Une romance entre les lignes

I give this movie an eight for the concept, but a four for the execution, and I'll tell you why in a minute.

First, we liked the actors and thought the leads did a good job. The overall story idea was clever, and as an author, I particularly like movie ideas which include writers. And yes, sometimes an editor can help an author identify issues in their plotting and seriously improve a manuscript.

Here's the other side. Last year I wrote a murder mystery, and over the last two years I've been writing a series of RomComs, so I've kind of got my elbows down in that type of work. They say the guy handles his romance relationship all wrong, and the editor is going to help him improve that. Fine. What they missed were any DETAILS to make that trope more real to the viewer.

In the far superior Trading Christmas, a woman helps a male author with the relationship in his manuscript and what's wrong with his female character, and they at least talk about it enough to understand where the author was going wrong and how to fix it.

None of that here, I'm afraid.

Yes the line delivery is quick. I am hard of hearing and notorious for having trouble following conversation. There were a few moments where I had some trouble, but overall, I enjoyed it and missed little (often ignoring the CC). I thought the dialogue was some of the best I've heard in a while. One of the strong points here was the insightful conversations about Romance writing. Another example worthy of note is the teasing at the spa. Girlfriends teasing the lead female about her new romance is in every rom/com and it is usually trite and cliche. Not here. The teasing here was natural. It sounded real.

The other great thing is the chemistry between Kristina Cole and Russell Quinn. There is so much energy and admittedly some of it comes from the fast paced dialogue.

One complaint I have had with many movies on GAC Family where this appeared is lack of tension. Zach as a character may not be exactly "tension" but he is annoying beyond belief and creates some major tension. At one point, Reed describes him pretty well and I'm with Reed in not being able to figure out what Ivy ever saw in him. By the end of the movie, Ivy would be justified to slap Zach silly.

Another complaint I've frequently had with GACF is background music. In this movie, I only noticed that background a couple of times briefly and not overwhelmingly, so I have to give this movie a pass on that complaint.

To sum up. The acting is good and the chemistry is fantastic. But the real gem is the writing. Perhaps the line delivery is a bit fast, but the script is superb in big and small ways. I look forward to watching this again in the future.

The acting is weak, but the dialogue didn't help. The writer keeps referring to "his hero" to the editor. The ex, who was apparently a "businessman" because he said things like "you're the one deal I can't negotiate". I've been in business for 30 years. Believe me - no one talks like that. And I was so distracted when the lead guy was talking to his sister on the phone. She was supposedly driving, but was turned to the side the entire time. I kept waiting for her to crash. The one positive - I feel so fortunate that I don't have friends who have week long destination wedding celebrations where I have to spend the entire time doing planned activities, such as tug-of-war on the beach - while wearing a dress.

I really, really wanted to like this. The storyline was decent, but that's where it ends. The acting was B level at best, direction was hardly evident at all, and the editing and sound was atrocious. I think the only reason I watched it through to the end was because I had recorded it on the DVR. Otherwise, I'm fairly certain I would've changed the channel. I don't know where the production company came from or any of that other stuff that have been mentioned and other reviews, but I know what I like and what I don't like. This one is definitely in the don't like Section. Save yourself two hours of your life and watch something else.

Definitely recommend, it was funny, well written. The cast was new to me, but want to watch more of them. It was beautifully filmed on location. It shows people recognizing their mistakes and apologizing, which's a rare occurrence in this day and age. It involves family members sharing and caring for each other, giving each other constructive support and encouragement, as it should be. I would watch anything from director and cast. Movie is not like the violent, horror language coming out of the Hollywood elite studios today. Wholesome and family friendly, will watch again with my children. Loved it. 10 out of 10.