Romance Movie

Mrs. Winterbourne (1996)

Mrs. Winterbourne (1996)

Director:

Richard Benjamin

Writers:

Phoef Sutton

Lisa-Maria Radano

Starring:

Shirley MacLaine

Ricki Lake

Brendan Fraser

Blurb:

Connie, unwed and pregnant, is heading to Boston by train when she meets wealthy newlyweds Hugh and Patricia. The train crashes, and when Connie comes to in the hospital, she is mistaken for Patricia, who died in the crash with Hugh.

Review:

With Brendan Fraser.

Sorry, I had to. When I found this movie, Starz ended the description that way, and it struck me as hilarious, so everything in our house has been with Brendan Fraser.

Anyway, Mrs. Winterbourne was a perfect adaption of a romance novel. I haven’t read the book it’s based on, but it hits all the marks you would expect from that type of book. We have mistaken identity, an instant dislike by one of the protagonists, and then falling helplessly in love. Someone is blackmailed, there’s a murder, and rich bitches get told off. It’s all perfectly over the top.

My only complaints are that Brendan Fraser’s feelings and personality changed without much reason. Also, I’m not much of a fan of Ricki Lake. Other than those two things, the movie was pretty solid. Not something I need to own, but I’d watch it again.

3/5

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Return to Snowy River (1988)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Return to Snowy River (1988)

Director:

Geoff Burrows

Writers:

John Dixon

Geoff Burrows

Starring:

Tom Burlinson

Sigrid Thornton

Brian Dennehy

Nicholas Eadie

Blurb:

Young Jim Craig returns to his home in the Australian high country. He finds that things are not as he left them – his girlfriend is being pursued by another man, and her father doesn’t want Jim back into her life.

Thoughts:

My favorite part of Return to Snowy River is near the beginning. Where Jim is going to get into a fistfight but is told there are better ways to prove his point, so he completely shows up the asshole. It’s one of those moments where I have a stupid grin on my face while watching. I love it.

I like the rest of the movie, a lot actually, but I never get that feeling again with it. Jim and his whole “I’ve got a start for us” to Jessica is annoying. He didn’t even talk to her before disappearing. It was presumptuous on his part to expect her to wait for him, in my opinion—fairly old school man. Still, you can’t beat the romance. Easily top ten in that category.

There’s not much to say about the filming. There didn’t appear to be any drama behind the scenes. A horse died, sadly, but that’s about it. Michael Douglas didn’t reprise his role, but honestly, Brian Dennehy did a great job, and Douglas wasn’t missed. Oh, and it appears as though the actual title is Return to Snowy River II, though that’s not on my DVD copy. Seriously, I wish they’d release a Blu-ray or add it to Disney+ in HD.

Dorfman in Love (2011)

Dorfman-In-Love

Dorfman in Love (2011)

Director:

Brad Leong

Starring:

Sara Rue

Elliot Gould

Haaz Sleiman

Plot:

Unknowingly trapped in her role as caretaker of her unappreciative family, a young single woman desperately needs to get her own life. When she volunteers to cat sit at her unrequited love’s downtown L.A loft, her world, as she knows it, changes forever.

Review:

I love a good romance with an ugly duckling transformation, what made this even better was that the physical transformation wasn’t the focus. It was all about how she finally grew the balls to stand up to the people taking advantage of her and focus more on figuring out what she wanted to do with her life.

I liked it, it wasn’t as stupid as most of the current romances, though, it did have some introspective indie moments that I don’t care for too much. It was cute.

4/5

 

Belle (2013)

Belle

Belle (2013)

Director:

Amma Asante

Starring:

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Matthew Goode

Emily Watson

Plot:

The mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral is raised by her aristocratic great-uncle in 18th century England.

Review:

There’s really not much, more romantic than 18th century England. Love the clothing and the decor. It’s all so pretty and Belle has an original twist.

Dido, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, is a mixed race daughter being raised by her great-uncle who is the highest court in the land. I know next to nothing about slavery in England and the way the aristocracy acts is confusing and unnatural to me. However, I still love to watch movies set in this era and read the occasional historical romance.

I enjoyed the romance combined with the uncertainty surrounding the case being tried. The movie is not historically accurate, so says wikipedia, but I wasn’t expecting it to be. It was a nice way to end my romance movie month and I would definitely recommend it.

4/5

Double Wedding (2010)

DoubleWedding

Double Wedding (2010)

Director:

Craig Pryce

Starring:

Tia Mowry-Hardrict

Tamera Mowry-Housley

O.T. Fagbenle

Chad Connell

Plot:

Two sisters, no love lives. Both end up dating the same man, and inviting him to meet the family on December 17th. He doesn’t know there are two sisters or that he committed to two different dates on the same day.

Review:

It should really be called Triple Wedding, but I guess they didn’t count the grandparents renewing their vows.

The poster really ruins the “twist” and if you can somehow miss seeing it then it might be better. That actually pissed me off, a movie poster or movie trailer should not ruin a movie. Shouldn’t that be common knowledge?

I’m not a twin, but do they often end up unknowingly dating the same man? I thought the premise was contrived, they’re supposed to be close but it was over a month before they realized what was going on and then the way they dealt with it was a bit stupid.

All that being said, I didn’t hate the movie. It was cute and had its moments.

3/5