Dating the Delaneys

Let me say that I love The Hallmark Channel and I really liked the actors in this one.... BUT. The main characters with the exception of the grandmother are completely clueless. I found myself wanting to slap both Maggie and Emma. The amount of atrocious behavior they both put up with from their love interests was just unrealistic. Any normal person would have told these men to bugger off. Hallmark romance movies are typically written to include the big misunderstanding and when there's about 3 minutes left in the movie, it's everyone gets their happily ever after but this one was completely dragged on and just not believable. Michael and John's character were way too tolerant. No man would stick around if the women they're interested in acted this clueless. If I had to sum this movie up in one word, it would be LAME.

I watched this movie for the third time the other night and I was impressed. Maybe I'm slow on the uptake. The main two characters took their time and warmed up to one another, gradually. These two are wounded ducks, so to speak, each having lost a spouse and that makes them cautious about love and commitment. Both have children which makes things even more complicated and their slowness in realizing that they are attracted to one another is natural. The puns the two main characters tossed back and forth was at first mildly awkward for me but when you are dating and comfortable you let down your guard and let the real person out. I do recommend this movie but you need to be patient and let it unfold.

As another reviewer (Jackbv123) pointed out, Rachel Boston and Paul Campbell essentially recreated the roles they played in The Last Bridesmaid. They have a nice breezy chemistry that, frankly, works so well it undercuts the credibility of their "pretend" dating. In real life, I don't see how they wouldn't talk about "real" dating after that first night out. To be fair, the implausibility of continuing that charade does get discussed at the bakery the next day, but Maggie inexplicably decides to keep up the pretense. That seemed more than a bit forced, especially with the ridiculous caricatures that she dated.

Random observations:

Parmiss Sehat was great as Devon, the friend and co-worker.

The teens were realistically dorky and awkward. The scenes with Emma (well played by Zoe Christie) were especially well written by Jennifer Barrow. She wrote Sun, Sand and Romance which also starred Paul Campbell (and she also wrote another Hallmark movie about how to date called the Dater's Handbook, which starred future princess Meghan Markle).

The cake portion sizes were ridiculously large.

Make it, bake it, cake it? It sounds catchy, but it also sounds stupid. And there wasn't much to the show once it aired.

I loved the waiter's solution to Bad Date #1

The jokes WERE often cringeworthy, but they did establish and reinforce the connections between Maggie & Michael and Emma & John, and those moments were often quite cute (even if they also induced groans).

My biggest complaint was Maggie's plan to attend her ex's wedding. In what alternate universe would the ex-wife even think about going to her ex-husband's wedding???? First, he's a jerk who can't be bothered to spend time with his own kids even though he apparently has plenty of time for his next wife. Heck, it'll be hard enough to get his kids to show up. But his ex-wife?? That would be wildly unrealistic and beyond awkward. I'd rather have a root canal without anesthesia than see my ex get married. Ugh.

I liked the response to "how did you know you liked him?":

"It's not gonna be the same for everyone. It's gonna be a combination of things. Common interests, the ability to talk to one another, a similar sense of humor...I think you want a gentleman. Someone who treats you well but also knows you are strong, you are smart, you are capable. He lets you be you. You shouldn't have to shrink in order to make him feel big."

Overall, a sweet but flawed movie with 2 likeable leads.

8.2 stars.

Two single parents start to practice date each other so they can be prepared for real dating. After a couple of outings, what if one of them hopes for this to be more than practice?

This is another wonderful film that caught me off guard. The title is not the most flattering, but since four out of five Delaneys are dating, it makes sense. There are a lot of really corny puns and dad jokes interspersed throughout, but it makes for decent comedy, fills the gaps, and it's a family movie. It is cringe at times, but it's still fun. To elaborate: the two leads go on several fake dates because they agree they need practice for the real thing. We can see that this gradually becomes more than practice. Classic Hallmark.

After time passes and together they have honed her skills for real dates, we expect her to catch a hint, but she chooses to ignore it. Does she like him for more than a friend, it's difficult to ascertain. I feel it's her subtle way of getting on board with the idea that he could be Mr. Right. She is a real jokester, and this feels like a very secretive scheme on her part, he is the butt of the ultimate joke...but we will never know for sure.

The anticipation is palpable, we are rooting for this to work out, which Hallmark always delivers. This film is a hiatus from the usual formulaic humdrum, a pleasant vacation from the same old construct. There is no critical moment, no temporary falling out, no major misunderstanding or disagreements, no interrupted kiss...this is simply about a woman going on a bunch of meaningless dates, each man being stranger than the last.

On inconsistency that affects the credibility of her character is when she is dating the wine tasting symphony enthusiast. This guy is a total troll of the worst kind and I can't imagine anyone would tolerate his attitude and behavior. He was disgusting, and her reaction was inconceivable. Any normal woman would have doused him with her wine and stormed out.

The side stories were well developed and added so much to this film: the daughter and her crush, the sons with basketball, and fishing, and the ex-husband being a half-hearted lame dad. There is so much depth to this film, it's a must see.

This is mostly a typical story with some minor differences. In ways, it's not a lot different than the last movie starring Boston and Campbell, The Last Bridesmaid. The leads hang together avoiding any sense they are dating each other. In this one, they knew each other already and decide to help each other enter the dating market by "practicing". Add to that story a daughter that has a crush but spends time with her lab partner and grandmother who already is well on her way to a new beau.

Boston and Campbell have great chemistry together. Any couple who can banter the "bad" jokes and puns so smoothly has to have chemistry. They have tons of fun together and the audience tags along.

The ex-husband is there mostly as a stereotype of an absolutely terrible dad. He was a little too much.

There are no great highs or lows and definitely no surprises but the movie is still fun.