Playing Cupid

Nicholas Gonzales and Laura Vandervoort are beautiful together, a seriously attractive couple.

Single newly divorced dad and restaurant owner, David Martinez is very involved in his daughter Clara's life...particularly her education. He meets his daughter's school teacher Miss Fox on a particularly bad night for her. As restaurant owner of Cantina Corazon, he is witness to her waiting for and breaking up with her current love interest. He is very kind and tries to ease the unpleasant evening as much as possible. Then they meet again at her school where he as the conservative dad who does not appreciate the teacher supporting his daughter's outlandish ideas for a big project that will count for 40% of her grade.

David's daughter comes up with an idea to start a matchmaking service. She starts with her classmates to help them find a dance partner for the school's Valentine's Day dance, but grows it into a singles event for adults at her family's restaurant. Clara really goes all out and keeps some of her grandmother's traditions with a mariachi band and heart shaped tortillas.

David and Miss Fox trade off help, her with making candy grams for the PTA which he is president of and him with volunteering to be a mentor in her class for the big project. It is through this that the two grow closer together and get to know one another.

This was not your boilerplate Hallmark romantic comedy, it was a step above and worth seeing.

Now for a couple of small complaints...being a born and raised Seattle native, it kills me to see shows set in "Seattle" that are so clearly not. Why the charade? Just say it is in Langley or Vancouver, B. C. You are not fooling anyone...at least not anyone from the northwest. One stock image of Seattle does not create the ambiance of Seattle. Also at a big school awards program, it should have had images from the kids actual project on the big screen behind the podium...if not examples on stage.

"I'm Cupid Clara dad. I know who is right for each other and who is not."-Clara

"I picked that chair."-David.

Well this had nothing to do with Emma as advertised in the promos, but it wasn't bad. There was enough antagonism between the two leads to get it off to an intriguing start. The father really had some serious control issues in the beginning but he wasn't over the top for too long. He made a very attractive leading man. The appearance of the ex-wife near the end threw an interesting wrench into the romance which had been preceding pretty much by rote up to then. The romance between the two youngsters was cute. Good acting on the part of the teens.

Sweet story and good characters acted with emotion. Nice to see a mix of cultures via a teacher and restaurateur meeting by the young 'cupid'. A rare portrayal of Seattle weather that isn't pouring rain (it rarely does) and the grayness of the sky during the time of the year the movie is set in. If you are looking to get away for 1 1/2 hours this would be a good place to start.

2021 so far has been a mixed bag for Hallmark, which is true for their previous years too and their output in general. Considering the difficult circumstances, the standard could have been a lot worse. While there are some good winning efforts, such as 'A New Year's Resolution', there are also some major duds such as 'Beverly Hills Wedding'. The premise didn't sound anything exceptional, but it did sound sweet and the two leads have been watchable in other things.

Both are certainly more than watchable here in 'Playing Cupid' and it is a cute, while not being too cute, film. Not mind-blowingly amazing and far from perfect, but not the cheesy, overly sweet film it could easily have been if executed wrong and in the top middle 2021 Hallmark films. So much better than the previous Love Ever After outing from Hallmark 'Beverly Hills Wedding', as at least 'Playing Cupid' is a good film. That is of course in my hopefully respectful view.

'Playing Cupid' isn't perfect. It does feel a bit contrived towards the end, like the out of the blue return of the ex-wife, and ends too neatly, which is not uncommon for Hallmark actually.

David was also not easy to warm to straightaway, a bit uptight and abrasive to begin with. A bit of a slow starter perhaps as well.

However, both Laura Vandervoort and Nicholas Gonzalez are immensely engaging leads with bags of charm and feeling. Their chemistry is plentiful and genuine and actually develops at a rate that is not too fast or too aimlessly. The supporting cast are all strong, especially the spirited and heartfelt portrayal of the daughter. The chemistry doesn't ever feel disconnected and the characters don't come over as fake stereotypes and instead like real people worth caring for once one warms to them.

Once 'Playing Cupid' finds momentum, it's good natured, light-hearted and very charming, the cuteness not becoming too much and the playfulness not being forced. The script doesn't feel too corny or affected. The production values are slick enough and not cheap looking and the music doesn't intrude or overbear. The direction is not flashy, nor is it static.

In summary, not great but nice. 7/10.

I thought this movie would be a huge bore. I put off watching it until one day there was nothing else to watch.

So I watched it and surprisingly I liked it. The story is cute. I liked the characters. It was culturally interesting as well.

So if you have nothing better to do and it's on, watch it. You may be surprised like I was.