Love Strikes Twice

I started watching not knowing what it was about, and I was digging the fact that the lead couple was having marital problems. I thought this would progress down an interesting road of trying to fix something that is broken, but instead the writers dove into the deep end of time travel. I was in for either option -- anything has to better than the formulaic two people meet and fall in love in a couple of days.

I also like the lead actress. She does a great job of making her dialogue seem natural. The rest of the cast isn't always at that level, but I'm sure the script they were given didn't allow much creativity there.

Hallmark Movies made prior to 2018 had interesting storylines, twists, funny, and characters beyond the same ol same' ol cast. I rarely rewatch any Hallmark movies made in the last few years. They are boring and so predictable despite the fantastic scenary and locations. This movie meets all the criteria above and is worth re-watching. Take note Hallmark to all your advertisers.

I hate the do-over premise where the person is plopped down into a situation she knows nothing about and is expected to bring about her happily ever after and instead is more likely to be committed for acting crazy. This movie doesn't do that. Maggie knows exactly what's going on.

I also hate that so many of these movies start out with a competent young woman who just had a great success and her boss dangles a promotion in front of her. There's nothing wrong with it, except how often it's used.

So what's good about this movie? The story is just a bit different. Maybe I should have, but I really didn't know where the story was going. I made a good guess about the ultimate outcome, but I wasn't completely confident it would turn out according to my guess.

The dialogue is sparkling. Maggie's character is fun and interesting. Like the dialogue she is witty, which is good because much of the dialogue is hers. And .Katie Findlay delivers her lines brilliantly.

The movie isn't exactly a traditional rom/com because the screen time normally spent on relationships is instead spent on the quest to save the library. It involves non-romantic activities like peaceful civic protests, court time, and digging up secrets about the opposition. There's barely any time on relationships. The quest dominates the screen time. As a result, the story is fresh.

The premier broadcast of this movie has a trivial but highly irritating flaw. Maggie receives a text late in the movie. It is mostly obscured by banner advertising by the channel.

Not schmaltzy. Great lead character. Made me smile. Little gems like this are so easy to miss in among the blockbusters. More of this type of film please.

The two key leads did a good job. Had a little chemistry but the other guy had zero chemistry or attachment to anyone. The courtroom scenes made he movie. The issue is she never really was thinking what she was going to lose and ir gain. Zero though process on hat. Might be the fact that timing issues but a little more thoughts through those items would have made it better. It is a watchable and good movie but hallmark after one summer and some of the other writing I would call this a B maybe B- but watchable and was enjoyable.

I will say the preview add played over and obver again didn't make it a desired watch. I may have went in negative and came out not so bad. If the overly played scenes made me want to watch it more I may not have started in a downward thought process.