The Awakening (1995)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

People are voting emotionally.

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

This is a Harlequin romance. That tells you most of what you need to know to decide if you want to watch it or not.What I liked about it was the chemistry and one VERY entertaining scene (at least, it made me laugh out loud) about halfway through where one makes a pass at the other and... gets a response bearing absolutely NO resemblance to anything they (or I) were expecting. I won't spoil it, but it contains the line "It's not nice...". Well played, movie. Well played.Aside from that little nugget, the rest of the movie contains few surprises, but is watchable. There are occasional moments of chemistry and decent acting, as well as some campy moments which mostly work, at least if you aren't stringent in your demands from such. Occasional eye-roll-worthy bits didn't stop me from liking the movie enough to mildly recommend it. Just don't expect the moon.

I never read the book the movie was based on but the movie was so horrible I can't seem to bring myself to reading the book. I am sure they cut out a lot of things like they normally do when converting a book into a movie but it wasn't the movie itself I had a problem with, it was the actress.I know there are plenty of people who will hate me and disagree with me but I thought it was a horrible performance and with that hairstyle, she was not all that pretty. I won't even start in on the Gawd awful hairdo at the end of the movie when she is playing the piano, ugh and the bad outfits through the movie. Good grief I swear who ever did the wardrobe was stuck in the 80's. Anyway, so yeah, with Cynthia Geary horrible acting I just couldn't enjoy the movie. Her acting was so bad I could not forget the movie and that is not a good reason to remember the movie. If you do not agree with me then I will tell you to go back and look at the scene in the diner where she is gloating about getting breakfast and "mooning" over him. Really? You call that good acting?? Then the supposed "sexy swagger" where she folded up her skirt and took off her jacket to try to get information from the front desk guy and telling him she was there for back rent. Her facial expressions too when singing at the piano at the end... ewwwAgain, this is only my personally little tiny opinion. Others, you are more than welcome to enjoy it and dislike me for mine but it's just how I see it.

One thing that drives me nuts is the inability to edit or question someone else's reviews. So blanche2, if you are reading this, it has been a year since you wrote your review, and you still have yet to clue in the name of the actress playing ***the lead*** in this movie? I'll give you a hint: It's Cynthia GEARY, not Cynthia GIBB. Apparently this was no typo, as you made the same error numerous times and my writing another review is the only way to (maybe) get your attention. (I was stunned that you took the time to write over a thousand reviews. It implies you look yours over at least once.)OK, now for my review of the actual film (yawn):The movie was blah and boring for the most part, and quite frankly, poorly acted. There are no filming locations so I am not sure if it was a Canadian film (Sheila McCarthy usually gives it away) and the best part of it was the incredibly real hockey dialogue between the brothers talking about the early 90s Montreal Canadians (my team) and how accurate that talk would have been at that time. The dialogue seems forced between other characters, the actions are far-fetched and the lead actress would have as likely got herself killed in real life (if not merely arrested) if she tried to interfere with the workings of a bounty hunter the way she did.I gave the movie a VERY generous 6 (take away the hockey discussion and it becomes a 3).

I happen to like some of these Harlequin movies. Don't ask me why, I just do."The Awakening" is a 1995 TV movie that stars Cynthia Gibb and David Beecroft. Wide-eyed Gibb is very much the gamine as Sara, with a straight, short haircut and big bunny slippers as she runs around the home her parents left her trying to figure out how to keep the bank from taking it. Then a bounty hunter, Flynn, (Beecroft) comes along looking for her tenant, who seems to have gone. Sara ends up going with him on his search and gets a physical and emotional makeover along the way.It's so great to see Beecroft, whom I enjoyed so much on Falcon Crest many years ago. He's very sexy and good in the role of a man afraid of intimacy who falls for Sara. Cynthia Gibb has a tour de force role - she's a plain Jane in the beginning, a young woman who's stifled all of her spirit due to overprotection by her parents. Working with Flynn, she's required to dress better, look better, and she's inspired to take on different roles. She's terrific, a very likable actress, and the two are great together.You take a chance with Harlequin movies, but the good ones are fantasies and a lot of fun. Every once a while, it's nice to see an old-fashioned light romance with no special effects, no hidden meanings, no wormholes, and no violence. It's a nice break.