More Than I Wished For

The original title, "More than I wish for" seems more appropriate. This movie has nothing to do with Christmas. If the story had been set at Labor Day time, it would not change a iota. It's another spin on the "fake fiancee" theme, where the reasons for needing a fake fiancee are becoming increasingly more outlandish. In this one, it appears whoever knows the lead character, Sawyer, cannot live unless she is engaged, and just a hint this may be happening becomes reason for a 4th of July- like celebration. Hence, you may guess the emotions in the story are far overplayed. The tone keeps wavering between serious and farcical, not necessarily at the most suitable moment. The psychology of the action keeps swinging from cheesy to childish, with occasional charming moments. The mother, Marie Osmond, acts so over the top to suggest a case of severe mental regression. With some caveats, I find Amanda Payton likeable and I really wanted to like the movie. The more I think about it, though, the less I can. Whether it is a case of bad casting, poor acting, a senseless script, or all combined, the result is a mostly forgettable show.

This film essentially begins with a young obstetrician by the name of "Sawyer" (Amanda Payton) being told by her supervisor "Bill" (James Jamison) that he has decided to retire soon and will be looking for a replacement to run the women's clinic. He then goes on to tell Sawyer that, although she has done an excellent job since her arrival at the clinic, he worries about her burning out because she doesn't have a private life of her own. In short, she's all work and no play. Needless to say, the truth of the matter hits home and causes her to become both disappointed and somewhat depressed. Recognizing this, her friend and colleague "Jules" (Sarah Jayne Jensen) takes her shopping and while there convinces her to fill out a fake engagement announcement using the name of her former boyfriend to cheer her up. Not long afterward, she then meets a young man by the name "Landon" (Adam Gregory) who asks her to join him for some coffee simply to please his sister "Hillary" (Scout Smith) who happens to be a patient of hers. It's during this time that the fake announcement is accidentally discovered by some of Sawyer's friends and, in order to please them, Sawyer convinces Landon to pretend that they're engaged. What they don't count on, however, is the reaction from Sawyer's friends and relatives when they hear the news. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be a pretty good romantic-comedy due, in large part, to the acting of Amanda Payton and the chemistry between her and Adam Gregory. And even though the ending was a bit too abbreviated, I still found this movie to be quite enjoyable, and I recommend it to those viewers who might be interested in a film of this type.

A Fiancé For Christmas/More Than I Wished For (2021) -

I've definitely turned off better, sooner, but I did stick with it and I liked the romance that grew between them mostly.

Although he was reasonably handsome and had lovely eyes, leading man, "Joshua"/Landon (Adam Gregory) was soooo gay! And so was her ex, the other Joshua.

Amanda Payton as Sawyer and Adam Gregory might have been okay with a different director, story and less jolly background music, but it all just contrived too hard to be over the top and silly.

The concept in itself was really daft and Marie Osmond (Mother) was far too much.

It was a bit like a car crash, but I found that I couldn't turn away from it.

I hate it when the characters lie and it gets too extreme. Nobody in their right minds would follow through with the idea to pretend to be dating for so long, especially if they actually did develop real feelings for each other.

I'd like to see the two leads given a better opportunity with different direction, Etc, because I think that they were the reason that I did make it to the end, but there are other actors out there that deliver better for me without having to try so hard.

3.25/10.

We have all seen a fake fiancé movie. Pretty standard. This one starts rather oddly when Sawyer's friend convinces her to make a bridal registry on a lark. A first date leads to Landon taking on the role. The story is not so much the focus as how much fun all misunderstandings and near misses while Sawyer tries to figure out how to deal with everything. Several are quite clever. Amanda Payton has excellent timing and does quite well with the role.

Payton and Adam Gregory have great chemistry. The dialogue is good. There are some great lines. The Anthropologist angle provides a few good ones. The acting is good. Basically, the whole thing is well done.

Both Landon and Sawyer seem to good to be true as characters.

The last part of the movie after the reveal is not quite as sparkling as the rest, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

The title of the movie is wrong it should be corrected. The title to this movie is A Fiancé For Christmas. It was a good movie I really enjoyed it. Its near impossible to come up with a new movie idea, sure this one has been done before and this one does it well.