The Road Trip

This is a reasonable reworking of a best selling romance novel. The story more or less follows the book but anyone who's read it will be wondering what on earth happened during casting. Emma Appleton is very good in the lead female role but Laurie Davidson was so wrong in the role of Dylan. And it clearly didn't work for the actors either: there is absolutely no on screen chemistry between them. The support actors, however, were rather good and saved it for me. The story is a bit meh, drawn out over 6 episodes with multiple flashbacks. The last episode has about 5 minutes of plot and was pretty much unnecessary. A 2 hour film would have been a lot better. It's no One Day or Flatshare but is pleasant enough for an evening watch.

NOT a comedy... all romance and drama... It's a Rom-Dram, not rom-com.

I agree with other reviews. The lead male chracter was cast poorly. The actor just has little or no precense on screen. And offers no connection to the female lead. There's no chemistry, no spark, there.

The "atmosphere" is often on suited to comedy.. but the script just isn't there for comedy. Most of the scenes are over-emotional dramatic scenes... with VERY brief interludes to fill in gaps.

It's also one of those stories that start with story (A).. but that story is largely dependent upon the past.. so the series seamlessly jumps from time period to time period.. showing scenes of the present mixed with scenes from the past.. and the viewer is to determine which is which (that's not difficult). I often feel this "weaving" technique is used because if the story were told from A to B, rather than A, B, A, B, A, B, A , B... it wouldn't be that interesting.

Ultimately, even with the time swapping, this series just wasn't very engaging for me. I could not possibly care less about the overly abundant angst revolving around the relationship between these two main characters.. and THAT is all this series is about. And it just isn't funny anywhere.

----- PASS -----

The perfect comforting watch balancing the fun of rom com traditions as well as offering a depth to the characters in its exploration of trust and boundaries in relationships as well as the intricacies of friendships and communication.

I thought the acting was class, genuine and heartfelt where each character was hatable, likeable, lovable and hilarious ! And it helps that they were dependably aided with a witty yet equally thoughtful script. It had everything that one would hope for from a Rom com, light and heartwarming and the right about of cheese. Definitely recommend this one to put a smile on your face! I'm left wondering what these characters are doing next ...!

I watched this because I love Beth O'Leary books and was so disappointed!

They changed so much of the story line that it wasn't basically a different story altogether.

The differences are listed for those curious

* The book was based around a road trip to a wedding in Scotland The programme was based around a road trip to Spain

* Addies relationship with her sister was much strong in the book. Her sister had a son from a one night stand and Addie was a huge part of nephews life In the programme addies sister was in a lesbian relationship and they had actively planned for their daughter Rosie. Deb's girlfriend was quiet toxic IMO and was Almost trying to drive a wedge between addie and her Sister.

*in the book and the Programme addie and dylan Met in very different ways. Although still whilst she was working in a villa abroad there was much more depth to their relationship and how The relationship grew.

The only thing that stayed the same was the crazy wedding crashes Rodney!! He was the most basic part of the book but the best part of the programme because everything else just missed the mark!

I do wonder how much input Beth had on this and if she did sign off on this I'm really disappointed because she's a fantastic writer and her Other programme "the flat share" was brilliant and was done perfectly,

By all means watch this and enjoy It as it is quite good. But it's just not like book if that's what you're wanting.

Definitlely recommend watching this show - especially if the rom com genre is the one for you. It feels like a bit of a throwback to the classic rom com era. Overally the show is a really characterful series which you can binge very easily. Emma Appleton is fantastic as the female lead and the supporting characters are very good, there are also some great cameos throughout. The episodes are funny and there's some great humour sprinkled keep you entertained and engaged. The series itself is really nicely shot and there are some unexpected but really great twists as you go through. Highly recommend!