Beauty and the Billionaire

There are hundreds of comedy romance movies out there and like the business themed background to this movie, the competition is harsh and tough. This predictable movie has its charm along with some of the best photography of an exotic place, St. Martins. One could describe this movie as more drama than comedy and it works well as this stuck-up billionaire executive tries to convince another smaller business owner to sell her business so he can acquire a special battery that would significantly increase this big business's bottom line. The eventual triangle between one man and two women is handled quite well, exceeding the typical problematic relational difficulties of other movies. The evolution of the billionaire is handled pretty well and the typical banter is scripted above average while the typical dramatic moments as required of comedy romance movie is intriguingly fresh, though it could have been developed a bit more. The editing of this movie also stands out, making scenes shorter with a nice bite to them, leaving out more wasteful dialogue. This rom-com is enjoyable, nicely muted, but does not break huge ground. It is, however, worth one viewing and taking the time to savor the sights and production values of this movie.

What do you need for a good Hallmark-Style Rom-Com. You need a male lead and a female lead that are engaging and have some chemistry. Check. You need a plot that, even if it follows a predictable pattern, has a few quirks and twists that make it interesting. Check. You need a fun background for the action to take place. Check. You need good dialogue with a little wit. Check. Most Rom-Coms in one way or another follow a Jane Austen book. This movie is no exception. We've got Pride and Prejudice here with an arrogant billionaire learning some life-lessons and falling in love with a spunky female who's not afraid to stand up to him. It's really nicely done from the beginning to the concluding kiss you know is coming but it's not about the kiss, it's about the journey and this is a fun one.

I enjoyed general storyline but had a feeling from every moment the actors play is artificial. I don't know what it is about - the pauses where they respond before they had a time to consume the information, maybe facial expressions that do not match what is said or feeling they are trying to remember the lines, mismatching connections between the shots or the combination of all above. Even internals of a jet look artificial. Could have been just my perception but there are only handful of movies that I had that feeling about.

Overall - ok to watch once but is not looking to be re-watching. Just ok overall.

I enjoyed watching this movie. I liked the lead female character, Addison, and how she is portrayed by Sashleigha Hightower. Chris Reid as Justin was believable in his role. As usual...the relationship starts off rocky but the difference in this story is that you could see when and why these two started and did develop romantic feelings for each other. Typically, in these romance movies I never understand how or why the leads fall in love.

The journey from dislike to like to love was engaging and we see and feel the transition.

Even Addison as brother Pete, played by Tanner Gillman made a progressive change as well. I was on the fence at first with his character who wad really just a vehicle to introduce/involve the sister in the story.

Overall, I recommend watching. Not sure if I would watch it again but I did enjoy it.

The lead male is incredibly unrealistic. He's wealthy, but wealthy people don't act like he does. No one does. And this isn't just occasional bits of jerky behaviour -- it's every single word and interaction he has. He is completely awful. He is an irredeemable jerk, and for some reason, everyone is all too willing to put up with it. A bunch of sellouts acquiescing to the jerk. That's not a great setup for a movie.

Obviously the plot and characters evolve in ways you can probably predict, but the opening half hour destroys any hope of realism the movie hoped to attain.

The scenery, though, is spectacular. It kept me watching, despite the fact that the lead character was despicable.