I've seen this lead actress in other movies and realize in this movie she's just at playing the part of a women who is dysfunctional. She is a good actress. What I am saying is I didn't like her character, so I think that's why I didn't like the movie that much. I saw this a year ago and gave this movie a 6, now I am writing a review and raised it to a 7. For me a 6 is worth watching and a 7 is above average. I love a movie where a character learns lessons and this story is definitely that and a feel good movie.
54 Reviews
Much Better Than Expected
Anonnamus15 March 2019
I recorded this movie because I've been on a kick lately where I feel I have to watch every single movie aired on the Hallmark channel. It's a sickness and I can't snap out of it. I had it on my DVR for weeks because I wasn't expecting much out of it, based on the IMDb ratings. For the most part, I tend to agree with them. I've always loved Vanessa Marcil ever since I saw her in The Nanny Express, my first Hallmark movie. It was also the first time I've ever seen her and I always thought she was so beautiful. I have to say, I love The Convenient Groom in spite of her. Her lack of facial expressions and monotone voice almost had me tuning out before the film really took off. David Sutcliffe definitely made this movie worth watching, and he needs to star in a whole lot more.
Fun with just my sense of humor.
cgvsluis3 March 2022
Dr. Kate Lawrence is a celebrity relationship counselor who's fiancé dumps her seconds before her big very live public announcement of the engagement. A high school classmate and local woodworker, Lucas Wright, overhears and steps in as pretend fiancé. Lucas has had a secret crush on Kate for years and he couldn't stand by while she looked so sad and could be loosing the career that she loves.
Lucas may not be perfect...like Kate's dating advice thinks he should be, but he might be the perfect guy for her. Will she figure it out in time?
I absolutely love Vanessa Marcil...I think she is gorgeous and a lovely person. I also like David Sutcliff, of Gilmore Girls fame. Seeing the two of them together did my heart good.
Loved the droll wedding coordinator!
I really appreciated the inside joking humor of this romantic comedy. There was a painful edge to it...but that made the sweet parts even sweeter.
Faux-ance....her fake mother-in-law-to-be is fantastic.
Lucas may not be perfect...like Kate's dating advice thinks he should be, but he might be the perfect guy for her. Will she figure it out in time?
I absolutely love Vanessa Marcil...I think she is gorgeous and a lovely person. I also like David Sutcliff, of Gilmore Girls fame. Seeing the two of them together did my heart good.
Loved the droll wedding coordinator!
I really appreciated the inside joking humor of this romantic comedy. There was a painful edge to it...but that made the sweet parts even sweeter.
Faux-ance....her fake mother-in-law-to-be is fantastic.
Another loss for Hallmark
oceansroar18 June 2016
I have watched a few of these Hallmark movies and this one was the one time that the female actress sucked the most instead of the "good looking male who acts the same in every film". Vanessa Marcil looks like a plastic woman and she is incapable of looking sad. She has worked quite a bit in TV series over the years, but I cannot see in this film any indication as to why. Beside Marcil's acting the storyline is a bit goofy. And most of the time the actors looked bored or trying to figure out how to react. The real bright spot is David Sutcliffe who plays the love interest. He is the same in Gilmore Girls, but he does it well. I recommend that you skip it. The constant music in the background will irritate you if the story does not. Hallmark should read comments because the music is a constant complaint. I gave it 6/10 because of David Sutcliffe.
Marriage of convenience
TheLittleSongbird30 December 2022
On the most, the 2016 June Weddings films were not good at all (and that block in all the years it's been running has always been inconsistent at best), with 'Ms Matched' (one of the worst 2016 Hallmark films) being particularly bad. The only one for me that passed muster and the only one that was good, though still quite patchy, was 'Wedding Bells' which had a number of good things. 'Stop the Wedding' just about scraped watchable but had a lot of major things wrong with it.
While not quite as bad as 'Ms Matched', 'The Convenient Groom' is a very, very close second worst and another one of the misfires of the 2016 Hallmark output. The premise sounded quite cute, but the film does nothing really with it, and it is a case of a great male lead deserving a much better film. Is 'The Convenient Groom' Hallmark at its worst? No, as there are a few good things that are enough to make it a curiosity watch. Is it a good example of how bad Hallmark can be? Yes.
The best thing about 'The Convenient Groom' is David Sutcliffe, who is great here and has a very likeable character that he plays with subtle charisma and easy going, down to earth charm while not making him too perfect.
