Harmless Fun

This was light, fun, and amusing in spots. A pleasant diversion, especially if you are really into wedding stories, one of Hallmark’s main spring themes. And what Hallmark fan doesn’t like weddings? The two leads, Hunter King and Chandler Massey, were young, attractive, and appealing, and the set decoration made it nice to look at. The rest of the cast was on point. There wasn’t anything annoying about it. Or even anything even vaguely irritating. There was one “Huh?,What?” moment, but it wasn’t anything big or super stupid. Hunter King seems to be being groomed for a role as a Hallmark regular and I’ve enjoyed Chandler Massey in previous productions with no reservations.

Hunter King plays Maisie Ryder (real name Maggie), an undercover “professional bridesmaid.” She has been hired to make the Mayor’s daughter Alexis’s road to her wedding as easy and as stress-free as possible. As her love interest, Chandler Massey plays Henry, an investigative political reporter who is forced to cover her wedding. He is under strict orders to stay focused on dresses, cakes, and flowers, rather than whether or not the Mayor is going to take a stand on saving a local park from development. But he just can’t help himself because he loves the park so much. Maisie’s job description is soon expanded to include keeping Henry away from the mayor. He is running for office, doesn’t want to commit to a stand on the park just yet, and wants to avoid bad press. Henry falls hard and fast for Maisie/Maggie and is adorable doing so. The feeling is mutual.

There were the usual almost disasters with dresses, the bridal shower venue, invitations, and gift bags, most of them courtesy of the Maid of Honor, a disorganized and flaky young lady trying too hard to make up for past missteps with her cousin, the bride. All were averted thanks to Maisie’s competence and professionalism. I liked the actress, Lillian Doucet-Roche, who played the maid of honor. She had an expressive face and good delivery. I wouldn’t be averse to seeing her again as the head girl. Also kudos to Francesca Bianchi, who played the beautiful and down-to-earth bride.

Much of the humor stems from Maggie’s cover story to protect her identity and function. The bride, put on the spot, came up with her name and cover on the spur of the moment. A champion rider, She names Maggie after her horse and tells everyone Maggie is a wine sommelier or distributor or something. Maggie knows nothing about wine and comes up with some real howlers. The “Huh, What” moment? Henry googles “Maisie Ryder’s” name and she doesn’t exist on the internet. Hmmm. He narrows his search and up comes the bride, “rider,” and “Maisie,” Alexis’s horse. How odd. But it doesn’t trigger any questions or further research on the part of our crack investigative reporter. And it’s such a shocker when Henry learns that “Maisie” is really Maggie and has not been forthcoming truth-wise. Always grounds for temporary heartbreak and temporary conflict in Hallmark World.

**Spoiler Alert**The Wedding goes off without a hitch, Maggie gets her business loan thanks to the Mayor (yes, there’s that), and the reconciliation of the two sweethearts happens. Henry is back on the political beat, the Mayor turns out to be a good guy after all, and the Park is saved.