The previous 2014 Hallmark films varied in quality. While 'A Ring in Spring' was a real winner, there was also the disaster that was 'My Gal Sunday'. Was not sure how 'Lucky in Love' was going to turn out, despite the title sounding very charming the premise was less so and was one that could go either way. There were elements that had potential to be charming, but others that could be potentially cruel. Was certainly not expecting it to be original, Hallmark did similar stories since (films though seen prior to this) with variable success.
'Lucky in Love' left me mixed. There are good things about it that does make it watchable that makes it one of the middling 2014 Hallmark films, namely the two leads. It also however falls significantly short in too many major areas for me to recommend, such as the story execution, the music, the ending and how difficult it was for me to connect with the female lead character. It is far from being a terrible film, have already said that it is watchable, but it really isn't particularly good. Can totally see why reviews for 'Lucky in Love' here have been divided.
Starting with the good things, Jessica Szohr gives her all and does have heartfelt moments. Benjamin Hollingsworth is a charming male lead. The supporting cast are more than acceptable, even though the characters are very cliched and recycled ones at that. The film did have some charming and light hearted moments.
It also looks nice, particularly the scenery which is complemented well by the slick photography.
However, the story is very formulaic with no surprises, there is so much over familiarity to every typical Hallmark trope thrown in with not an awful lot done with them. Making the film feel very predictable and mundane, and the film tends to drag, especially when the story got thinner. Absolutely agree about the ending being the kind that can be seen from a long way off and it is executed in a far too pat and unrealistically rushed way that jars with what was seen before.
Also agree about the constant, incredibly repetitive and twee music, that was often inappropriately placed, being really distracting. It does drown out some of the dialogue, which was very stilted and corn and cheese filled anyway. While Szohr does well in her role, her character was not easy to root for. She sounded very relatable on paper, but she came over in the film as too self-absorbed and snobbish and excessively so (really did feel sorry for her friends). Really did not buy how long it took so long for her to find out the truth about a certain character when it was not that subtle to the viewer. While she and Hollingsworth are good individually, they mostly lack spark and are too low key together.
Overall, mixed feelings here. 5/10.
