My Fake Fiance (2009)

You won't be disappointed!

Just what I expected

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

So about two weeks ago I decided to watch Melissa and Joey on Netflix. Well, something clicked in its old school sitcom feel and now I'm hooked...I love it! I've always been a sucker for the ABC Family/Disney Family type movies. So having become a fan of Melissa Joan Hart and Joseph Lawrence I was pretty excited to discover this little movie they did before Melissa and Joey. I knew it wasn't going to be stunning or anything but I expected cute, fun and it was exactly that. In many ways it was almost a direct precursor to the TV series. Their characters were vaguely similar though toned down versions, and their tempestuous relationship was also vaguely similar to the playful hatred Mel and Joe have for each other. The film starts out stumbling a little. It doesn't really know where its going and their personalities were a little grating at first. But then around the middle of the movie it starts to find its groove and turns in a cute adorable little romance that is your typical (in a good way) ABC Family rom-com. They still don't have near the chemistry that they manage to have in their ABC Family sitcom but it was fun and simply and you just have to sit back and enjoy.I never really considered Melissa Joan Hart or Joseph Lawrence to be A list actors but you know watching this and knowing their characters from the TV show I can say they are both very talented at what they do. They are both just very down to earth and you can relate to them and their characters in the film go through a lot of different developments to end up together. Both are very comfortable in their roles and clearly have good chemistry. The supporting cast are decent if not very predictable (another surefire sign of an ABC Family film but who cares really?) Steve Schirripa is cliché to a T as a mobster/loan shark/book that Lawrence must contend with. They even poke a certain amount of fun at the cliché characters. But he does it well. Hart's parents are played by Rhoda Griffis and Mike Pniewski and they are really great. They don't have a big role but they have some great lines and good chemistry with Hart and Lawrence.Director Gil Junger is no stranger to directing. He has been directing Television shows for decades and some of them are classic shows. He has a great understanding of Family type films (though I would still classify My Fake Fiancé as more of a PG-13 type movie.) I have no doubt that many people reading this will roll their eyes and talk about how bad this movie was because its the furthest thing from a Hollywood blockbuster. But I firmly believe there is NOTHING wrong with fluff!! Fluff can be good and this was good!! Not great but good. The romantic ending was sweet and perfect. As with many romances everything happens very quickly in a mostly unrealistic time frame but sometimes you can't put realism to something that is simple fun. Sit back and enjoy it for what it is and try not to take life and movies so seriously!! 7/10

Jennifer (Melissa Joan Hart) is miffed to be attending another friend's wedding. She has spent a fortune on gifts and new shoes, besides the humiliation of not being married or attached herself. Now in her thirties, Jenn does have a good job and has saved enough for her first house. But, hold the phone, folks meet their matches at weddings, no? Well, not today! Jenn finds herself at the same table as Vince (Joseph "Joey" Lawrence) who has a fresh mouth and a crumpled suit. Also, as he receives a telephone call at the reception, Jenn learns that he is a compulsive gambler, too, with big debts. Ugh. But, with no one else to converse with, Jenn and Vince soon get on a discussion of how much each of them has forked over for gifts for their pals. Soon, a brilliant idea is hatched. The new duo of Jenn and Vince will get engaged, plan a wedding, score some great gifts and cash then call it off at the last minute. No one really wants their purchases back anyway, right? As the couple begin to cement their plans, they must meet often and introduce each other to their extended families. Could it be that a fake fiancé might turn into the genuine article? This very cute fractured fairy tale of a romcom will delight fans. Hart is certainly becoming the champion of such stuff while Lawrence is not far behind. Both are attractive and funny performers who entertain their target audiences well. Also, the supporting cast is very capable, especially Steven Shirraripa as the mobster in control of Vince's bad habits. Sets, costumes, script, and direction are typical but more than adequate. Gals or any fans of these films, go search for this one soon. I got mine on a wonderful four volume disc with three other nice ABC family films.

Joey Lawrence and Melissa Joan Hart make a nice couple and I laughed several times watching this movie. (Particularly the scene where he tells her parents about his family. Modern viewers probably won't get the joke) However, as the movie made its way to its inevitable conclusion (do I really have to spell out what that conclusion was?) it made an interesting point. As most relationships develop, you start out knowing the best about your partner and then gradually become aware of the "less ideal" aspects of that person. In this movie, the process is reversed and the two characters start out knowing all the bad things about each other and gradually come to see each other's better qualities. It's not exactly deep but I liked the concept.

I was watching this last night while trying to avoid actually finishing my American Lit homework, and I have to say, while it is a romantic comedy, and we all know how predictable they are, this one was actually pretty clever. Every turn I knew what was going to happen, but the filmmakers made it in such a way that you forgot that it was being predictable, and I think that's what succeeded for it. It will most likely never join the ranks of "When Harry Met Sally" or "10 Things I hate About You" in terms of romantic comedy classics, but standing on its own, it was an endearing film that shows that when you marry, you're not marrying one other person, you're marrying their entire family. It is a family movie, but all in all, a cute one.