Stars Fell on Alabama

It was spooky watching this movie, lead actor James Maslow looks just like singer Adam Levine, minus all the tattoos. I had to keep reminding myself he was NOT Levine.

He plays Bryce Dixon, an Alabamian who left town 15 years ago to carve out his career in Los Angeles. He is returning for the class reunion in his hometown of 14,000 and is ashamed to be "single". So he takes along one of his clients, a pretty actress, to pretend to be his girlfriend.

This isn't a Hallmark movie but it follows the same formula. Two attractive and single people begin to be greatly attracted to each other, something comes up to tear it apart, and the last scenes are where everything is made right.

My wife and I watched it at home streaming on Amazon. We enjoyed it, a modern fairy tale of sorts, the actors are pleasant and it was nice to see old American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, a true Alabamian, singing a few songs.

Liked I stated, I watched it twice so it wasn't bad. The worst bit, that I skipped over the second time, was the long drawn out speech that the lead male blabbed on. Actually the whole end of the movie needed a rewrite. Aside that it deserves to be watched.

Enjoyed this movie very much - it was an escape from a grim news day, and well-executed. The leads and supporting cast are likeable, the direction is first-rate, and the use of anime techniques for montages elevated the production quality.

This is a 21st century Southern style Rom-Com - there are no Confederate flags (only the state flag of Alabama), no redneck stereotypes (thank you), and I can't remember an expletive (thank you). The idea of a Hollywood agent with a moral compass breaks the mold. There is no racism - only one black character and one Asian character, both of whom support the hero to the max. I would have liked to know more about their backstories (especially David, the best friend from back home). Any nastiness from the town's "bad guys" comes from common human failings, not because of Alabama roots (thank you). Most TV franchises hope for six seasons and a movie. This movie gives enough possibilities for six TV seasons!

Don't waste your time. I'm a big fan of most Hallmark and Hallmark-type movies, so I thought that's what I was getting. It was so bad, it made hallmark look good. I kept telling myself to turn it off, but it was like a train wreck, I just couldn't look away. Don't do what I did. The "plot" was a given, but that's not what bothered me. The acting was horrible, the chemistry didn't exist and the filler between the standard scenes (the meet-cute, the almost kiss, and the misunderstanding) was so cringing, I was embarrassed for them. Whoever wrote this movie hopefully is now working a normal 9 to 5 and isn't allowed to write ever again.

I'm not sure why I'm even giving it two stars.

Movie about being in Alabama but filmed in South Carolina and California, complete with Palm Trees. Movie padded with extra long corn hole and flag football scenes. Main character's eyebrows looked like paste on variety. Script and editing made movie look even worse. Simple little movie gone awry. Almost like mocking Alabama.