User reviews

Was not really impressed by the previous 2016 Spring Fling films, 'All Yours' and 'Hearts of Spring' and found both of them mediocre and heavily flawed. Was hoping that 'Love by Chance' would be better, though the premise is one of those that could go either way of charming and fun or unbearably cheesy and irritating. Have liked Benjamin Ayres and Brenda Strong in other things, particularly the best known of the cast Strong, though Beau Garrett has never stood out in what has been seen of her work.

The good news is that despite having the least appealing premise 'Love by Chance' actually turned out to be the best of the three 2016 Spring Fling films mentioned in the review. It does have some good things that makes it watchable as a one time curiosity. The not so good news with 'Love by Chance' is that it is still not particularly good, with it not doing very much to make the premise more appealing. Some films actually do succeed in this aspect, and surprisingly so, but not here.

'Love by Chance's' good things will be mentioned first. Ayres is subtly charismatic and charmingly easy going, it is an understated portrayal as easily the most likeable character in the film but never a going through the motions one. Strong injects a lot of personality and spirit and gives the best performance, had issues with her character but not with Strong. If it looked as if she was overacted, it was to me really because most of everything else was underdone.

It looks nice, especially the scenery, and the music is pleasant enough and doesn't feel too much in tone or placement. There are a few amusing moments.

Garrett however is incredibly bland and charisma deprived as a character that has little personality and got on my nerves, did not like how selfish and ungrateful she was and how the film went overboard on that. Also did find the way Strong's character was written increasingly annoying, finding her too domineering and pushy and there is too much of her. There is no chemistry or spark between Garrett and Ayres and the relationship is underdeveloped and plays second fiddle to the meddling mother part of the plot.

Which is not a well written one at all, it is just too over the top ridiculous and too reliant on forced contrivances and convenient coincidences. Not to mention excessively predictable and too neatly and easily resolved. The dialogue never sounded natural, instead coming over as awkward, and the cheese really got too much. Could connect to very few of the characters, with the exception of Ayres.

Concluding, average but watchable. 5/10.

Claire is a Seattle baker who with her partner is trying to make their business a success. Unfortunately her mom considers herself to be quite the successful matchmaker...but so far she has failed with her daughter Claire. Claire who goes in to cook at 4am, is tired and has been burned by love before.

The partners think that if they could just get a positive review from this famous internet food critic their business would pick up and they could actually buy a new oven...etc.

Claire's mom tries to secretly find Claire a boyfriend and it goes horribly awry, but in the process she does meet a handsome pediatrician...who she talks in to meeting her Claire.

(I wish this was actually filmed in Seattle but as usual besides the stock footage "city skyline" shots, this was definitely filmed somewhere else.)

Confusion abounds is this romance...between our main couple and her parents. I love the faith the husband has in his wife's fidelity and I appreciate them showing such a healthy relationship.

Absolutely wonderful cast...and that is the real reason to watch this Hallmark romance.

"Another 34 years with the love of my life."

This movie has a remake vibe - I feel like it's an updated 1950s' zany farce. Some quirkiliy filmed scenes (eg the art show) add a sense of uniqueness. Yet sadly, whilst I like having a more ensemble cast feel for a change, the mom is too annoying throughout. Because of her, it took me two attempts, and not sure I could sit through it all again. However, as they actually had very few scenes together, I would watch a spin off with the central couple returning alongside the other chef and the gallery visitor who were nicer characters than most in this movie.

I didn't mind the usual stiff acting that Hallmark tends to bring. I'll give any show a shot about culinary or food topics. I do see a similarity to Because I Said So, but that's not even the biggest issue I had. I would love to see more diversity that isn't forced, like making an Asian character an assumed Dr. I feel Hallmark only uses ethnic characters as forced diversity characters. Then they make those characters overly cheesey. With that said, it's not a bad movie. Quite enjoyable and sweet, as most Hallmark films seem to be.

As context we're not dealing with the next Golden Globe nominee--it's a Hallmark movie. This is one of the few that I have seen that has bouts of decent writing as in witty dialog in the first half of the film (it seems to wain). The actors are just fine. The female lead does a decent job of the rommy com stuff. Overall the cast is above average. Plot is Hallmark factory issue so nothing surprising but then I think that is one of the points of these things -- predictably cheery with a happy ending. Watchable enough that I finished the whole thing (which I don't always do).

