Surprised by Love (2015) Hallmark Review
The “Heart of TV” channel we all love doesn’t mess around when it’s time to premiere new year originals. The first movie to air on Hallmark Channel (one that sets the stage for Saturday night premieres) is both sweet and hilarious.
Hilarie Burton plays Josie Mayfield, a driven career woman working at her father’s high-end department store. She’s dating her vision of the perfect man while her parent’s believe Richard is anything but right for her.
Then she happens to meet up again with her high school almost-boyfriend, Maxwell (Paul Campbell) and it just so happens to coincide with her parent’s 40th anniversary party – a party they don’t want Richard at.
Richard concocts the perfect plan: Josie should bring Maxwell home with her instead. His free-spirited attempts at making a living are in direct contrast with the Mayfield’s, which means that the plan is to make Richard look all the better.
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For a romantic comedy airing on this channel – which can often fall into being formulaic, this film is darling. It moves away from some of the common tropes and uses imagination to make things more colorful. Sometimes the humor gets a bit “too much” because it morphs into “physical humor.” As we watch the disasters, we wonder what more can go wrong…! There is baking disasters, hair color snafus and more, yet through it all the script maintains a fun vibe that is anything but boring.
Aside from the cast (Campbell from Window Wonderland and Hilarie Burton from White Collar will look familiar), it’s nice to watch the story’s progression. It’s not a typical girl-returns-home plot. This one has a twist or two (like a big city locale), which gives the script more “life.” Plus, the story isn’t focused on just its leads. There is a lot of family conflict in the story to add more layers than a mere romance might. I like Josie’s sister, Mindy and her battling emotion. I even like the silliness of Maxwell’s character.
If you’re looking for a sweet romance, then Surprised by Love is the perfect sprinkle of spontaneity.
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I agree with your assessment that it was hilarious! I don't normally laugh out loud while watching Hallmark movies (and often when they try to be comedic, I feel like they fail dismally), but this one really struck my funny bone. I didn't think the romance was particularly strong, but overall it was very enjoyable.
I'm glad you enjoyed the comedy too, Becky! I thought it was really sweet though like you say, because of this, it maybe suffered a bit in the romance. The balance worked well for me though and makes me curious for whatever else Hallmark brings us in 2015!
This one looks cute!
It sure was. :)
I LOVED this Hallmark. BUT, I missed the ending. Our recorder let us down big time with this one. I got to where he was ending and she seemed to not know what to say. Can you PLEASE tell me the ending??? NAN
Oh no! I'm so sorry you missed the ending.
…as usual, it's a Hallmark happy-ever-after complete with a sweet "reunion" scene. She comes after him after they've parted, and it ends (if memory serves) at the park. :)