The Will

This is a wonderful production by Passionflix, where they bring popular romantic fiction to life. The Will is based on the Kristen Ashley book of the same title. I had not read the book at the time of originally watching this film...but I enjoyed it so much I bought the book to read immediately after watching.

I have since rewatched the film several times. The source material is wonderful for this film. I was delighted to see two actors who weren't super young have a sexy and romantic storyline.

The story is set in Maine and is about Josie (Josephine) who's Grandmother Lydia Malone has just passed away. The film starts with the funeral and the reading of the will...which is where Josie meets Jake. In unusual will request Lydia "gives" Josie to Jake. Of course it is explained by the lawyer that you can't give a human being so it isn't legally binding. Jake thinks they should at least get to know one another over dinner in honoring Lydia's wishes. Eventually they do get to know one another and after a boxing match...begin to smolder on the screen. Jake is a thrice divorced former professional boxer who owns both a gym and a stripclub. He has three kids, all of whom were very close with Lydia. He also knows Josie's secrets...like that she was physically abused by both her father and her first significant boyfriend. Josie inherits Lydia's spectacular Maine home called Lavender house, which becomes a source of conflict as her uncle tries to contest the will and a developer is desperately trying to buy it from her.

Wonderful chemistry between the two lead actors. Great casting...I loved most all of the characters but particularly Amond and the two Taylors. The Maine scenery was lovely and the Lavender House itself was spectacular. Josie's wardrobe was really interesting and seemed to suit her fashion industry lifestyle...all except the pale blue jumpsuit!

At first the film started out slowly for me and I didn't really know where it was going...but if you relax, it really grows on you. I have gone back and watched the film several times, enjoying it each and every time. I also notice new details that I didn't pick up on during the first watching. Josie's overall softness and femininity is very well balanced by our former boxer, protector or manly-man.

This is a strong recommendation from me to all those romantics out there...you will love this unique story and film.

So, The Will is one of my favorite books by Kristen Ashley. Dangerous to watch a movie based on any book, but ESPECIALLY a favorite. They'll never get it exactly right! (The one exception to this, in my experience, was The Pelican Brief by John Grisham.) So, when I watch a movie based off a book I've read, I try to go into it looking at the movie as its own version of the same story. It truly helps!

Now, with that background - they did a decent job w/ this adaptation! Location & costuming were EXCELLENT. I absolutely loved how Josie's wardrobe changed throughout the movie as she dropped her shields & became comfortable finding the real her. I liked most of the actors, tho there were a couple roles that didn't quite "fit" for me. My issue was more w/ the way these characters were cast/directed/edited than with the actors themselves, because I felt like they all did an excellent job. There were a couple scenes that I thought would be a bit confusing if you hadn't read the book, but mostly everything came together nicely.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, will likely watch it again, and will definitely be doing another reread of the book here soon! It made me want to dive back into the details of Josie & Jake's story. : )

This was a sweet surprise! I enjoyed the movie more than I expected! Beautiful sceneries and settings! The two leads and supporting actors such as Amond made this so much fun to watch! I enjoyed every minute of it and recommend it for everyone. This is probably one of Passionflix best productions! The locker room scene didn't expect it to be that steamy!

I absolutely loved this movie..Chris McKenna is one hot man..the live story is beautiful..I have watched it time and time again !

This book adaptation from Kristen Ashley's book was very well done, the screenplay was written with every important detail, each actor did a fantastic job portraying their characters, definitely showing where Passionflix is taking the next movies, the cinematography was spot on, the direction was great and is a overall a very good movie to watch, Passionflix is getting better with each adaptation, taking more details and doing a better job taking the fan's POVs into account and making the difference in how a book adaptation should be made.