Did think too that the production values were quite nice, the scenery does catch the eye in a good way.
Unfortunately, that is pretty much. Vanessa Marcil is just terrible, she is very uptight, exaggerates many of her expressions and mannerisms and also is very affected and obnoxious. Especially when she tries to act younger than she is. Her character is truly insufferable to the point of it really unbalancing the film badly, her arrogance, snobbishness and lack of maturity grated very quickly (almost immediately) and never stopped. Really found it really difficult to see what Sutcliffe's character saw in her and there is no romantic chemistry whatsoever between them, too distant and also too much of a mismatch personality wise.
Also never found the story engaging, the predictability didn't bother me so much as that is expected from Hallmark, but the very draggy pacing, that it is very thin and near uneventful too often and non stop suspension of disbelief (Marcil's character appeal was completely lost on me which made everything that goes on hard to buy). Not to mention the lack of characters that are interesting or worth connecting, with the sole exception of Sutcliffe's, the too implausibly neat ending and phoned in support acting who seem at sea with what to do with the very little they have. Even Karen Holnness is dulled down. The writing is consistently awkwardness and the cheese and schmaltz levels are really hard to take, the cheese is hard to be believe.
Overall, very weak film. 3/10.
While not quite as bad as 'Ms Matched', 'The Convenient Groom' is a very, very close second worst and another one of the misfires of the 2016 Hallmark output. The premise sounded quite cute, but the film does nothing really with it, and it is a case of a great male lead deserving a much better film. Is 'The Convenient Groom' Hallmark at its worst? No, as there are a few good things that are enough to make it a curiosity watch. Is it a good example of how bad Hallmark can be? Yes.
The best thing about 'The Convenient Groom' is David Sutcliffe, who is great here and has a very likeable character that he plays with subtle charisma and easy going, down to earth charm while not making him too perfect.
Did think too that the production values were quite nice, the scenery does catch the eye in a good way.
Unfortunately, that is pretty much. Vanessa Marcil is just terrible, she is very uptight, exaggerates many of her expressions and mannerisms and also is very affected and obnoxious. Especially when she tries to act younger than she is. Her character is truly insufferable to the point of it really unbalancing the film badly, her arrogance, snobbishness and lack of maturity grated very quickly (almost immediately) and never stopped. Really found it really difficult to see what Sutcliffe's character saw in her and there is no romantic chemistry whatsoever between them, too distant and also too much of a mismatch personality wise.
Also never found the story engaging, the predictability didn't bother me so much as that is expected from Hallmark, but the very draggy pacing, that it is very thin and near uneventful too often and non stop suspension of disbelief (Marcil's character appeal was completely lost on me which made everything that goes on hard to buy). Not to mention the lack of characters that are interesting or worth connecting, with the sole exception of Sutcliffe's, the too implausibly neat ending and phoned in support acting who seem at sea with what to do with the very little they have. Even Karen Holnness is dulled down. The writing is consistently awkwardness and the cheese and schmaltz levels are really hard to take, the cheese is hard to be believe.
Overall, very weak film. 3/10.
Okay flick, Just too many Dislikable Characters
docm-3230417 December 2020
I like the lead actress and was looking forward to this film but she played a very dislikeable character. As well, the grooms mother was just plain rude, the original fiance was a dork and the only real lovable characters were the grooms sister and the deadpan wedding planner was hilarious.
Makeup Department disaster
joendor11 August 2018
Aside from the terrible acting from the leading actress the makeup was so distracting It was difficult to finish watching the movie. Who thought it was a good idea to put pink lipstick on the leading man!? The makeup on everyone in the movie is one of the worst jobs I've ever seen. In fact I can't say I've ever said that about any movie I've watched before and I'm over 50! Hallmark should fire whoever is responsible!
I Loved This Movie!
mammamia7016 July 2020
I thought Vanessa Marcil's character was supposed to be the way portrayed, not that she was acting terribly, as many of you suggested. I absolutely loved the storyline and I actually felt badly for her character. How embarrassing and heartbreaking. But alas, her former beau, David Sutliff comes to the rescue! Of course there's some angst and in the end they are happily in love. Would Hallmark have it any other way?!
Watch this movie and enjoy. I have, several times.
Watch this movie and enjoy. I have, several times.
