Holiday Engagement (2011)
Thirty-something Hillary Burns has spent her life trying to get the approval of her parents, in the shadow of her more successfully-attached siblings. So when Hillary's fiance, workaholic lawyer Jason King, dumps her because she isn't willing to relocate for his potential promotion, she panics because she had been promising to bring him home to meet her expectant family, whom she does not want to let down! As a last-minute idea, her best friend Sophie convinces her to actually hire someone to "play the role" of Jason for her return home on Thanksgiving.. leading to an interesting combination of sparks & revelations for all involved.
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I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
This is definitely not one of the worst cheesy Christmas movies I've seen, nor the best. The characters start out weak, but I think as the movie goes on the characters get better. The two leads, Hillary and David grow to have very nice chemistry. There are a few cute scenes with the two of them. Some of the supportive characters are pretty bad and annoying. What really bugged me throughout the movie was the lighting. Everyone's faves are tinted green. At times I wondered if someone got punched in the face or maybe had terrible concealer on. All in all it wasn't the worst.
I knew how this movie was going to play out after the first line of dialogue. Pretty and perfectly nice woman is dumped by her rich, but good-for-nothing boyfriend and can't admit it to her overbearing mother. So what's a girl to do? Fall in love with her fake boyfriend, obviously.The movie tried really hard to be good, and I guess it could have been worse. But it was so carefully planned to be so fluffy, that every moment could be called ages before it happened.The script was just barely above being flat and the actors all gave it a valiant effort. But the message is force-fed and obvious. Twenty minutes in I was ready for it to be over. By the time it was half over, it was just excruciating.
I just wanted a sweet holiday movie, but this one just isn't worth it. The leads are both easy on the eyes and appealing, but they have no particular chemistry. And the movie is just stuffed with ridiculous clichés and plot lines going nowhere. Several things are played, inappropriately, for laughs, including the father's legal trouble and Jason/David's religion (being Jewish). Shelley Long is fine, but I didn't even recognize her until halfway through the movie - her talents are wasted in such a subdued role. The movie had a lot of potential, but the writers couldn't be bothered. Clichés in holiday movies are expected and not unwelcome, but at least allow your characters to act like real people.
I've been watching all the Hallmark and Lifetime holiday movies that I can this year. I can't believe I sat through the entire two hours of this one.The beginning showed promise but it went down from there. The story did not work. It just didn't flow. There wasn't a feeling of connection between the characters as they were just stiff. The conclusion was rushed.I was happy to see Shelley Long and Sam McMurray but sad if this is the only work they can find. Jordan Bridges' character is the only one that is interesting.There are two similar movies that I would recommend over this one. One is 'Holiday in Handcuffs' with Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez. 'My Fake Fiancé' with Melissa Joan Hart and Joseph (Joey) Lawrence is another.