My One & Only

A really feelgood movie with a beautiful story and characters.

Ironic that many reviews about the very best thing about this film: it's not your typical Hallmark formula! The ending isnt some nonsensical sudden change in the characters' values, but rather a (relatively) realistic stalemate of --but being willing to "do it scared."

Somehow none of the reviews mentioned the central theme: facing challenges even when it's scary or disheartening. It reminded me of the famous Gretsky quote "you miss 100% of the hits you don't take."

If you want a film with a meaningful message, a less predictable plotline, and genuine chemistry among ALL the characters, even the families friends and the "friendzoned couple" as my spouse called the set-up duo, then check this one out. My spouse often gets grumpy at Hallmarks but he was loving it and thought the reality show couple did an excellent job at acting "friends not lovers." I was very pleasantly surprised with this film after we have endured a couple "meh" Hallmarks--this one finally brought a new context (a reality show) with an assertive woman (we often get impatient with the clumsy/pushover woman leads of many Hallmarks--definitely not the case with this one!)

I did notice people complained about Sam's unkempt look, but that's clearly contrasted with the other male lead who is the clean-cut city boy. I found Sam's scruff hot.

Also, I want to figure out who played Sam's mother because she was spot-on! She stole every scene she was in!

"You might just have to do it scared."

Stephanie, played by Pascale Hutton, gets roped into participating as a contestant on a reality show called The One, where they hope individuals find their "one". For this season, they have paired Stephanie with a fellow LA city slicker named Oliver for two weeks at a Wyoming ranch called Aurora Ranch.

Unfortunately, while Oliver is nice and he and Stephanie get along well...she seems to have more chemistry with the Aurora rancher Alex. When they meet, assumptions are made involving some catchy slogan and a hashtag. When it came down to it they actually have a lot in common.

I loved Pascale's wardrobe and the ranch setting was lovely. It was fun to see them work in a reality show into a hallmark romance.

Sweet and easy going, I think romantics will love this sunny offering.

The leads in this are experienced Hallmark veterans with a history of good performances so I expected more. In fairness it wasn't the actors except maybe the one playing Oliver.

The premise is a bit unusual. The script did not really follow the typical format for the type of reality show it was supposed to be copying and so that contributed to the awkwardness that resulted. The story uses a couple of overused minor tropes like a formula and that only makes it worse. And much of the climax is predictable despite some clumsy red herrings.

The mystery date is just one more stupidity which I can't explain without giving away too much.

Start with an experienced talented cast, add the perfect location, then add a brilliant but different story. Now you have the possibility of a ten star movie. This one does not deserve ten stars because of some missing ingredients. First is chemistry between the lead characters. It was almost absent partly because the makeup department failed in their job. No woman wants to spend time getting her makeup perfect then go kiss a porcupine. Sam did not have a beard, he had a dirty face with 3 days of stubble on it, so no kissing until a mandatory kiss at the end. The most important missing element was Love. She cared more about her job than she did him, and he loved his ranch more than her. That is not Love and therefore not a ten star movie.