I liked every actor on this movie but having the mother be so meddlesome was a huge turn off! The lady is nuts and over the top and didn't let me enjoy the movie 2😭

Overall not a bad hallmark flick good for hallmark standards but predictable

So concerned caring mom gets involved in daughters life by getting a great guy to meet her . Girl meets guy and likes guy and they date okay BUT the ridiculous daughter who has as much personality as a moldy scone wants fate not arrangement . When said daughter finds out mom had arranged for great guy to meet her she flips her lid and no more relationship because why have a great guy if your mom got involved? This woman is horrible and spoiled and utterly disturbing. The story is similar to the Diane Keaton movie because I said so because of the mom wanting her child to meet someone wonderful .. Keaton was good as the mom in that and Brenda strong was also good as mom but no comparison. I skipped through this one and got rid of it post haste.

This is one of the better Hallmark films. I like watching them when I am sick or multitasking because they are predicable and uncomplicated so if I fall asleep or leave the room it's no big deal. This one was cute enough to keep me engaged.

The actors and actresses are fine, especially the male leading actor Benjamin Ayres is doing well. He is actually quite handsome and cute. Have seen him playing minor role in other tv film before, it is good to see that he finally has got a leading role. However the story plot of this film is really stupid and terrible. The whole one and a half hour has not much real story at all. Just hope that the other tv film Falling for Vermont with also Benjamin Ayres as leading role will be a better one.

I really enjoyed this movie. It definitely counts as one of Hallmark's better efforts. I haven't seen the movie referred to elsewhere - 'Because I Said So' - so this one was refreshingly original for me. The plot for the most part was very believable although I did find it hard to accept how easily Claire gave up on Eric when she found out that her mother had engineered the first meeting. The cast was well chosen and performed excellently. I particularly liked Brenda Strong's character Helen who, as far as I am concerned, was the best one in the movie and Brenda played her superbly. I hope to see more of Brenda's work. It is definitely worth watching again.

In Seattle, Claire Michaels (Beau Garrett) is busy running her bakery and worried about an important phantom critic. Her mother (Brenda Strong) sees herself as a great matchmaker. After a bad setup, Claire demands her mother to stop setting her up. Instead, she tries to secretly set Claire up with an internet date. That doesn't go well either but Eric Carlton (Benjamin Ayres) overhears them and agrees to the scheme.

It's a perfectly fine Hallmark movie which isn't saying much. There is no real tension and there is no real heat. Their meet-cute is cute only for the kid. It's sweet but it lacks punch. It's nice. Everybody's nice. The movie's nice. There's no danger or tension. I do like everybody and every character. It's a good movie to put in the background while you're doing something else.

Beau Garret's performance is so bad that I could not even force myself to finish the film. Besides everyone else appears plain bored. Again, probably because of beau Garret's acting as one bad actor brings down the rest along with the whole film. She speaks a in monotonous drawl throughout the film and other than a shrug of shoulders of a tilt of head nothing shows a shift in her emotions. It looks like she is sleepwalking through the entire film. Either that or I accidentally watched it in slow motion. Probably not because the other actors were okay in comparison. There is zero chemistry between the lead actors and the film seems to be more about the lead's mother played by Brenda Strong as the meddling mother. I also did not understand why they made a romance on such similar lines as one previously made with a big star cast. They fell flat in whatever they attempted to achieve.

The characters appeared unconvincing and juvenile. They came across as bad actors playing roles of responsible adults.

And in future I am going to steer clear of any film that has beau garret as a part of cast.

Such a great story with superior acting with numerous twists. The acting is superb, had some great music along with the background music and just loved the the story. I sometimes think that the females give up too soon on events that unfold that they blame on others that may have been mostly out of their control all along. This was a truly great romance that happened mostly on its own. Brenda Strong is a great actress and we need to see her in her own love story sometime.

I have watched it alot. Well written. Love the characters

7.8 stars.

A mother's meddling and the tangled web she weaves is the theme of 'Love by Chance'. She spends all of her energy matchmaking for her daughter, because she believes her daughter is a real catch. Unfortunately her daughter is more than disinterested in her mother's apparent nervousness over whether she will ever find the right guy. She loathes the constant interference and becomes bitter and distant, but she's so worn out from her mother's endless energy reserves, that she resigns herself to it - until the line is crossed. This is the story of the perfect man for her coming along and getting caught in the web. The rest of the movie is about cleaning up the mess and hoping that genuine love can be salvaged.

I was pleasantly surprised by this film and I think it deserves more credit than the current 6.1 stars. The mother's meddling is somewhat exhausting, but she's an endearing character, plus the leads are fantastic and the chemistry is real. I can't fathom this movie getting a poor review, because although it's frustrating at times, there is romance magic interwoven throughout.