Hallmark Review: 'Over the Moon in Love'

Ever since high school, Brooklyn Moore (Jessica Lowndes) has had an uncanny gift for matchmaking—a skill she would later use to create her own matchmaking business, which boasts a 100% success rate among its clients. So when Brooklyn learns that prominent magazine Life/Style is looking to give her business a cover article, she's thrilled at the possibility of her boutique business gaining wider publicity. After meeting with writer Stephanie Carlton (Miranda Frigon), however, Brooklyn is given a surprising offer: Stephanie will put in a good word for Brooklyn to her father (the head of Life/Style) regarding the cover in exchange for Brooklyn setting her up with her Mr. Right.

Even more surprising is the man Stephanie wants Brooklyn's help in charming: Devin Knight (Wes Brown), Stephanie's childhood best friend who is back in town to work on his stagnant music career. While reluctant, Brooklyn agrees to help Stephanie impress and romance Devin, even acting as a fly-on-the-wall for several dates. But as the scheme progresses and Brooklyn begins to doubt her actions, it becomes clear that her feelings for Devin might not be as platonic as she insists they are—and the same might just be true for Devin as well. But will her scheme with Stephanie cost Brooklyn everything when the truth comes out?

Despite airing during Hallmark's latest slew of fall-centric premieres and having a clear autumn aesthetic for its promo cover pictured above, Over The Moon in Love doesn't feature such an aesthetic and is, in fact, established as a film taking place in the summer. With the last Hallmark movie I reviewed having been the almost aggressively autumn-themed Love, Fall & Order, going into this film and finding it completely barren of autumn trappings was somewhat surprising. But being a nitpick, this does nothing to take away from Over the Moon in Love, especially for later viewers who will watch it without knowing when it was originally premiered.

There is, however, something that does take away from the film which could prove a fatal mistake: Brooklyn and Stephanie's Cyrano scheme. While the film clearly paints Brooklyn's actions in the negative colors they deserve, the efforts are hindered by the fact that Brooklyn's desperation for the Life/Style cover never makes much sense. Despite what the film's IMDB description says, we're never given the impression that Brooklyn's matchmaking business is at risk of closing down or that it's in desperate need of publicity (the fact that she can boast about how she's responsible for bringing together a big name celebrity couple speaks volume to that). As such, Brooklyn's willingness to deceive and manipulate Devin into believing he and Stephanie are a match can come off as more callous and self-serving than was likely intended, potentially making it hard for the viewer to sympathize with Brooklyn when her scheme ends up backfiring on her.

Offsetting this, however, we have Jessica Lowndes (who also wrote Over the Moon in Love) giving a strong performance, managing to elicit a twinge of sympathy for Brooklyn even when her actions become unsympathetic. As her scheme results in Brooklyn learning about Devin's long-held feelings for her (something the film wisely lets the audience in on early rather than try to play it as a surprising reveal), Lowndes effectively sells Brooklyn's moral conflict over continuing her deception for the sake of her career or telling the truth and putting everything on the line. Even when her scheme with Stephanie becomes frustrating, Lowndes salvages some sympathy for Brooklyn by bringing an authentic air to the feelings she has for Devin that she kept hidden, as well as a revelation she makes regarding her career and how it has effected her own love life.

Lowndes' leading man also helps salvage her problematic character, with Wes Brown bringing a shyly charming demeanor to aspiring singer Devin Knight. Lowndes and Brown's chemistry together makes them believable as childhood friends harboring tender feelings for one another, and Brown brings a different type of charm to Devin than most Hallmark male leads. Rather than the standard charming Hallmark male lead, for much of the movie, Devin is shown to be something of a shy and reserved guy lacking in strong self-confidence regarding his music, with Brooklyn acting as the push he needs to break out of his shell. It's a dynamic usually seen with the genders reserved on Hallmark, and while there are moments when the usual dynamic comes into play, Over The Moon in Love deserves some credit for that slight deviation.

Rounding out the main cast is Stephanie Carlton, who is played with a natural charm by Miranda Frigon. Though Stephanie is essentially the film's antagonist, Frigon (like Lowndes) plays her character with enough charm to make Stephanie's less likable moments with Brooklyn digestible—particularly by playing her in a way that suggests she's genuinely oblivious to how her actions are affecting Brooklyn. SPOILER ALERT The third act also has Stephanie receiving a redemption arc where she makes amends with Brooklyn and goes to convince Devin to forgive Brooklyn. While her claiming full responsibility for a scheme Brooklyn consented to rubs me the wrong way, it still remains a strong arc that Frigon does well with. Spoilers Over

Naika Toussaint and Matthew Kevin Anderson do well respectively as Brooklyn's assistant/best friend Mia and Devin's brother Matt, and Peter Graham-Gaudreau has a minor Audience Surrogate quality to him as Brooklyn's father John when he combats the requisite "You Need a Man" talk given to Brooklyn by her mother Charlotte (played by Rachel Hayward). Hayward herself excels when Charlotte thankfully transitions into a fully supportive shoulder to her daughter, while real-life husband and wife Giles and Jocelyn Panton make a brief but adorable cameo as celebrity couple Bradley Clint and Angelica Angel—enough to make me forgive the movie for having Giles Panton and relegating him to a brief appearance in the final ten minutes.

Problematic heroine aside, Over the Moon in Love brings enough to the table to where the film doesn't suffer too much for it: a strong cast, leads with chemistry you can invest in, likable side characters, and a sweet ending that ends things on a metaphorical and literal high note. Weather through Brooklyn Moore's unlikable moments, and Over the Moon in Love will repay you for your tolerance.

Score: 7 out of 10 three-question personality quizzes.