larkdeb

It is hard to comment about this movie without giving away the plot, but this was an incredibly moving story. Scott Wolf's and Courtney Ford's performances were beautiful, raw, and real. Jay Black, as Tom's best friend, pulled off the very difficult role of a comedian within a tragic plot with amazing skill and sensitivity. His character could easily have been portrayed as a two-dimensional buffoon, and spoiled the movie for me. But, he managed to make me laugh and believe his awkward way of showing affection for his buddy and for the girl he liked. The family and friends around the two main characters maintained just the right balance of seriousness and humor to keep the weighty subject matter from getting schmaltzy. The director, Brian Herzlinger, struck just the right tone, and brought out the best in his cast. The only fault I can find in the whole thing is the main character's course of action introduced toward the beginning. Once I hesitantly agreed to suspend my disbelief and go along with it, however, I was richly rewarded with what I think will remain one of my favorite Hallmark movies, ever.

I really enjoyed this one. A little mystery, a little romance, a little light drama, all wrapped up in a Hallmark bow! Sincere, believable acting; gentle, loveable characters. I do wish, however, that Hallmark would take an extra few minutes to make the endings of their movies a little more realistic, and maybe not quite so typical and tidy.

Courtney Ford really shone as lead character, Erika, in this one. There were a few schmaltzy moments, when it seemed like the movie couldn't decide if it was a light drama or a comedy (I didn't care for the mother character - don't know if it due to acting, writing, or directing - she was too over-the-top for me, and seemed very out of place for this otherwise warm and gentle story). However, there was one hillariously sweet moment toward the end, concerning the the brother-in-law-to-be, in which I was simultaneously laughing and "aw-ing" out loud (Johnny Kramer, as Scott, toed the "dramedy" line quite well). Overall, the acting was well done and believable; the story was enjoyable; I would watch it again.