Dating the Delaneys

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.

Maggie Delaney (Rachel Boston) is a divorcee and a "single mother" of two. She has not been on a date in twenty years, but she decides to try dating when she sees her widowed mother and her teenage daughter dating. Everyone, it seems, is sticking a toe into the dating pool with little real-life experience. Maggie's nervousness is abated somewhat when a friend, Michael Taylor (Paul Campbell), suggests that they go on pretend dates and critique each other's game.

Hallmark romance fans can see where this is going already, which is fine. There is plenty of humor in this story about the three generations. The relationship between Maggie and Michael is fairly comedic, as they tease each other and share jokes. The writing is good, yielding dialogue that is fun and upbeat.

Rachel Boston is the keystone of the film, providing a cheerfulness that does not flag, even when her character deals with things that annoy her. There may not be a lot of depth in this story, but it is enjoyable.

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.

Loved the actors. The movie was cute and funny. Some reviewers complained about the puns and corny jokes, but they were part of movie's story line and helped make the movie funny. Highly recommend.

Campbell and Boston always are great but the over use of puns made the characters rather ridiculous and one wishing to fast forward through the dialogue, especially the wine tasting event and backyard family BBQ. Loved the restaurant first blind date scene. Now that was good.