Gridley(Paul Campbell) is a down on his luck drifter who runs into his high school crush Josie(Hilarie Burton) in the park one day. Her boyfriend Richard, who is arrogant and stuffy, knows that Josie's wealthy parents hate Gridley even worse than him, so he pays Gridley to accompany Josie home for the weekend to her parents 40th anniversary party, in order to make him look more appealing.
Yes, there are a lot of standard romantic clichés here: snobby parents, comic mishaps by Gridley, and romantic sparks flying between Gridley and Josie. However, three things make this better than the usual Hallmark romance. First, Tim Conway plays grandpa as a man who fakes dementia to avoid his family's squabbles and is hilarious throughout.
Second, Josie's sister Mindy with her green-streaked hair, which is the result of a Gridley mishap, and her free-spirited, stubborn ways is extremely likable and comes close to stealing the show.
And third, Paul Campbell has just the right amount of quirkiness and makes the viewer both sympathetic and humored.
Of course, Josie and Gridley fall in love, her family accepts him and they end up together as one would expect. But, the journey there is fun and sometimes its nice simply to watch a movie, especially Hallmark, JUST for fun and romance!!
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