From Friend to Fiancé: A Romance with Heart and Good Tropes
Sometimes tropes are the best kind of additive to a story. In the case of From Friend to Fiancé, the best thing about it is its best friends finding a love story script.
From Friend to Fiancé (2019) Hallmark Review
Over the many years of her friend’s weddings, Jess (Jocelyn Hudon) has become an ideal helpmate during wedding planning. While not a wedding coordinator by profession, it’s a hobby she enjoys in her free time. Everything turns topsy-turvy when the next wedding she’s asked to assist on is her best friend’s.
Since they were kids and neighbors, Jess and Ted (Ryan Paevey) became inseparable. They share everything with each other and don’t keep secrets… until now. Surprised that Ted about to marry, Jess didn’t know he was even dating. But the worst part is, he’s marrying the girl who made Jess’ high school experience miserable. To further compound this, Jess realizes she may have more than best-friend-love for Ted.
This script is like a computation of two of different stories. I see some of Disney’s You Again with its mean girl plot, and also its primary best-friends-to-something-more love story from the Patrick Dempsey romantic-comedy Made of Honor. To be honest, I thought I was going to like this one even more than I did. The promotional material does its part to endear this story, and makes it look cute and “breezy.” While it is adorable, I don’t think it’s my favorite of this campaign.
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What I do like is this trope, and the cast. When done well I always like a good best-friend-to-romance story. It’s one of the most authentic because the characters already know one another and have a solid base for a genuine love to grow, and even in the real world, to then last. It’s certainly a well made story, and I like the ways that these two know each other presents itself. Some of the production cues and timelines feel a little “off” or maybe the scenes are a bit more awkward, but the cast does a nice job with these characters.
I’ve liked Ryan in each of his Hallmark originals, and this is no different. Jocelyn is new on the scene, but does appear in this season of When Calls the Heart. What I don’t like about the story is its end path. I wish the end hadn’t been the I’ll-decide-for-you kind of conclusion. It didn’t feel quite as genuine this way. Still, again, as I say with each of these romantic-comedies (which I always sincerely mean), From Friend to Fiancé is another cutie.
There’s a nice subplot that involves a character from Jess’ work, and I like the mix of hilarity and heart-to-heart conversations. A good bridge into the network’s next campaign (which is all about weddings), if you like me, enjoy a romantic comedy that makes you smile silly throughout, then you’ll like this one.
Content: While still TV-G Hallmark-appropriate, this one does use the word “hell” once as part of an old saying; and implies an unmarried couple lives together.
Photos: Hallmark / Crown Media Press
I really like the friends to lovers trope. Thanks for telling us about this movie. It sounds so wholesome. :)
I really liked the cast and appreciated the twist on the mean girl twist. I felt that the two best friends just didn’t spend enough time together on screen to display their chemistry. I mean, we knew that Jess had feelings for Ted, but there was no clue as to Ted’s feelings, so the ending felt a bit false.
I was disappointed in this one. There’s wasn’t any romantic build between the two best friends to make me fully supportive and excited about the ending. In fact, the ending seemed like such a jump that I felt more like, “Uh…okay.”