Something didn't go very well with this Hallmark Movie, 5 Star at best!
huggibear28 March 2017
First of all, I agree with other critics about Vanessa Marcil's makeup, as well as her choice of eye glasses was hideous. She looked better after taking them off. She could have looked better with the 'Sarah Palin' style of glasses. But something was definitely up with the makeup near her right eye as well. It was annoying to watch. And she IS quite pretty after all. The budget must have been very low for this film because they didn't spend a lot of time ironing out the things that go into creating a quality film. The focus might have been all messed up as well. I would have never been in a film like that. That would have been a 'shame on me' kind of choice.
The story line was good, but it didn't make up for what the film truly lacked, quality. And I'm an avid Hallmark movie buff and critic. On top of all that, Vanessa Marcil's acting personality in this film was about as weird as I've ever experienced in a Hallmark movie. It did improve toward the end, but that's probably because it had to do so. Well, I rarely give Hallmark movies a rating this low, but I'm clearly not alone. If you watch it, take note of what you see.
The story line was good, but it didn't make up for what the film truly lacked, quality. And I'm an avid Hallmark movie buff and critic. On top of all that, Vanessa Marcil's acting personality in this film was about as weird as I've ever experienced in a Hallmark movie. It did improve toward the end, but that's probably because it had to do so. Well, I rarely give Hallmark movies a rating this low, but I'm clearly not alone. If you watch it, take note of what you see.
Loved the movie and the actors were fun to watch
teenietalk18 September 2018
I LOVED the (lead character) Dr. Kate's eye glasses so much, I went online to get them. The only people reviewing this Hallmark Movie have negative comments. So I wanted to take a few minutes to share a positive review. Yes the story is predictable but it is light hearted and fun. This was not filmed with the intention of hitting the theatres and potentially winning an Academy Award. David Sutcliffe was adorable and charming as usual. I actually liked the music in the background. Something different for a change...it isn't completely through the film by the way. Not all Hallmark movies appeal to everyone, but I really liked this One!
Tawdry performance
MickyG33325 April 2023
6.4 stars
Kate (Marcil) is a relationship blogger with a Ph. D in psychology. The emphasis of her video blog is about how to survive dating men. It has "man-hater" written all over it. But as the story goes, Kate does not appear to be a man-hater, she appear to be more of a self-hater. We see evidence of this in her choice of men. Her fiance is a low quality person with too many insecurities and strange personality traits, not any woman's type.
Lucas (Sutcliffe) tried to date Kate in high school but he really hurt her feelings one day when him and his raucous friends broke a very valuable keepsake of her mother's when they were fooling around. She has disliked him since then, which has been 20 years going. He steps into the picture as she is having a really bad day, and rescues her from a disastrous situation. This is where the love story begins.
This film is shoddy and Marcil's acting is hit and miss. Her expressions are insincere and she doesn't capture the essence of what she is trying to convey: a quirky, insecure and likable woman. Instead she comes off as weird and awkward.
Kate (Marcil) is a relationship blogger with a Ph. D in psychology. The emphasis of her video blog is about how to survive dating men. It has "man-hater" written all over it. But as the story goes, Kate does not appear to be a man-hater, she appear to be more of a self-hater. We see evidence of this in her choice of men. Her fiance is a low quality person with too many insecurities and strange personality traits, not any woman's type.
Lucas (Sutcliffe) tried to date Kate in high school but he really hurt her feelings one day when him and his raucous friends broke a very valuable keepsake of her mother's when they were fooling around. She has disliked him since then, which has been 20 years going. He steps into the picture as she is having a really bad day, and rescues her from a disastrous situation. This is where the love story begins.
This film is shoddy and Marcil's acting is hit and miss. Her expressions are insincere and she doesn't capture the essence of what she is trying to convey: a quirky, insecure and likable woman. Instead she comes off as weird and awkward.
Truly a waste of time. (This contains spoilers).
DreamyOneNumber125 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
This movie was truly insipid and a waste of time. I would not have lasted through it, if I had not taped this and was too tired to find the remote to change the station. It's definitely not worth anyone's time - there are much better movies out there to watch. There's little redeeming to say about it. Usually I can find a lot of good about unpopular movies, but not in this case.
Even the description, "A young celebrity marriage counselor discovers herself left at the altar of her own highly-publicized wedding...." isn't accurate. She's not left at the altar - far from it - she finds out even before the wedding announcement is made publicly that her boyfriend isn't interested in marrying her.
