All Anything or Love

Hallmark movies, for me, are usually 4-to-5-star affairs, formulaic and moderately cute, with interchangeable actors. But Sara Rue completely elevated this movie, in my opinion. She took a character that most other Hallmark actresses would have turned into your stock "America's sweetheart" heroine and made her quirky and engaging. She gave off a "Reese Witherspoon" vibe. Rue totally elevated the script she was given; I actually watched the film thru to the end.

Also a shout-out to Teryl Rothery, who plays Jo's editor. I thought she, too, did a great job with the material she was given.

Now, to be clear, the story itself was still (IMHO) formulaic. I think the plot points unfolded in a very predictable manner.

So for me, the plot is, like, 4-to-4.5 stars, but the actors elevate everything enough to raise my IMDB rating to a solid 6.

Oh, and I felt the first part of the movie--where Jo starts attending the seal boot camp--was a shout-out to the wonderful movie Private Benjamin. Or rather, Private Benjamin as it would be played by Legally Blonde's "Elle Woods" character.