Betty, la chance de sa vie

It's a fun, fresh idea: A woman who's convinced that she's a bad luck charm for any man she dates. Between this and her job as a risk analyst, she has become a nervous wreck. And it's hilarious!

In real life, would the guy be too scared off to give her any more chances? Probably! But this is one allowance I'll make for a romantic comedy.

Even though I guessed that the movie would go for that late plot twist with Eleni, I'm still glad it did. I think it was the only mature direction to take the story.

My only big complaint: Isn't men and women playing rugby together a huge no-no? I mean, it's a full contact sport. And men are bigger and physically stronger than women. That's just a fact.

"Betty's Bad Luck in Love" (2024) Hallmark

I had not seen Laci J Mailey in a movie before this one, I'd only seen her in "Chesapeake Shores." I'm a fan of hers from that, and I really liked her here too. I had seen Marco Grazzini in "Right in Front of Me," where he costarred with Janel Parrish. I really liked that movie, and he didn't disappoint in this film either.

I read other reviews where people psychoanalyzed Mailey's character and tried to compare a Hallmark fantasy romance with real life. I don't do that. I tend to watch movies, especially romance movies, for entertainment. I found "Betty's..." to be a lot of fun. The curse thing just added to the fun. Whoever thought of that and wrote it into the script came up with a new twist for a Hallmark story. There were a lot of fun and admittedly goofy--but entertaining--scenes in this movie.

I'm not going to spoil the story, so I'll just say that if you are looking for a fun romance that will take your mind off real life--if you let it--here is another one from Hallmark that should do the trick.

The story starts 20 years earlier than present time, when Betty and her friend are teenagers at school. They are sitting at a table outside when the boy Betty has a crush on comes by. A jealous girl comes by and puts a "hex" on Betty, forever she will have bad luck with all her boyfriends.

Twenty years later in New York City (actually shot in British Columbia) Laci J Mailey is Betty. She lives in 4B. She is thriving as a risk assessment professional but has a long string of failed relationships. She really believes in the hex put on her all those years ago.

So most of the story here is Betty battling the hex but in essence she is allowing herself to be doomed by her belief in it. It comes to a head when she meets the ideal guy, a news photographer, Marco Grazzini as Alex, who moves in above her in 5B. As they get closer Betty finds ways to sabotage the relationship. Until a revelation when she and her best friend look up the girl who put the hex on her.

My wife and I shared the same take, this is NOT one of the better Hallmark movies. It comes across as a low budget movie which is a bit overly silly in some places and the script is marginal at best. But it also isn't any worse than a typical rom-com TV show, just a bit longer.

At home, on DVD from our public library.

I've got to start off by saying that I absolutely adore the two leads. They are great actors and I've loved them in other movies I've seen. BUT their acting skills and chemistry were wasted on this storyline. Not a fan of this trend I'm seeing in hallmark to throw in a witch or psychic with some lame curse or creepy prediction and call that a storyline. We need an actual premise please. Saw this again in another hallmark movie The Marry Me Pact. Again two good actors doing their best with a subpar "the psychic said" nonsense storyline that fell flat. I say my love of the actors made me stick it out but it won't be on a favorites list.

This is a bit of an unusual premise with the curse and all. Some of the adventures are a little quirky too. But what strikes me most is how uncomfortable everything is around Betty. As is often the case, our heroine is just that in her job. Extremely competent at least. But even in that I was holding my breath through much of the movie. By the time I let it out, I should have still been wary. And Betty is so neurotic that it makes me cringe. I just don't see how someone like her who jumps at absolutely everything can hold down a job much less be great at it.

Laci J Mailey and Marco Grazzini were OK together but the story just didn't sell how they reached the point of being in love. The acting was OK and the dialogue was OK, maybe better if you like quirkiness.

There was a nice role reversal in the awkward date scene.