Vanessa Marcil is 48 years old, and while age is not necessarily a reflection on anything, trying to have a mature woman (who looks her age) act almost like a teen, doesn't play well. Dressing her like someone in her late teens or early twenties is another big fail. The big bulky glasses aged her even more and were ridiculously distracting since they took up about a third of her face. Her performance (and her physical movements) seemed forced. Casting Vanessa in this role was a great mistake. This movie would have worked better with a different lead. Additionally, the character, as written. has no insight into her own reality for part of the time, again seeming forced. And I agree, as others pointed out, that Vanessa's fascination with her own hair is totally annoying. She's constantly touching her hair, or her face.
The lighting isn't flattering to anyone. Some of the outdoor shots used the sun against the actors, and didn't benefit them. Again, agreeing with others, the makeup was really bad, too. Too heavy makeup ages people. David Sutcliffe, at least, seemed more comfortable with his role, and comes off as a natural. There's no way to have any sympathy with the initial plight of the main character since she's not likable. If I was a guy, I would have dumped her, too.
Don't waste your time with this dud.
Even the description, "A young celebrity marriage counselor discovers herself left at the altar of her own highly-publicized wedding...." isn't accurate. She's not left at the altar - far from it - she finds out even before the wedding announcement is made publicly that her boyfriend isn't interested in marrying her.
Vanessa Marcil is 48 years old, and while age is not necessarily a reflection on anything, trying to have a mature woman (who looks her age) act almost like a teen, doesn't play well. Dressing her like someone in her late teens or early twenties is another big fail. The big bulky glasses aged her even more and were ridiculously distracting since they took up about a third of her face. Her performance (and her physical movements) seemed forced. Casting Vanessa in this role was a great mistake. This movie would have worked better with a different lead. Additionally, the character, as written. has no insight into her own reality for part of the time, again seeming forced. And I agree, as others pointed out, that Vanessa's fascination with her own hair is totally annoying. She's constantly touching her hair, or her face.
The lighting isn't flattering to anyone. Some of the outdoor shots used the sun against the actors, and didn't benefit them. Again, agreeing with others, the makeup was really bad, too. Too heavy makeup ages people. David Sutcliffe, at least, seemed more comfortable with his role, and comes off as a natural. There's no way to have any sympathy with the initial plight of the main character since she's not likable. If I was a guy, I would have dumped her, too.
Don't waste your time with this dud.
Light romantic escapism
coltras355 February 2023
A young celebrity marriage counsellor is left at the altar of her own highly-publicised wedding. To save face, she accepts an offer from her contractor, who secretly has a crush on her, to step in as groom and marry her.
Nice romantic fluff about a marriage counsellor who advices women to look for perfection in a relationship, but soon realises that she isn't exactly right, especially when Mr Right comes along. But, of course, she doesn't see him as Mr Right straightaway. First, you get some drama before the happy ending appears. It's pleasant viewing, especially for these cynical times. It has some good characters and well acted by all.
Nice romantic fluff about a marriage counsellor who advices women to look for perfection in a relationship, but soon realises that she isn't exactly right, especially when Mr Right comes along. But, of course, she doesn't see him as Mr Right straightaway. First, you get some drama before the happy ending appears. It's pleasant viewing, especially for these cynical times. It has some good characters and well acted by all.
Vanessa, please!
a-ross1-941-92707827 September 2020
I have to echo all the comments on miscasting Vanessa. The Valley Girl vocal fry is annoying, and she's trying to look at least 15 years younger. But the hair is the worst. I suggest a drinking game where everybody takes a shot each time she flips her mane. Everybody should be asleep or hammered halfway into the movie, which would be a good thing.
EVERYTHINGS BEEN SAID
linda-plant226 July 2019
I agree with all the comments made about the lead actress - she was clearly miscast, and everything has been said about her sad performance.
David Sutcliffe however, WHY hasn't he been picked up by the major studios instead of acting in low budget movies ? He's a good actor and VERY easy on the eye - but clearly hasn't had the breaks that Brad Pitt did, and that's such a shame.
The 5 stars I've given, four are for him, and one for the storyline which was typical Hallmark.
David Sutcliffe however, WHY hasn't he been picked up by the major studios instead of acting in low budget movies ? He's a good actor and VERY easy on the eye - but clearly hasn't had the breaks that Brad Pitt did, and that's such a shame.
