I'm truly surprised that there are negative reviews here about this romantic movie. I just loved it. The dialogue is smart and natural. The acting is some of the best I've seen, and the writers were able to take an oft-used, fairly hackneyed Hallmark theme - pretending to be married - and make it feel fresh.
I admit, I got some heavy "French Kiss" vibes from this - and that is one of my favorite "modern" (which, for me, means post-1950s,) movies of all time. A couple of negative reviews stated there was no chemistry, but to me the chemistry was so strong it made me worry for Penavega's marriage! (Kidding... I think.)
She is such a classic beauty, and the male lead, Nicholas Bishop, has an achingly-attractive charisma and is excellent in the role. Also, I rarely laugh out loud at the humor in a Hallmark movie, but a couple of his lines (especially the one referencing "Legally Blonde,") caused a burst of laughter.
The disdain-to-love relationship between these two develops very naturally, and the first kiss sneaks up on the viewer and was - to me, at least - pretty thrilling!
One reviewer commented that she threw a glass of wine at him after he accidentally spilled some on her. I pictured him spilling a small amount of red wine on her, then her throwing a full glass of red wine on him in anger, and expected one of those horrible romantic movies that is ridiculous and embarrassing. No!
In fact, in that scene they are standing outdoors admiring the view, and beginning to open up to each other. He has just mimicked a fake proposal to her, showing her how he would propose - if he ever did - so they are both nervous as a result of this play acting!! (This film is proposal focused because they're an ad team working on an ad for diamond engagement rings.)
As he's rising from his "down on one knee" position, he accidentally jostles her and spills a little white wine on her. She then playfully tosses the small amount of white wine that's left in the bottom of her glass on his sweater.
He says, "You did not just do that."
She (who is the "buttoned up," reserved one to his creative free spirit in this movie,) says, "I did. I did," while nervously laughing, surprised at her own spontaneous move. It's a playful moment, not an angry one.
By the way, the director (et al,) did a pretty good job of bringing the feel of Paris to this movie, although the filming took place in Bulgaria. The only bit I found questionable was that the owners of a $23M rose diamond ring would allow a relative stranger to wear it to a gala. That was the real "stretch" for me, but it was the only one. That part could have been left out of the film and no one would have missed it.
So - spoiler! - they get together in the end. This is such a romantic, heartfelt, beautiful movie, with a terrific cast of supporting characters, too. I hope those who read these reviews will choose to watch it - and enjoy it as I did.
