This was a fun, enjoyable movie. It was a Hallmark movie from the days before Hallmark became so formulaic and cookie-cutter. Actually, the plot of the big city girl going to a small town and finding herself changed by it is pretty common. But this one was a little different and fresh, because it also had the fantasy element of the girl waking up in an alternate reality because of making a wish in the wishing well.
I really enjoyed Jordan Ladd's performance as Cynthia, our cynical reporter in need of a shift in life priorities. She's cute and spunky and genuinely likable. Every time she flashes her winning smile, it's pure magic. Honestly, she seemed so nice through most of the movie that her initial moments of being a jerk hardly rang true. Jason London as newspaper owner Mark did an adequate job, though there was nothing overly special about him. The supporting cast were great, especially since they included such screen luminaries as Ernest Borgnine and Sally Kellerman. Was there chemistry between Cynthia and Mark? Not as much as I would have liked, unfortunately, They seemed kind of awkward around each other, especially when they kissed.
The script was fairly good, but it did have a few rough spots. One thing I didn't like was that we didn't have enough acknowledgement by Cynthia that she was, in fact, in an alternate reality. After eventually realizing that she has no money, she settles down way too easily into her new life and job as a small-town newspaper reporter, using her talents for such earth-shattering stories as a local man's cigarette lighter collection. It needed to be more like Nicholas Cage's reaction to his alternate reality in "The Family Man", where he truly freaks out, tries to change his situation, and eventually, grudgingly, accepts his new reality and embraces it. As it was, I found it hard to believe that Cynthia would accept her new lot in life so docilely, or that she would rush back to the small town so willingly at the end, leaving behind her career in NYC that she had worked so hard to achieve.
In the end, in spite of a few flaws, this movie was a sweet, feel-good, family-friendly movie that only a true cynic would not find heartwarming. Definitely worth a watch.
I really enjoyed Jordan Ladd's performance as Cynthia, our cynical reporter in need of a shift in life priorities. She's cute and spunky and genuinely likable. Every time she flashes her winning smile, it's pure magic. Honestly, she seemed so nice through most of the movie that her initial moments of being a jerk hardly rang true. Jason London as newspaper owner Mark did an adequate job, though there was nothing overly special about him. The supporting cast were great, especially since they included such screen luminaries as Ernest Borgnine and Sally Kellerman. Was there chemistry between Cynthia and Mark? Not as much as I would have liked, unfortunately, They seemed kind of awkward around each other, especially when they kissed.
The script was fairly good, but it did have a few rough spots. One thing I didn't like was that we didn't have enough acknowledgement by Cynthia that she was, in fact, in an alternate reality. After eventually realizing that she has no money, she settles down way too easily into her new life and job as a small-town newspaper reporter, using her talents for such earth-shattering stories as a local man's cigarette lighter collection. It needed to be more like Nicholas Cage's reaction to his alternate reality in "The Family Man", where he truly freaks out, tries to change his situation, and eventually, grudgingly, accepts his new reality and embraces it. As it was, I found it hard to believe that Cynthia would accept her new lot in life so docilely, or that she would rush back to the small town so willingly at the end, leaving behind her career in NYC that she had worked so hard to achieve.
In the end, in spite of a few flaws, this movie was a sweet, feel-good, family-friendly movie that only a true cynic would not find heartwarming. Definitely worth a watch.