The Soulmate Search (2023 TV Movie) User Reviews (5)

One of the best ROE TV movies ever

[boriskaiser · 7/10 · 14 January 2023]

This is Reel One Entertainment TV movie which targets famous Hallmark single dad movies. I think it's the first one of that kind for them and they almost nailed it. As this is ROE TV movie you can bet there will be some technical issues, but there was only one - poor audio at Mickey's cafe scenes. Other that that, good. Even soundtrack was done very well. Furthermore, the movie takes place in St. Petersburg, FL and it was actually filmed there, and not in Hamilton or Kelowna, Canada pretending to be /insert random/ US city.

Casting was good enough, and acting was fine. Jonathan Stoddard looked like discounted Ben Affleck, and I actually liked it, lol.

Writing was fine, too. The movie starts as secretive, but as soon as Act II starts it's pretty predictable how thing are going to develop but it was executed well. Obligatory conflict at the end of Act II was pretty obvious. What I didn't like is how it was resolved i.e. Acting your intellectual age trope was used, and it was totally out of place.

There is a minor diversity issue. It is shoveled everywhere, but why there is not a single Hispanics actor or actress in the movie. Really? In the State of Florida? How's that even possible? But when movie ended and in the closing credit I read that there was actually one Hispanics but he looks like typical Caucasian so I made a mistake. Regardless...

This is one the best ROE TV movies ever, and I watched them a lot.

And as every other ROE TV movie, don't watch trailer if you plan to watch the movie as it shows everything!

Decent Hallmark-like romance

[herrcarter-92161 · 7/10 · 21 February 2024]

This movie, from Reel One Entertainment, is your basic Hallmark-like romance. Decent for the genre, but nothing too out of the ordinary. The leads gave pretty good performances. I especially liked Alexandra Harris as Emma. She was warm, animated and engaging. Jonathan Stoddard was fine also, playing Will, the straight-laced, prickly lawyer who is really hiding his softer side as a caring father to a cute 8-year-old son.

This was the standard story of a couple that start out as combatants but, through spending time together, slowly warm to each other. I thought their interactions were mostly good, and there was some chemistry. The initial "angry" phase was a little too much, though. He, especially, was way too rude, and with virtually no provocation. I guess his back story was that he was a single dad who was burned by love when his ex-wife left him and his son. But that's hardly justification for him acting like a complete jerk to a total stranger. The transition from hate to love was a bit abrupt, too. The unfolding relationship could have been developed better. The concept of them feeling like the dating service had conned them, and having them collaborate on trying to catch the supposed con artists was definitely original. It's also pretty unbelievable. How many people, after having what they perceive as a date from hell, would then want to spend lots of time together with that same person, just to get back at the dating service that set them up?

The bump in the relationship, which occurs about 3/4 into most rom-coms, was in this one too, but it seemed kind of stupid. So, she's all upset that Will didn't tell her that Dash was his son, rather than his nephew, even though she just made that assumption without asking him? And that's supposed to be this massive betrayal, even though Ellen and Will hardly even have a relationship yet? The big reveal happened on what was technically their first date, after all. And it wasn't even anything that bad. He didn't even really lie to her. He just withheld information. It just seemed really fake and forced. I think they should've figured out a more realistic reason for their budding relationship to get derailed. I also think it would have been tons better if Ellen had found out early that Dash was Will's son, and that he had shared with her his trauma about his failed marriage. There would have been a lot more chances for the two of them to bond with each other.

So, all in all, this was a decent movie. As a rom-com, it delivered what it needed to. You had two attractive people, originally standoffish, but eventually falling in love, bringing you to the satisfying, happy ending. Throw in the cute kid for bonus points, and you have a winning combination. Overlook the rough edges in the script, and you'll doubtless enjoy it.

Cheese factor; phenomenal

[ikimberlin · 10/10 · 5 February 2024]

This story was the same as other love stories but with a twist. A twist of date I guess you could say. The storyline was enjoyable and kept me watching instead of picking up my phone or pausing to go do something my mind remembered. I was completely into it from start to finish.

I'm a sucker for the cookie cutter Hallmark kinda love story but a lot of times will get distracted.

In this you see each person and know how things will come together but the cast make it fun while having chemistry that a lot of dramatic love stories love have.

I had to come into IMBD to check out the cast and see what else they are on.

Hard to watch

[Jackbv123 · 2/10 · 28 February 2024]

The acting was as bad as any Reel One Entertainment I can remember. Most of the main characters were terrible, especially Harris and Stoddard. Add to that how distracting and annoying the "background" music was and this movie was hard to watch. Background music should not be noticeable. This was. The dialogue was fair.

The story was a typical Quest which throws the romantic leads together on their search, in this case, for Eternity which is who set up their blind date. The reason for the quest was unusual and stretched credulity that they would both put so much effort into it. Harris and Stoddard had zero chemistry or worse. The conflict was overplayed although there was something Ellen said that made me pause to consider her point of view. There is the typical lie of omission. She makes the comment that he is a lawyer, so he knows how to lie without technically lying. The usual "cute kid" wasn't that cute.

If the acting wasn't bad enough, the stereotypical antagonistic first meeting is overdone. He was horribly rude, and she started to return in kind. But his rudeness pointed to character traits that really shouldn't go away so easily. Their mutual antagonism lasted way too long.

Terrible acting

[toncincin · 1/10 · 26 February 2024]

I struggled through this one. The acting was sub-par. The cinematography was horrible (felt like I was watching a home movie). The storyline was OK. However, I never could figure out why the friend with the boyfriend was thrown in there. It had NOTHING to do with the story. The actress playing the role was awful. Overacting - i wanted to slap that fake smile off her face. If I hadn't been in bed - before falling asleep - I probably would have turned it off . But it was so boring and bad - it was a good one to watch while relaxing before sleep. I've seen both if the leads in other movies - and they weren't this bad. I guess it has to do with what they were given to work with. SUCH IS THE CASE WITH MOST REEL ONE PRODUCTIONS ...