I willingly (and do so frequently) admit I’m a sucker for insignificant television rom-com titles. They often turn out to be a fabulous source for an evening worth of entertainment. One that falls into this is My Fake Fiancé, a romance with a popular former teen star.
My Fake Fiance (2008) Review
Weddings are a beautiful thing, and the ideal source for daydreams. Unless you’re single, have no prospects, over thirty and feel as if you disappoint your parents, well, you tend to start dreading the happy events. Jennifer (Melissa Joan Hart) is such a person. While she’s a guest at a wedding, all of her feelings bubble over and she adopts a hostile attitude towards the single man she’s seated next too. Vince (Joey Lawrence) is by all accounts a man who has never quite grown up. With a penchant for gambling, it’s his nasty habits that land him in hot water with a loan shark, and unable to pay him back.
As Jennifer makes plans to enjoy life (even without a boyfriend), her plan has an unexpected hitch: all of her belongings are stolen. When something her wedding “partner,” Vince said comes back to her, Jennifer calls him to pitch a new plan. This time, she wants to fake an engagement where she’ll keep all the goodies they’re gifted and he will get the cash. Problem solved. Now all they have to do is convince family and friends the rouse is real.
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At its basic premise, this one is silly, but it’s also quite entertaining. As with any film of its caliber, this title is no different in offering trite moments that try to be funny and sometimes fall flat, but that being said, this is one of the sweetest romantic comedies I’ve seen in a while, despite my mediocre thoughts on the casting, meaning I have a kind of “meh” reaction.
There is a charming quality to the screenplay that you nearly forget you’ve seen this plot time and again, or maybe it’s just the whole realm of the movie that makes it easier to think this is a new idea. The characters may not be given an enormous time for development, but nearly all of them are likable. Much of the story may be likened to similar romantic comedies with the fake relationship trope, but this one is cute enough to hold its own.
The movie has some pretty moments and scenes that foster some nice relationships and moments between the characters. Available on DVD, if you decide to give this one a chance, it’s a sweet, if not slightly contrived movie that most anyone who enjoys this sort of genre will find irresistible, so long as your chosen genre for the night includes comedic escapades, you couldn’t find better for an evenings’ entertainment.
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You can find My Fake Fiancé on DVD via Amazon
Content: this one is TV-14 for some Innuendo, and a couple eventually live together and are “forced” to share a bed on one occasion. Passing remarks are made to “sleeping together.” That I can recall there is no harsh profanity, but lying does become second nature to the characters.
Photos: ABC Family now Freeform
2 Comments
I’ve been tempted a few times over the years to give this film a try thanks to the HUGE amount of love I have for the show Melissa & Joey, but never quite got around to it; your fun review has got me thinking maybe this is the year I might!
It’s fun. I haven’t seen the show they both appear in though. Hope you enjoy this one if you watch it, Kirsty. :)