User reviews

LIGHT HEARTED COMEDY REQUIRES A GOOD ACTOR. PAUL CAMPBELL IS ONE OF THE FEW HALLMARK ACTORS THAT CAN DELIVER A GENUINE PERFORMANCE. I HAVE WATCHED THIS SHOW SEVERAL TIMES BECAUSE OF PAUL CAMPBELL'S LIKABILITY.

I THOUGHT 'SURPRISED BY LOVE' WAS ONE OF THE BETTER HALLMARK MOVIES DUE TO GOOD DIRECTION AND A FOCUSED EFFORT BY THE ENTIRE CAST. WHY ARE ALL CANADIAN ACTORS SO MUCH BETTER AT CREATING SEXY,CHARISMATIC CHARACTERS?

AND..... IT NEVER HURTS TO HAVE A TIM CONWAY IN A MOVIE

I adore the film. Hallmarks are a hit or miss for me, but Hillary Paul & Tim keep me laughing! The other characters are good, but a little safer comedy-wise. It doesn't over process the plot nor do the impossible in a 48 hour timeframe. So, for me it is that rainy day rom-com that you enjoy with your girls! :)

Ok, I'm a guy who finds Hallmark movies boring, predictable and of course formulaic. This movie is a surprising one-off. I actually looked it up to see if Hallmark actually produced it as a fluke!. Tim Conway really is great. There has to be more original scripts out there,

This is one of my favorite movies. Every time it's on, I have to watch it.

This movie was okay for hallmark standards, it was predictable at times and the actors were good considering the material but still worth a watch

The movie is the usual light hearted fair with old flames rekindling . The special part is the brilliant casting of Tim Conway as the grandfather faking dementia. His comic genius is is on display all the time, even when he's not the center of the scene.

This is the best non-Christmas Hallmark movie ever!! Someone said the first 15 minutes were not good. Please don't stop watching until you get to the end!! Tim Conway is hilarious!! And Paul Campbell is seriously my favorite Hallmark actor and ranks extremely high on my list of all time favorites! He is flawless in this one! This is the perfect reality~escape movie that will keep you laughing, smiling and quoting when it's over!!

I love this Hallmark sweetheart of a movie! In particular, Paul Campbell is a gem! He is so likable and natural! Hope we see more of him! This is my 3rd time seeing this. 2017, 2018, 2020! Love it more each time! And then there's Tim Conway! What a treat! Sorry he's no longer with us, but how wonderful he see him in this. He's a natural! I would give this 12 stars out of 10 if I could!

One word...awful. Too cliche among other things. Best thing about it is Tim Conway.

I was expecting the usual banal Hallmark type romance movie and was pleasantly surprised. Well written, well acted, great casting and a beautiful setting. Tim Conway is an unexpected surprise also and totally nails the roll. This movie is simply fun entertainment that will have you chuckling throughout.

Really. I think this is my favorite non-holiday Hallmark movie. It's just fun! Yeah some of it can be a little quirky or goofy but really, it is fun. If I see it on, I put it on or record it. The snooty people soften up, the tight-wound daughter loosens up and goes after her dream. The golden retriever is a scene stealer. The acting is all great and the chemistry is not "on fire" between the leads but they definitely connect well and you can see them falling for each other. The movie is so entertaining that I don't mind a little lack of chemistry. And yay for another adult movie! No kids or festivals or overdone artificial greenery. It's almost like a Pollyanna story. Gridley improves the lives of everyone he touches including the mute grandfather who speaks to him. Hilario Burton was a champ running down the hill in heels to get her man! Great ending. It's fun and heartwarming and I completely recommend it! I am a tough critic on Hallmark movies but this one is a rare gem.

After watching over 140 Hallmark movies, I am declaring this to be my favourite. This movie will literally make you laugh and cry and it will tug at your heart strings - at least it did for me.

To start, the humour is almost unprecedentedly actually funny compared to other Hallmark movies. I really laughed out loud when Josie was talking about her parent's party on the phone and Max asked her "Coronation?" and then again when Josie and Richard came to the park in their business suits and Max asked "Corporate takeover of (could have been "in") the park?" Paul Campbell's comic timing was absolute genius throughout the show.

The Mayfield family dynamics would remind many of us of our own family dynamics and it is so wonderful to see how it all worked out for them. Fills the world with hope! The entire Mayfield family cast are brilliant from the younger sister to the grandfather. They are real, they are likeable/understandable characters despite their flaws and they love each other at the end of the day - awwwww!

