Hallmark has been keeping us on our toes lately in the absolute best way. This years “Spring Into Love” movies have just been so heart warming and filled with so much joy. It’s made me think a lot about love, the speed of it, the moments that make it, and the natural evolution of it.
The Professional Bridesmaid tells the story of Maggie, a “professional bridesmaid” whose job it is to make the brides life a lot easier. She’s hired to help with the mayors daughters wedding. Henry is a journalist, who isn’t thrilled that he’s made to cover the wedding, as he’s used to doing more hard hitting pieces. But hey, everything happens for a reason, and with these two, it’s absolutely no different.
But we’ll get there.
So, Maggie has taken on this role, because her BFF is planning the wedding, and in order to finance her company, this would be the thing that could put Maggie on the map. BUT, the hard part is that Henry needs to be basically babysat.
The mayors people are frustrated with Henry, as he wants to ask questions that the mayor doesn’t want to answer. But because Maggie and Henry are getting along, they put Maggie in charge of keeping Henry under control.
This is way out of Maggies job description, but with everything that she has riding on this job, she’s willing to do whatever it takes. The only issue is, she’s starting to fall for Henry and the feelings are mutual. But how does that work when everything between the two is based on a lie?
Yet is it really a lie? See, Maggie (who is known as Maisie throughout the film), has to keep who she is a secret, because the Mayors daughter, Alexis, panicked and told her other bridesmaids that she’d know Maise/Maggie for a long time. Alexis didn’t want anyone to know who Maggie truly was.
Hunter King is Maisie/Maggie and she is magic. She’s instantly likable in the role. The actress brings her own sense of innocence and wisdom to any role that she takes on. She’s captivating on the screen, making you think twice about comparing her to her sister. Hunter King is a talent in her own right – one that maybe we haven’t respected enough and should respect more.
King will make you laugh and she will make you feel for her character, quicker than you thought you would. You want her to succeed, applauding her genuine heart, smile, and want to succeed.
You can instantly see why it is that Henry (played by Chandler Massey) is drawn to Kings character of Maisie/Maggie. It’s not that Massey doesn’t shine, he does. But Massey, though a good actor, is somewhat predictable. He did throw us for a loop as in this role he was somewhat different, throwing in a few brooding looks and making us start to see him as a leading man.
Yes, I am fully aware that some of you will come for us for saying that, but hear me out. Massey plays the same role – the boy next door – all the time, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But it’s Massey playing the same role over and over that doesn’t make us expect anything different, but it’s him showing that he’s going to be doing different things in the role that he does play, that makes us look and see that he’s allowing himself to be versatile.
Massey is a talented actor – I know that. I know that it’s definitely not easy for any actor to change up, but I also know that Massey has it in him, because I have seen Days of Our Lives and know that the actor can do so much. He’s the next generation of Hallmark talent (even though I know he’s around the same age as most on the channel already).
The highlight of this movie was not only the performances from King and Massey, but Lillian Doucet-Roche, who plays Chloe. She’s funny, relatable, and every scene that she’s in, you find yourself wondering, what will Chloe do next. She’s definitely the type of bridesmaid that I would be.
Honorable mention gos to Francesca Bianchi, who plays the bride, Alexis.
The Professional Bridesmaid feels like The Hallmark Channel‘s answer to 27 Dresses, which isn’t a bad thing. 27 Dresses is a classic. While I do see and understand that the typical Hallmark movie formula is in this movie, what I love, and have loved, is that Hallmark is continuing to make their movies relatable, filling them with modern issues and situations that keep you watching and feeling seen.
Though I did like the movie, what would have made me love it, is if it felt more of an ensemble, rather than side characters there for the sake of being there. I would have loved to see more with the bridesmaids, more with Alexis and her fiance, more with Henry at work.
The Professional Bridesmaid isn’t perfect, but it also isn’t bad. It’s good, and is a departure from the usual Hallmark formula, but still is playing it safe within that formula.
