The Rom Com Catalog

Tag: Siobhan Fallon

  • ‘Resort to Love’ (2021) Review

    ‘Resort to Love’ (2021) Review

    Resort to Love Synopsis: Erica, who ends up as the entertainment at her ex-fiancé’s wedding after reluctantly taking a gig at a luxurious island resort while in the wake of a music career meltdown.

    Netflix rom-coms are very hit or miss (usually more miss these days), so I did not go into Resort to Love with very high expectations, especially as I did not like Falling Inn Love whatsoever. To my surprise, Resort to Love wasn’t terrible, and I did find myself enjoying parts of it. Christina Milian plays Erica, a singer whose big break is within reach as a famous rap artist is about to drop an album that she’s featured on. Instead, the musician destroys the album after a track is leaked, leaving Erica at square one.

    Depressed, she starts lamenting about her ex-fiancé, who left her for a job in another state the year before. To help her out, Erica’s friend Amber gets Erica a gig singing at a luxurious resort. Needing a change of scenery and money, Erica agrees. It’s certainly not easy, especially when she realizes she’ll have to sing at the resort weddings as well. You know what’s coming next… her ex-fiancé, Jason, and his new bride-to-be, Beverly, arrive at the resort to be married. It doesn’t help that Erica had a potentially romantic moment with Jason’s brother, Caleb, whom she had never met before and had no idea he was related to her ex.

    I have seen some people comparing this movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Honestly, the only thing I found similar was the premise: a protagonist running into their ex-lover at a luxury resort. If you’ve seen both of these movies, you know that’s where the similarities end. Christina Milian is affable enough as Erica, and it seems as though these movies are tailored to her level of talent.

    Jay Pharoah attempts some dramatic range as Jason, the ex who has second thoughts about getting married after seeing Erica again. But Sinqua Walls is the one with the charisma, and every scene he’s involved in is made better because of it. I also enjoyed Christiani Pitts as Beverly and Karen Obilom as her sister, Janelle.

    They befriend Erica (not knowing she was once engaged to Jason), and it’s always a nice change of pace in a romantic comedy when the Other Woman isn’t a one-dimensional shrew. Beverly is a caring, lovely woman, and Jason probably doesn’t deserve her.

    Resort to Love wants to keep you guessing as to who Erica will eventually end up with, which I think is a detriment to Jason’s character, considering how perfect Beverly seems to be for him. I’m not entirely sure that Erica and Caleb connected enough for their own potential HEA to be believable. This movie felt more like one of self-discovery than finding love, and the romance was simply a subplot, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

    As with many Netflix rom-coms, the direction of Resort to Love was as basic as the script, but I have to admit that I did laugh quite a few times, and there was minimal eye-rolling. It’s not a movie I’ll watch again, nor will I want to hear ‘No One’ by Alicia Keys again anytime soon (it makes sense that she’s a producer on this film), but Resort to Love was enjoyable enough for what it was.

    Watched: 08/11/2021
    Notable Song: No One by Alicia Keys

    Rating:
  • ‘Only You’ (1994) Review

    ‘Only You’ (1994) Review

    Only You Synopsis: As a teen, Faith was told that her destiny is a man named Damon Bradley. Years later – Faith is about to marry another man – a Damon Bradley calls to wish them all the best. Faith blows off the wedding and follows Damon to Italy.

    After playing with an Ouija board with her brother, Faith is convinced her destiny is a man named Damon Bradley. This is reiterated later at a carnival where a fortune teller mentions the same name. Years later, Faith is engaged to be married but receives a call from a friend of her fiancé, who is about to board a plane for Italy, but tells her his name is Damon Bradley.

    Convinced that the phone call is her fate, Faith and her sister-in-law, Kate, board a plane to Venice to track down Damon. When she finds him (or so she thinks), she and “Damon” spend a whirlwind night falling in love. But, of course, it’s not that easy, and Faith ultimately has to decide if she believes in some pre-ordained fate or her heart.

    I loved the premise of Only You. I’m a sucker for most things that fall underneath the movie umbrella of “fate”. Even if you don’t believe it exists, I still think it’s fun to watch in terms of a movie or television show, especially if it brings something fresh to the table. Only You isn’t exactly an original take on destiny, but its simplicity benefits it, I think.

    Marisa Tomei is perfectly adorable as Faith, a woman who seems content to be marrying her boyfriend… until she gets a phone call from Damon Bradley, then she runs off to the airport in her wedding dress(!) to find him. Her poor fiancé is barely a blip on Faith’s radar anymore as she tries to track down the man she’s confident is the man she’s supposed to marry. In the hands of another actress, Faith could have very easily been an unlikeable lead, but Tomei is just charming enough that I find myself rooting for her instead. I guess it didn’t hurt that her fiancé was a bit of a dull dud.

    And Robert Downey Jr.! With those big puppy dog eyes… he’s a good-looking man, but back in 1994? Wowza. He was exactly what you would expect him to be in a movie like this, but that’s not a bad thing at all. His Damon/Peter is adorably lovesick and goes out of his way to try and prove to Faith that destiny shouldn’t be just a faceless name. I thought he and Tomei had great chemistry together, and I think you still see sparks of it in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War when they share a few moments on screen together.

    Bonnie Hunt is always excellent, and there is a small side plot of her character, Kate, dealing with her unhappy marriage to Faith’s brother, Larry. It’s certainly not as in-depth as the Faith/Peter (Damon) storyline, but it gives the movie a nice dose of realism. On the one hand, Faith is a hopeless romantic who believes in fate. On the other hand, Kate is the woman who has been married for years to the man she believes to be her soulmate, and it’s anything but unicorns and destiny. I won’t spoil the movie for you, but I enjoyed Kate’s subplot and was happy with how it was resolved.

    The script for Only You is whimsical and light, and this honestly felt like an “old school” romantic comedy. It’s utterly devoid of the cynical, unlucky-in-love traits that plague a lot of rom-coms these days, and it brings together two people who just want to believe that love is written in the stars. Now, combine that fluff with the insanely beautiful scenery of Italy, and you have a magical romantic comedy that is perfect for a rainy day or cozy night. Only You requires some suspension of disbelief, but if you can do that, I think you will probably enjoy this one.


    Watched: 08/04/2021
    Notable Song: Once in a Lifetime by Michael Bolton

    Rating: