The principle reason is that they are just so darn long. They fall into the category of "slow burn" romances, which means they focus on the meeting and the dates and the (usually rather tepid) conversations between the lovers-to-be. They run for about 90 minutes, but there is really just enough meat for 50 minutes.
They are pleasant and even, sometimes, amusing (though rarely ironic or sardonic). They are quite soporific, in fact, like watching golf.
They are also entirely dependent on the casting--and the casting is not always very good.
I recently watched Christmas for Holly, which is based on Lisa Kleypas's Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor. In some ways, I was thoroughly impressed by what the scriptwriter kept: parts of the back story, the three brothers, the toy store.
I could also appreciate why the scriptwriter made certain changes. Mark becomes the middle child rather than the oldest to emphasize (1) why he is living with Scott, who is now the oldest; (2) his apparent unreadiness to be a father to his niece after his sister's death.
Alex is not an alcoholic, which frankly would overwhelm the movie. And Maggie is not a widower, which would also overwhelm the movie.
The problem was that although the scriptwriter or the actor managed to preserve Mark's fundamental personality, Maggie was kind of blah.
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| Cast of family. Twins play Holly.* |
Despite the actor for Mark (Sean Faris) being nearly 10 years younger than his book counterpart, he has the features and build and aura of a young man who could become that older man. His unapologetic sternness with Shelby--ex-girlfriend who keeps insisting that his niece is not his "real" child--is perfect.
Unfortunately, Eloise Mumford as Maggie is, as stated above, rather blah.
She's pretty and lively. But I could imagine no good reason why this relationship deserved 90 minutes of slow burn over anybody else Mark could date. Why not the co-owner of his coffee house? Why not Holly's elementary school teacher? Granted, Shelby's kind of hard to warm to but why would it be Maggie?
In the book, Kleypas presents a solid scene where Mark and Maggie meet on the ferry to Seattle. Mark reflects that Maggie reminds him of the young women he stayed up all night talking to when he was a college student. Why didn't I date those women? Maggie is funny and adorable and sincere and really more his style.
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| Scott, Alex, Mark, Holly |
In contrast, in the movie, Mark and Maggie have multiple conversations typical to meet-cutes--that is, jokey conversations about absolutely nothing. Even their date is kind of shallow, which may be typical of first-dates, but the object here is to sell a relationship. 90 minutes is more than enough time!
Personally, I think the scriptwriter tacked on the romance because, well, Hallmark Holiday film. The relationship between the three brothers is far more warm-hearted, funnier (the frozen turkey in the deep fryer!), and better written with more substance. It could also have been more easily expanded without overwhelming the core arc regarding Holly. But Maggie would have taken more of a back-seat.
The setting/scenery for the movie is excellent! It was shot in Nova Scotia rather than Seattle. Nevertheless, I was impressed by the actual island setting.
*Josie Gallina receives single billing on IMDB. I imagine that unlike other parts played by twins, Josie's twin Lucy was used for non-acting shots and to keep the studio in compliance with laws about how long child actors can be kept on set. We no longer live in the days of Judy Garland!
