Her Pen Pal

It follows the Hallmark movie format to the tee. So why give it an 8? Paris, France and the leads are good.

I do have one gripe and that is the movie set up Victoria's backstory beautifully but failed miserably with the male lead. I mean come on, the dude is a square jawed handsome wealthy dude with perfect manners - Hallmark gave us...well he was traveling so he put off relationships for 15 years. I don't think so - come on writers give us something even 1% believable and we are good to go.

I love these destination hallmark movies! I did Google where this was filmed as some scenes looked like a green screen backdrop but it says it was mostly filmed in Paris! Like Jacque says in the movie, the movie feels like you are wandering through Paris at a relaxing pace. I enjoyed the music, lots of food, and beautiful scenery. I wasn't sure what Jacques' job was as it seems he just has a bunch of money and all the time in the world to be wandering around with the LA lifestyle paced Victoria. I like that Victoria acted like a professional adult and not one of those ridiculous big bright eyed characters we often see in hallmark movies with no substance. All the characters had moments where they were falling apart but resolved their issues as grown ups. It's a lovely weekend afternoon movie to take your mind off of your daily life and transport you to beautiful Paris!

Victoria's is a wedding planner. And of course she is planning the wedding of one of her best friends, which turns out to be in Paris, France. Once there, she remembers her pen pal from school, a french guy called Jacques, whom she dated for a while before meeting the now ex boyfriend of 12 years who just broke up with her.

My main complain is that if you are gonna have a French character, you should have a French actor. Yes, I can excuse a Canadian playing an American but and English playing a French? Not cool.

I actually loved the story, there were no major plot holes. Cliches? Yes we have a lot of them: we have two friends/exes reconnecting, a jealous ex boyfriend, nosy friends and misunderstandings, so it's your typical Hallmark movie. So you may wonder what makes this a good one? Firstly, Mallory and Joshua had passable chemistry (I forgot they worked together on Galavant, a TV show I watched) and of course, the location. We see a few typical spots of France (and if you pay attention you may see a few people with masks and even the police/security while they were filming)

I would have loved to watch a flashfoward tho, to see how the characters were doing (or maybe they are planning a second movie, which I will gradly watch). . For a second movie, however, I would get rid of the ex boyfriend and bring more diverse characters/actors. The movie didn't drive me crazy but I enjoyed it.

The plot had some "Huh?" moments, but it was noticeably better than most plots in this genre. I really appreciated that there were some genuine obstacles and hard feelings rather than the usual silly misunderstandings. I also appreciated that they invested some money and care into the settings rather than scraping the bottom of the barrel with their budget.

All in all, worth watching.

I am loving these destination hallmark movies especially this year when we can't travel. The relaxing pace of the movie is reflective of Jacque's philosophy of love feeling like you are wandering through life with no where to go in a hurry. I felt transported to the streets of Paris, enjoying the beautiful scenes, music, and lots and lots of food! I don't know what Jacque does for a living, seems he has soooo much money and no job and all the time in the world to attend these wedding events. Victoria was a great character, professional, mature, and not acting like the ridiculous big bright eyed hallmark leads we are accustomed to. She actually makes good choices. All the characters had some minor conflict but all resolved them as adults which I greatly appreciated. Take an afternoon off and wander through Paris with this movie! Only thing I found annoying is this year's pregnant characters- they are in literally every movie! Why?!!! Is everyone pregnant during covid?