Amanda Payton is a “10”.

This is a very enjoyable version of the fake fiancé trope thanks mostly to plenty of wit and humor in the script and the acting of Amanda Payton. She is adorable and hilarious. When her sweet tooth inflicted obstetrician stuffs a whole cookie in her mouth with her eyes daring the fake fiancé to say anything, I was sold.

Amanda opens a private make-believe wedding gift registry for some retail therapy. When it becomes public all of her friends, coworkers, boss, and mother think our workaholic too busy to date heroine is engaged and act accordingly with unrestrained joy and a bridal shower. Her mother even remodels a spare room into a nursery. As one thing leads to another she feels too trapped to confess the truth and is forced to recruit the handsome brother of a patient into being her fake fiancé. He agrees with alacrity, and I don’t blame him. Even her future career rests on not revealing her lie. Romance and hilarity ensue as Sawyer “I wanna marry this dough” and the agreeable Landon become more and more entangled.

Unfortunately, Adam Gregory as Landon is too passive and not up to the task of keeping pace with the force of nature that is Amanda Payton in her role as Sawyer. He is conventionally handsome and just plain conventional, bringing nothing to the table other than his too-perfect looks. There is no spark or chemistry although Amanda gives it her all. Marie Osmond is way over-the-top as the high-strung flakey Mom, totally unbelievable as a respected anthropologist, but she is funny. Will someone please tell her to get her hair out of her face though? In looking at Ms Payton’s resume it appears she has missed her calling as a comedienne.

December 10, 2021