Romancing the Birthday Girl

I enjoyed Emilie and Clayton in this movie. I loved the journey that her character's mother left her to complete on her thirtieth birthday. Hallmark delivered a story from start to finish on facing and embracing your fears-the movie had a heartwarming and happy ending.

Taylor is a type A kind of gal. She is very organised, she follows her routine everyday, she has everything scheduled. So, on her 30th birthday her parents lead her to a time capsule, in which there are 6 challenges she has to complete in order to get the real present.

I liked it, I thought it was nice. I may be biased because I really like Emilie and I always find something in her characters that I relate to (this was no exception). I thought she and Clayton had little chemistry, but still enjoyable.

So, this movie is about Taylor stepping out of her comfort zone, partly thanks to Josh. And isn't that lovely? Having someone who helps you overcome your fears and anxieties? I could see myself in Taylor but I wished it was that easy to make the next step.

Other than that, there is nothing to highlight about the movie. This was filmed during the pandemic, so there aren't many more characters. The Sara storyline was unnecesary and Josh's daughter was boring. (sorry)

An entertaining hour and twenty three minutes, but it won't go on my favourites list.

Overall, this is worth watching. I like that the lead character has issues and quirks, which make her human. The story doesn't meander much or get distracted by unnecessary B-plots.

What I don't like is how the leads exude goofiness with each other throughout. I guess that's how they work the "com" into "rom-com," but to me it becomes annoying and detracts from any sense of romance. Having a laugh with each other is important, but these two would probably joke their way through wedding vows, all while pretending they aren't actually getting married.

On her thirtieth birthday, Taylor (Emilie Ullerup) receives a set of six envelopes containing challenges. They were written by her deceased mother, perhaps because she knew her daughter would need a catalyst to produce meaningful changes in her life. Indeed, Taylor lives an extremely structured new-age life, full of affirmations without many realizations.

A new neighbor, Josh (Clayton James), enters her life, and he becomes her aide in fulfilling the maternal injunctions. It's a natural development that might lead to romance, especially in a Hallmark film.

The problem with this story is the writing, which lacks subtlety (even for a Hallmark romance), beating the viewer over the head with symbolic gestures, coincidences, and too-cute incidents.

'Don't Forget I Love You', listed as part of the 2022 New Year New Movies seasonal block elsewhere (although it feels more like a Hallmark Movies and Mysteries film), did sound promising. Emilie Ullerup has impressed me numerous times before and the concept was very relatable, as somebody with severe anxiety myself. Hallmark have done quite a number of misfires, but also many good and even very good ones which is what keeps me watching and enough to continue seeing them.

The good intentions were admirable, and really did appreciate the more dramatic, sombre tone in addressing a serious issue that affects so many. And Hallmark have proven many times they can do more serious stories very well, including in 2022. 'Don't Forget I Love You' though is uneven and didn't quite live up to its promising potential. There are plenty of things that it does very well, but there are some elements where it falls short upon and not by a little.

Am going to start with the good things. Ullerup is endearing and heartfelt in her role, and personally really related to her character and saw a lot of myself in her. Clayton James as an individual performance is charming and didn't see any stiffness. There is great support from likeable, compassionate Robert Wisden, reminding me of my parents, and very cute Teagan Vinzce. Did care for the characters on the whole and the film did do well with showing how anxiety affects not just the sufferer but also those around them.

Mostly the production values are nice, it's a well shot film and enough of the scenery is lovely. The music at least fits and didn't feel melodramatic or too much. The film is well meaning and sweet, with some parts really touching me. Such as the ending, which is not as pat as most Hallmark films. The scavenger hunt aspect was done well, as was the effortlessly rootable family relationships.

However, 'Don't Forget I Love You' could have been better than it was. The story is very uneven, it is not as formulaic as most Hallmark films and does try to do something different like the portrayal of anxiety and the time capsule idea. To me though, it tended to be too contrived and too coincidence heavy. While the family stuff was convincing, the romance was not. To me it was much too rushed, with too much of an abrupt shift in how the relationship progresses, and forced, with too much of the interaction veering on goofy and excessively so. Ullerup and James are also awkward together and too much of a mismatch personality-wise.

While the production values generally are solid, the film is hampered by the truly distracting and amateurish green screen that sticks out like a sore thumb whenever it appears. The writing is well intentioned but is too often heavy handed, with both the quirkiness (which became increasingly goofy and forced) and the sentimentality being overkill. And yes, everything with the engagement ring was beyond unrealistic and silly.

Overall, decent and really appreciated what it set out to do though not everything works. 6/10.