The opening twenty minutes or so 'scene setting' are some of the most compelling screenwriting I have seen for a long time. Our leading lady is both drawn to the leading man and fascinated by the absurdity of the persona he dons in order to promote his book. The arch character she plays and her inability to stop flinging jabs at him are completely compelling and very funny. I have never laughed aloud at or replayed scenes from a Hallmark film before.
Our leading man is content to absorb her constant abuse, as they are obviously enjoying the chemistry together, and this spurs our heroine to yet more acerbic observations about him which, at their worse, she even apologises for. I don't think I have seen better script than this since enjoying the clashes between Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy - it's that good. The usual things Hallmark do to ruin any enjoyment - the irritating background plink plunk music and the sledgehammer subtle a, b, c of how sparring opposites get romanticky, are all here unfortunately. The film gradually trails into banality as the kitsch bonding, inevitable misunderstanding and union in the last five minutes take their effect. But the unveiling of the relationship between the two, Jen Lillie's portrayal of the incredibly insecure yet cuttingly astute author, and our rent-a-chin leading man, aware of his own absurdity is romance itself. Well done writers, Hallmark let them off the leash next time, you could have a classic.
