Coup de foudre arrangé

Just One kiss is a genuinely heartwarming story with a lot of charm. The soundtrack is pretty great, too. Recommend watching around the holiday tine, because why not??

Don't want to spoil anything because the writers actually put a lot of great twists and turns and the ending...

But definitely don't miss out on this one.

Two moms set up their romantic offspring who have both loved but had their hearts broken. Mia Rivera is a college professor of literature who was inspired in her youth by the Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet and him poem "on living". Tony Romano is a piano bar singer who wears a fedora and likes to sing the crooner classics.

"So many of us when it comes to love-the journey from aspiration to fulfillment is a very bumpy road."-Professor Rivera

Tony and Mia meet first while heckling each other in a theater and then run into each other on the street...thanks to a little help from their moms.

"I'm not in a funk."-Mia. "All hermits say that"-bff

Mia moves into Tony's appartement building with her daughter and is in the process of divorcing her good-for-nothing husband. Her daughters first friend in her new home happens to be Tony's niece who he is looking after while his sister is away.

Tony and Mia agree to be friends...and get to know each other...the rest is history!

The dedication at the end is sweet, sentimental and beautiful.

"Ralph Waldo Emerson says shallow men believe in luck, strong men believe in cause and effect."-Mia.

"Stab the body and it heals, but enter the heart and the wound lasts a lifetime."-Mineko Iwasaki

"Deny me bread, air, light, spring, but never your laughter for I will die."-Pablo Neruda

This was sweetly romantic in an old fashioned way that is very sentimental. I highly recommend this to any romantics out there.

I loved the singing in this movie. It breaks up the story telling with a nice tune every now & then and the smiles from the actors are contagious. I also enjoyed seeing ethnic characters in the lead, Italian, Jewish, Mexican, the moms were funny. The movie moved pretty fast for Hallmark, I mean he tried to kiss her on the 1st date! Lol I like these actors, they seemed more natural in their roles.

Loved it.

'Just One Kiss' is the second film in the newly introduced, as of 2022, Spring Into Love seasonal block that had replaced the Spring Fever/Spring Fling one(s). The first being the decent if uneven 'A Second Chance at Love'. It is always nice to have a break from the Hallmark regulars every now and again, and it was interesting to have Broadway actors/singers in the lead roles (in fact 2022 had more non-Hallmark regulars leads than most previous years). Did like the premise.

And it is done well here in 'Just One Kiss'. It is not a great or perfect film (none of the 2022 Hallmark films are, or any of their output), but as far as 2022 Hallmark films go it is one of the better ones and was refreshing. Definitely an improvement over 'A Second Chance at Love', no annoying characters for example here. Nice to have a more musical-oriented film, which really played to the two leads' significant vocal talents, and do it as well as it does. Definitely worth watching at least once.

Do agree that the misunderstanding is extremely predictable and felt very contrived, not uncommon with Hallmark but this was one of the worst faring examples of the 2022 output.

The ending did feel really rushed as well as too convenient. Do agree too that Santino Fontana had some awkward moments early on.

Having said all of that, a lot is good. It is a very attractively photographed film with lovely scenery. The music is catchy and upbeat while also having soul in all the right places, that it is exceptionally well performed by the leads (both experienced music theatre performers). Fontana's acting does improve and becomes a good deal more charming and relaxed. Krysta Rodriguez is a joy throughout and a breath of fresh air. Their chemistry is genuine and very sweet and perky, and mostly their characters were worth connecting with.

Supporting cast are all solid with no exception and their characters while typical are neither dull or irritating. The writing is playfully light-hearted while taking the more serious moments seriously, without going into morose land. The story is far from perfect or original, but it is very upbeat and energetic and the charm and warm hearted factors are very high.

Overall, liked it a good deal while not loving it. 7/10.

This movie is above average quality for hallmark. I'm a big fan of Hallmark movies but sometimes they can get a little boring and the Scripps are so G rated that the writers forget that you can still make adults witty and fun.

Thankfully in this movie, You get some witty banter. The leads actually flirt with each other versus acting like good buddies who suddenly realize that they are in love.

Plus, there is the inclusion of Tony-winner Santino Fontana as the male lead. I saw him played the lead in tootsie in 2019 before it went onto Broadway. He has such a natural gift for comedy and wit that I immediately recognized him three years later in this movie. Plus he has a great voice- if only we could actually see lounge singers that good in real life!