Amoureux juste pour l'été

This sweet entertaining tale is better than most lightweight movie romances. The onscreen love match works particularly well because Brant Daugherty (as Jason Humphrey) is quirky, awkward and definitely funny in his pursuit of Hayley Sales (as Pen Campbell), a highly desirable budding author. Formerly a couple in their adolescent years they went their separate ways. One summer though, both coincidentally return to their hometown and meet up again. The charm of the story is compounded by their two mischievous well meaning but meddling grandmothers who match-make at every opportunity. The chemistry between Jason and Pen is believable as it would not be a stretch if they were a couple in real life. Jan and Pen decide to form a pact fooling their grandmas that they are dating to ease the pressure. The run time is perfect, the script is realistic, and the support cast lend credence to the story. It's enjoyable to watch.

This common premise of a fake relationship to make the meddling grandmas back off has nothing special going for it. A little chemistry between the leads, mediocre dialogue and zero tension. The climax is, you guessed it, anticlimactic precipitated after no conflict .

I really enjoyed the reunion between the two childhood friends; I particularly appreciated their personality and the return, the journey to childhood, a memorable moment, happy or unhappy but always decisive, unforgettable. Both grandmothers are very nice and funny.

This is a fairly typical romance, which combines a couple of tropes, which I'm not going to discuss because I'm not into spoilers.

Most of what is going on his below the surface, and I liked it, because there is no "other woman" or "other man", which is often introduced to create false conflict. Most of the conflict is internal of the characters. And while a no surprises approach to the plot is used, it's a very pretty film to look at. There are some beautiful scenes of the lake, on the pier. Often just for a few seconds, but quite stunning. The photography is actually very good in this film, and I think a lot of romantic comedies are not respected for their direction and photography, but they are often very well done and really add to the story. This is no exception.

A sweet movie with a simple and predictable storyline.