Planning on Forever

I sort of liked this movie. It was cute and had a little charm. The lead actors did their best and they were attractive and likable enough. They did have some chemistry, but, sadly, not enough. The cinematography was pretty good, highlighting the amazing scenery around Vancouver that we see in countless Hallmark or Hallmark-esque rom-coms. The problem with the movie was it was just kind of dull. Lead characters Liam and Emma seemed to start out a little combatively, but they settled way too easily into being nice to each other and there was no more romantic tension after that. Even their one and only "disaster" blind date didn't sound that bad. So he showed up late for the date, and they crashed while riding a tandem bike. Big deal. In a movie like this, you really needed the bad date to be an unmitigated disaster and you really needed Liam and Emma to be antagonistic and sparring with each other for much of the movie, and they weren't. At the very least, you needed witty banter between them, and there wasn't much of that either. It could also have been interesting if some of their wedding preparations had gone disastrously, but the only hitch seemed to be when their original venue canceled on them. You knew that they would move to the lovely location on the ocean, even though it took a little while for those clueless two to come up with that obvious choice. And then you had the misunderstanding where Emma thought that Liam was dating the florist and bringing her to the wedding. That one was handled a bit clumsily, I'm afraid, and it was never too believable. Even the "big decision" of whether or not Emma would take the promotion and move to Seattle wasn't that compelling. You never seriously doubted that she would turn down that promotion and stay in their town to be with Liam. If this were real life, this would be a nice progression of a romance between two people who were clearly meant to be together. But translated to a movie, a romance where everything just goes smoothly is not very interesting. They needed something to add spice to the story, and that spice was sadly lacking. So, nice, but dull and forgettable would be the best way to describe this movie.

The only hint of location is when a possible job transfer to Seattle is pondered, they say it isn't that far. Turns out the fictional town was filmed at beautiful Kelowna in British Columbia, about 200 miles NE of Vancouver. Beautiful location! So Emily is a successful event planner and her sister is getting married. The date is most important, it is on an anniversary of when she met her intended. But they both have to go out of town on important business so they ask Emily to be a "stand in", evaluating food choices, decorations, cake, live entertainment, all those things. She is thrust together with the Best Man, the stand-in for the groom, Liam, someone she had had a single date with a year earlier and it didn't go well. Liam owns a local bicycle shop and is very personable. We sense they might have a future if they give it a second chance. But Emily is so good she is being offered a promotion and new job in Seattle which is almost six hours away. As she and Liam re-acquaint does she really want to leave town? With the help of her mom she tries to decide "What will make her most happy?" My wife and I watched this movie streaming on Amazon Prime, it is a clean and appropriately entertaining movie. As most of these types of movies, somewhat predictable, but still fun to watch before bedtime.

source: Planning on Forever

The acting, the plot, the writing brought nothing new to the table. Very low energy and boring same old same old plot involving pre-wedding activities while falling back in love with your ex. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, including second chance at love for the widowed mother. I can't put my finger on it but the mother really annoyed me. Always hovering in the background with advice at the ready. Followed all the clichés to a "T".

source: Planning on Forever

The actors aren't bad, but the script is a little dull, dragging thru scenes at times & not making the most of it. For example, when Liam & Emma are tasting food with the number cards, they missed an opp to make that a fun scene. Instead it was boring. Sorry, that was my last scene.

The acting, the plot, the writing brought nothing new to the table. Very low energy and boring same old same old plot involving pre-wedding activities while falling back in love with your ex. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, including second chance at love for the widowed mother. I can't put my finger on it but the mother really annoyed me. Always hovering in the background with advice at the ready. Followed all the clichés to a "T".

Trailer—Planning on Forever