I mostly enjoyed this movie. Okay, it's not a perfect movie, by any means. But the acting was decent, the characters were likable and the message was good.
First, what I liked about the movie. I enjoyed Makenzie Vega's performance as tomboy-turned-hot-girl Tori. She pretty much nailed it, making us believe this attractive girl was just one of the guys, but also making her subsequent glow-up believable. She was simultaneously cute, but also very relatable. The supporting actors were decent. I especially liked Sal Stowers as her friend Krista and Greg Gunberg as her dad, although Tom Maden as her BFF Adam was just so-so. The message of the movie about being yourself and not trying to impress people by being someone else was also good. I liked how they showed this, not only with Tori pretending not to be a tomboy, but with her friend Krista essentially pretending to be a tomboy, both to impress guys. Ultimately, a romantic interest will like you for who you really are (or not), so pretending is a losing game. The other thing I liked was how the movie had a fairly rich tapestry of characters and relationships that made everyone seem pretty real and genuine.
Now, what I didn't like. The script was good in spots, but very choppy in others. The relationship between Tori's friend Krista and hot athlete Sam was kind of weird. So, how many guys would be looking for, or even be attracted to a girl who was really into sports? It really seemed like a stretch. The plotline where Tori tests her officemate Brian's devotion by showing up at his formal gathering in a masculine-looking pantsuit was also pretty out there. It should have been pretty obvious to her that he was only into her as long as she looked beautiful and feminine. But beyond that, even if he wasn't so superficial, showing up at such an event so inappropriately dressed was just rude on her part and wasn't a good way to test his loyalty. The screenwriter should have come up with a better scenario for her to realize that this guy wasn't a keeper. I also thought the relationship between Tori and her friend Adam was poorly developed. I wasn't feeling much chemistry, and I wish they had had some more scenes to make me really believe that they were secretly in love with each other. And the grand gesture scene at the end, with Adam standing there in a tux, with a bunch of roses, professing his love for Tori, was pure cringe. I've always hated grand gesture scenes in rom-coms, and much prefer a sincere, honest meeting of the couple where they discuss feelings. The whole scene, with them confessing their love, was just too over-the-top for me. Another nit pick: I really hated Adam's beard. It was not well-trimmed, and it just looked bad. They should've just made him shave it off.
Okay, so the script descended into cringe territory in a lot of spots. But I must say that, otherwise, this was a feel-good movie with likable, relatable characters that you found yourself becoming quite invested in. That was enough to make you just sit back and enjoy it without caring too much about the weak parts of the script. This is a Pixl/UPTV production, and, although their production standards (particularly the writing) may not be quite up to their competitor Hallmark, I think their movies have a lot more feeling and heart to them. I think the production standards will eventually improve, and I hope that they will not eventually become as formulaic as Hallmark.