weddings. She clashes with perpetually single Vince (Joseph Lawrence) who owes gambling debt to The Monkey. She uses all of her savings to put a down payment for a new house. Somebody steals her moving van and she has an empty home. While looking to replace her stuff, a sales clerk mistakes her for a bride. That leads her to a scheme to get free stuff as wedding gifts with the help of the annoying Vince. They plan a wedding and elope at the last minute.

These two lead characters are real head scratchers. I do like MJH and Joey Lawrence as TV actors. Their argumentative banter is good sitcom material but they're a pathetic duo. They wear thin after awhile. These characters don't grow on me despite the likable TV actors. The sitcom writing never improves much. It takes a long time before they develop deeper characteristics.

We've all seen this plot before, the girl gets a guy to pretend to be her boyfriend and eventually falls for him. But the way this movie portrays it is both refreshing and entertaining. There are no dull moments, with smart humour and just enough chick-flick romance to keep fans of those interested but not so much that everyone else gets tired. Hart and Lawrence are a hilarious duo. Their characters are so much alike in their cynical sense of humour that they keep the scenes moving with witty dialogue. I will admit, the guys Vince owes money to aren't tough enough to be really believable, but then again real gangsters would be slightly disturbing in a light-hearted movie like this. Great watch, too bad it was a made-for-TV, it's much better than many on the big screen.

I was watching this last night while trying to avoid actually finishing my American Lit homework, and I have to say, while it is a romantic comedy, and we all know how predictable they are, this one was actually pretty clever. Every turn I knew what was going to happen, but the filmmakers made it in such a way that you forgot that it was being predictable, and I think that's what succeeded for it. It will most likely never join the ranks of "When Harry Met Sally" or "10 Things I hate About You" in terms of romantic comedy classics, but standing on its own, it was an endearing film that shows that when you marry, you're not marrying one other person, you're marrying their entire family. It is a family movie, but all in all, a cute one.