I just wish Max could have had a better career path and not been such a hippie character which is not normally seen as desirable in this day and age but otherwise, I could not wax more lyrical about this show.

Perfect chemistry between Josie and Max and they had us rooting for them all the way.

Probably the first time in 140 Hallmark movies I really wish there is a sequel. For now, considering I caught this movie on Youtube, my wish is that Amazon would restock the DVD so that I can order a copy!

If I could give this movie more stars, I would.

Nice film. Hilarie Burton is always good. The plot is a subtle rewrite of My Man Godfrey from 1936 starring Carol Lombard and William Powell, a must see available at Amazon.

First things first, I adore Paul Campbell in every single Hallmark movie he has ever done!!! More please!! It's stated in the "goofs" section about this movie, that at the Mayfield party, Richard's character says hello to Gridley but calls him Richard instead of Gridley. Actually, it's Gridley (with his back to the camera) saying hello to Richard. A closer look shows that Richard simply raises his eyebrows a bit at Gridley then gives a half-smile with no words being spoken, by Richard, until they take photos together and give their names.

It would be a spoiler to describe it here, but that scene is near the end of the remarkable "Nashville" by Robert Altman and the buildup to it must take a full two hours. The impact is astonishing. Here, things also build for over an hour, and it also is a shapeshifter. So well directed and acted.

My first Hallmark movie, as I was clicking around downstream of the HBO and Showtime channels and happened on the pretty funny falling-into-his-arms thing so I caught the whole thing later. Pretty good. The jokes are fast and furious. And as always Vancouver was looking magnetic.

A barrel of fun! More sophisticated than the usual Hallmark romance!

So superior to most Hallmark movies. It's been on 3 times in past months. Enjoyed it more each time. Love Paul Campbell! All characters well done. Good script, no cringe moments. Need more like this please. Those that don't like it haven't come to accept the role Hallmark movies play in providing calm escape from ugly reality. I am a recent convert myself.

This is one of the better Hallmark romances. It has a good script that is funny and touching. The cast is wonderful. Hilarie Burton (Josie Mayfield) and Paul Campbell (Maxwell Gridley) work well together. An added bonus is Tim Conway, who plays an uncommunicative grandfather.

I don't usually notice the music in these films, but I really enjoyed the score for this one, which contributed to the atmosphere.

My main reason for seeing 'Surprised by Love' was for Hallmark completest sake, started watching their work as undemanding escapism (or at least that was the intent) back around 2019. Focusing solely on their Christmas output for a while and then watching overtime their other seasonal blocks. Have seen Hilarie Burton and Paul Campbell in other things, and while Burton is take and leave for me Campbell has often been watchable and more. Tim Conway in a supporting role appetised too.

'Surprised by Love' was a very well done, surprisingly so as the premise wasn't that exciting, start to Hallmark's output. Not just one of their best 2015 films, but perhaps one of their best overall and one of the few where there is very little to be critical of. Whereas this reviewer has found at least a few things to criticise in even the Hallmark films she's liked, which actually has been a lot. 'Surprised by Love' wholly succeeds at its aims of being light hearted, charming and being undemanding escapism.

It is a little bit of a slow starter story-wise with the dialogue not always being as tight as it could have been.

There is so much to like about 'Surprised by Love' though. Burton is perky and cute as a button, not over compensating or phoning in. Campbell is every bit as easy going and has understated charisma and effortless charm, so his appeal is always understandable. They have a very charming and well formed chemistry that doesn't move too fast or feel thin and underused. A major reason for 'Surprised by Love's' success is Conway, who is an absolute blast.

Hallmark can have characters that are dull or are really annoying, or have ones that have negative character traits taken to extremes with no development or rushed 180 decisions. Not the case here, despite them being cliched they have personality at least and don't have anything overdone. The film is attractive visually, especially the scenery, is directed with assurance and the music appeals on the ears and isn't the over loud or over constant stuff heard a lot.

Furthermore, the writing mixes genuinely funny, playful humour (Conway having the best moments) and warm-hearted, non sugary drama a lot better than most Hallmark films, with it being pretty expertly. While predictable and not always perfect in pacing, the story more than delivers on the light hearted-ness, warm heart and charm, with it going at a lively enough pace. It doesn't feel too neat either.

Overall, surprisingly very well done. 8/10.