Review

"When Love Springs: A Bouquet of Clichés with a Side of Predictable Bliss"

Ah, When Love Springs, the 2023 rom-com that’s as fresh as a daisy… and about as surprising as a Hallmark movie marathon on a rainy Sunday. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you took every Hallmark holiday movie, threw them into a blender, and added a dash of small-town charm, this is the result. Spoiler alert: it’s exactly what you’d expect, and somehow, that’s both its greatest strength and its most glaring flaw.

The plot is as follows: big-city girl (with a heart of gold, naturally) returns to her quaint hometown to save her family’s struggling flower shop. Enter the ruggedly handsome local handyman (who’s also secretly a poet, because of course he is). Sparks fly, misunderstandings ensue, and there’s at least one scene where they accidentally fall into a pond. It’s like the writers had a checklist titled “How to Make a Hallmark Movie” and followed it to the letter.

But here’s the thing—despite its predictability, When Love Springs is oddly comforting, like a warm blanket made of clichés. The dialogue is cheesy, the chemistry is undeniable, and the town’s quirky residents (including a wise old lady who runs the bakery and a precocious kid who delivers life lessons) are the cherry on top of this saccharine sundae. It’s the cinematic equivalent of eating an entire box of chocolates in one sitting: you know you shouldn’t, but you can’t stop.

If you’re a fan of Hallmark movies, this is your jam. If you’re not, well, you’ll probably still find yourself smiling at the sheer audacity of how many tropes they managed to cram into 90 minutes. When Love Springs won’t win any Oscars, but it might just win your heart—or at least make you crave a slice of pie from a small-town diner.

Final verdict: It’s a bouquet of predictability, but sometimes, that’s exactly what you need. 3.5 out of 5 roses. 🌹