Hallmark’s ‘When Love Springs’ stars Rhiannon Fish and James O’Halloran as strangers posing as romantic partners at a bed and breakfast.
Hallmark delivers seasonal romance in When Love Springs, a movie set at an idyllic B&B nestled in the greenest scenery we’ve seen on the network this year. Rhiannon Fish and James O’Halloran star in an out-of-season fake relationship romance movie, proving that people need fake boyfriends all year long and not just during the holidays. But is When Love Springs the real deal or is this film more of a forgettable fling?
The Gist: Rhiannon Fish (a standout in March’s A Picture of Her) plays Rory, an overworked junior publicist who’s managed to squeeze in a few days away from New York City to attend her parents’ renewal of their vows at the bed and breakfast where they first met. But just because she’s away from NYC doesn’t mean she’s away from work. This is also a working trip for her! And that’s gonna be hard for Rory, because Lily Lake is the quaintest of quaint B&Bs. That means there is no Wi-Fi, no business center — and even if she wanted to actually enjoy a vacation, there are also no pool or TVs either. Who’s running this place?!
That would be Noah (James O’Halloran), the grandson of Lily Lake’s original owner. Noah’s not really the owner, though; he’s just looking after the place while his dad’s away. But suddenly his easy gig of checking in guests and mowing the lawn becomes incredibly stressful when he learns that a major travel critic is dropping in a week early. Surprise!
And somehow that’s not the only surprise at Lily Lake this weekend. Rory’s ex Jason (Callan Colley) just so happens to be at the B&B with his new girlfriend. To save herself from some embarrassment, Rory latches onto Noah and the two become a “couple.” What could go wrong?
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Just think of any holiday movie centered around a fake relationship and swap out all the snow for sunshine and the holly for lily pads.
Performance Worth Watching: In a movie where most of the performances are cruising along at a comfortable speed, I cherished every time Frankie Savige appeared as Rory’s boss Melody.
