My Fake Fiance (2009)

One of my all time favorites.

just watch it!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

So about two weeks ago I decided to watch Melissa and Joey on Netflix. Well, something clicked in its old school sitcom feel and now I'm hooked...I love it! I've always been a sucker for the ABC Family/Disney Family type movies. So having become a fan of Melissa Joan Hart and Joseph Lawrence I was pretty excited to discover this little movie they did before Melissa and Joey. I knew it wasn't going to be stunning or anything but I expected cute, fun and it was exactly that. In many ways it was almost a direct precursor to the TV series. Their characters were vaguely similar though toned down versions, and their tempestuous relationship was also vaguely similar to the playful hatred Mel and Joe have for each other. The film starts out stumbling a little. It doesn't really know where its going and their personalities were a little grating at first. But then around the middle of the movie it starts to find its groove and turns in a cute adorable little romance that is your typical (in a good way) ABC Family rom-com. They still don't have near the chemistry that they manage to have in their ABC Family sitcom but it was fun and simply and you just have to sit back and enjoy.I never really considered Melissa Joan Hart or Joseph Lawrence to be A list actors but you know watching this and knowing their characters from the TV show I can say they are both very talented at what they do. They are both just very down to earth and you can relate to them and their characters in the film go through a lot of different developments to end up together. Both are very comfortable in their roles and clearly have good chemistry. The supporting cast are decent if not very predictable (another surefire sign of an ABC Family film but who cares really?) Steve Schirripa is cliché to a T as a mobster/loan shark/book that Lawrence must contend with. They even poke a certain amount of fun at the cliché characters. But he does it well. Hart's parents are played by Rhoda Griffis and Mike Pniewski and they are really great. They don't have a big role but they have some great lines and good chemistry with Hart and Lawrence.Director Gil Junger is no stranger to directing. He has been directing Television shows for decades and some of them are classic shows. He has a great understanding of Family type films (though I would still classify My Fake Fiancé as more of a PG-13 type movie.) I have no doubt that many people reading this will roll their eyes and talk about how bad this movie was because its the furthest thing from a Hollywood blockbuster. But I firmly believe there is NOTHING wrong with fluff!! Fluff can be good and this was good!! Not great but good. The romantic ending was sweet and perfect. As with many romances everything happens very quickly in a mostly unrealistic time frame but sometimes you can't put realism to something that is simple fun. Sit back and enjoy it for what it is and try not to take life and movies so seriously!! 7/10

As for not being a real huge fan of Lifetime or ABC Family films before, this was an exception. I truly loved this film, and it ended up so popular that Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence got their own television show, "Melissa and Joey." It was a joy to see Melissa Joan Hart on the small screen again after her stint on "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch." You are really able to believe in the relationship on screen between her and Joey Lawrence, it is like they were meant to be.For a fake relationship to recuperate both their losses, one from theft and the other from gambling, it turns into real romance. When Joey Lawrence's character proposes to Melissa Joan Hart's character for real at the end of the film and they actually get married, it felt so real.Why aren't they married in real life?

Before watching "My Fake Fiancé",I expected it to be an usual Romantic Comedy flick.But this one really surprised me.I mean for a TV movie it really was different and refreshing.Even though the plot is funny and predictable,the acting and great chemistry between the leads Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence made the difference.I watch it repeatedly and it never bores me but makes me excited every time.But this flick is underrated and it deserves more.I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves romantic comedies.It is definitely worth watching. My Rating: 9/10

We've all seen this plot before, the girl gets a guy to pretend to be her boyfriend and eventually falls for him. But the way this movie portrays it is both refreshing and entertaining. There are no dull moments, with smart humour and just enough chick-flick romance to keep fans of those interested but not so much that everyone else gets tired. Hart and Lawrence are a hilarious duo. Their characters are so much alike in their cynical sense of humour that they keep the scenes moving with witty dialogue. I will admit, the guys Vince owes money to aren't tough enough to be really believable, but then again real gangsters would be slightly disturbing in a light-hearted movie like this. Great watch, too bad it was a made-for-TV, it's much better than many on the big screen.