The 5 stars I've given, four are for him, and one for the storyline which was typical Hallmark.
The Convenient Groom
studioAT17 March 2022
This is an amiable enough Hallmark film, but never really develops into being anything more than that.
I think it's a bit harsh of other reviewers to say that it's weird to see people in their 50's enter into teen style "does he really like me like me?" antics, because most Hallmark films see people of that age doing the same thing.
It's a fine, engaging enough film, with a horrible pair of glasses being worn by the leading lady throughout.
I think it's a bit harsh of other reviewers to say that it's weird to see people in their 50's enter into teen style "does he really like me like me?" antics, because most Hallmark films see people of that age doing the same thing.
It's a fine, engaging enough film, with a horrible pair of glasses being worn by the leading lady throughout.
Funny and touching movie
roxxymagenta28 May 2020
The two main characters disagree on everything, but slowly realize that it's ok and start to enjoy each other's company. It really proves that if you love someone, your differences can only enhance your relationship if you let it. This movie was so much fun. I was so disappointed that I only caught the last half! I'm gonna have to buy it!💕
No
Debzreview14 November 2017
I feel bad for David Sutcliffe because he's so good but got paired with someone who was awful. The lead female was intended to be an educated woman with success has a relationship counselor, unfortunately she had the emotional maturity of teenage girl. She was detached from reality, pretentious, not likable and her vocabulary and dialect(?) was of someone 15 years younger. Think Valley Girl, if that's still a thing. My rating and opinion are based solely on the female lead and in particular the actress playing her.
What was that?!?
tenthkingdom30 September 2022
So I absolutely loved the book and devoured it in less than 24hrs, imagine my excitement when I found out Hallmark had made this into a movie a few years ago... well imagine that excitement going out the door when the film opened and the lead actress is closing in on 50, and wearing so much make-up, RuPaul called and wants her on Drag Race. Now Vanessa was never an B-List actor, she was a solid C-lister but man oh man, her performance is a solid F - for failure. Her acting, hair, makeup, and clothing were bad. Hallmark is the gold standard when it comes to the Romantic Genre, and this one was super bad. They butchered the book in a big way. David was excellent as always, he was just too old for the part. Hallmark can't always hit 'em out of the park, and this one was a no hitter.
Typical Hallmark Fare
mariesmith-856848 March 2017
I often check this site and find the comments mildly entertaining at times which is more than I can say for this film. I mean REALLY? The female lead, who is apparently a relationship expert, yet seems to have the social skills and charisma of a coma patient just doesn't work here. I wanted to like her, really I did, but the constant hair flicking barbie- doll-like movements, with 10 layers of make-up and extra tight clothing to match just left me annoyed. Vanessa Marcil is a competent actress, or so I thought, but in this film? It was just cringe worthy. The only saving grace was David Sutcliffe who made the best of a bad job to make it mildly watchable. I only gave this 2 stars because He was in it. David! Think before you sign on for another movie like this, I beg of you!
Pluses: if you have nothing to do and don't mind giving away a couple of hours you won't regret. Watch this
Minuses: everything but David Sutcliffe, that beautiful Labrador and the scenery
Pluses: if you have nothing to do and don't mind giving away a couple of hours you won't regret. Watch this
Minuses: everything but David Sutcliffe, that beautiful Labrador and the scenery
Female lead blows it
bannseaman10 August 2018
She walked through the film underacting and pretending to be a "young woman" complete with valley girl voice. She just seemed embarrassed by appearing in this film. Too bad it could have been a cute romantic romp. The lead guy is a good romantic lead. Give him better costars!
This was a rough one
flyaires22 June 2018
First of all, a "young" woman...Hallmark, you have got to get these descriptions together. This woman is 50. And this was the most uncomfortable movie I have ever watched. The acting was a bit painful and I was never sure if theeading lady was kidding or being sincere.
I'm all down for corny- it's a Hallmark movie so I expect it, look forward to it even! But this was corny and ill acted.
Issa miss.
Poor castin
delythmorse13 December 2020
I only watched part of this file as the casting was poor. It state 'a young marriage counsellor.....' well the lead actress is about 48 when this was filmed. Surely someone being a young marriage counsellor would be someone in their early twenties to mid thirties at most. The lead actress for me ruins what could have been a much better film.
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