Wedding of a Lifetime

First, let me qualify: 9/10 on The Scale of Hallmark. Haha! Wedding of a Lifetime has a different & fun premise. It's a refreshing change. It takes place during an intentionally cheesy reality tv show competition where a broken-up couple end up trying to win an all-expense paid wedding. Brook and Jonathan were super cute together-I found their chemistry and acting believable and was pulling for them. The plot and the many other characters of tv production staff, family members and other competitors held together well enough to keep my attention. The ridiculous competitions were kind of funny. And the musical montage of trying on of dresses and tuxes & the tasting cakes, etc was cute. This is a light-hearted movie yet the characters still do some heartfelt self-reflection and figure out what they want. No surprises. A fresh premise with that inevitable and always welcome Hallmark happy ending.

This was a really fun film. Bennett is allowed to show his impressive physical comedic talents with a director who knows how to use it. It was fun to watch his great chemistry with co-star Brooke D'Orsay, who is wonderfully appealing and fun in her performance as well. They have both been allowed to bring comedy to their previous films separately, and are great here. I WISH Hallmark would do more comedic material. They have such a great company of regulars that are capable of it. But very few of their "rom-coms" have much "com" in them. Kudos to the writers as well. "Wedding of a lifetime" had both and I look forward to more from all of them!!

I won't regurgitate the plot, but this one really shines on several fronts. First it was an unusual plot for Hallmark. Not pulled out of the usual grab-bag of tricks. The acting was top notch from the leads. Brooke D'Orsay always adds a certain sweetness and authenticity to her roles, but this one gave her more comedy and drama to work with. Her heartbreak at the beginning of the film was very touching. I loved that they acted like mature adults despite some tense situations. Even when they had an argument, they were were still supportive of each other. The next day after the blow-up, they even apologized to each other.

Last but not least, instead of the "Big Misunderstanding" with 15-20 minutes to go, darned if they didn't have the exact opposite. The crisis actually brought them together even closer.

To add to the positives, the secondary cast was great, and didn't have the usual predictable reactions. The bickering host couple was very funny, and I loved that the publicity from the show saved their businesses.

I enjoyed this romantic comedy. When I mentioned this new movie I was going to watch, my daughter thought the leads would not be a good fit. They have very different personalities onscreen.

But I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the actors and their interactions together. I have a new respect for Jonathan Bennett as an actor. He is versatile, and this was a good fit. Brooke D'Orsay is always a great watch.

The couple had some serious and poignant moments for the first 20 minutes of the film.

Then the comedic situations arose and the two were excellent physical comedians. There were a few laugh out loud moments.

Towards the end there were some over the top situations which thankfully didn't last, and the final ending was perfect. These two were outstanding, imo.

As to the story not being original, you don't have to look far in Brooke D'Orsay's resume to find another movie with a wedding contest story. The two have some big differences, but both are based on circumstances being out of control for the bride and groom.

I expected that and a story that was out of control as well. This story does push the envelope of silly situations, which are a negative for me, but it manages not to go so far as to lose me altogether. Just when things are going crazy, there are some sweet moments to pull it back.

Given that silliness is frequently intentional, the acting is good. The dialogue is good. I thought there was great chemistry between D'Orsay and Jonathan Bennett. The story follows one of the more obvious paths but then takes a turn that surprised me.