Un amour de docteur

Leila (Shalom Harlow) is a muffin shop owner with a sad past. As an innocent 20 year old, her fiancé failed to show up on their wedding day. Since then, she merely exists with her dog, Paxil, never venturing into another romantic attachment. However, she does want to become a mother and visits a new gynecologist to determine if her organs are working properly. Somewhat smitten, the physician tries to discourage Leila from the auditions she plans to hold to find a father for her potential offspring. Is a sperm donor the closest thing to true love that Leila will find?

This sweet, sweet movie has attractive leads and a humorous script. While the overall concept of the film may be far-fetched, the audience won't quibble with it's presentation. The setting and costumes are quite wonderful, also. If you and your friends pant over kisses and laughs in the search for true love, get the gang together and have a giggle and sigh fest.

This movie was much more enjoyable than I expected it to be.

Despite the limited acting talent of Shalom Harlow, the terrible

lighting, and the overly whimsical plot, the movie exudes a likeable

charm. The supporting cast was excellent, and the story moved

along quickly with some very funny interludes.

"Cherry" tells of a naive, unmarried virgin who decides to have a baby but isn't quite sure how to go about it. This easy going little sleeper is full of quirky characters and tongue-in-cheek situational humor. Fresh, fun, mold breaking stuff, I happened to really enjoy this flick...for whatever that's worth. Recommended for lovers of romantic comedy who want something different.

It's almost pointless to recap the plot (something about a shy, unwed 29 year-old who runs a coffee shop and wants to have a baby). None of that matters because the only reason to watch this movie is to see the very smooth, likable charm of Shalom Harlow. Yikes! She's cast as Leila Sweet who has the titular cherry (still a virgin) and radiates the kind of groovy disposition that makes you want to sip coffee and scotch and listen to some vintage Beth Orton or Stone Roses. She's also got a smooth, natural acting rhythm that conjures an image of a young Emmanuelle Beart or latter-day Winona Ryder. Along with Michelle Hicks (star of last year's Twin Falls), Shalom is one one of the very few models who can make that transition from fashion to cinema.

But be warned: there's more than a few hokey plot devices that prod the movie along (she advertises for a sperm donor, hires a jive talking chef, weds her gynecologist, etc). But there's also more than a few tender, genuine screen moments such as her recurring encounters with Donovan Leitch (prospective donor?) and David McCallum (surrogate father figure). The best moments - easily worth the price of the rental - are when Shalom and Donovan get cozy and trade slurred barbs about the meaning of romance. Nice, wish there were more of that/them. The final word? Terrible title for such a sweet movie.

The film is somewhat entertaining, but the greatest feature is Shalom Harlow's laughable performance. It has been 4 years since this movie was released and hopefully Harlow has gone through more training. Perhaps she should stick to the more worldly, somewhat corruptive characters that she has generated in other performances.