One of my favorite things to do at a bookstore is to find the wrapped books, clues written on the paper, and to feel the excitement of something new. I’ve found a lot of authors that I have grown to love this way. I never thought of it as a blind date with a book, but I guess that’s exactly what it is.
I may not like a blind date in real life, but a blind date with a book, I will definitely go on.
Blind Date Book Club was a pleasantly charming movie with romance, charm, and books. Well, and Nantucket. I love Nantucket.
With Erin Krakow and Robert Buckley starring in a movie, it would be really hard to get it wrong. The two shine in anything that they are in and have a very loyal fan base. But more than that, the two are strategic about their careeers (as most actors are) and wouldn’t pick a bad script.
In the movie, Krakow’s character of Meg, owns a book store in Nantucket. The store was started by her Mom and though it wasn’t the road that Meg thought that she’d be taking, she doesn’t have regrets about the running the bookstore. She actually loves it (even if she doesn’t realize it).
Buckley’s character of Graham is a YA writer, with a popular series. His eigth book in the series is due, but he has instead written a book that he thinks is good, but his agent doesn’t agree. So, Graham is going to self publish.
Graham hears an interview with Meg, where she talks about her book club. The club wraps up books and you choose by the clues. He thinks that this is the perfect opprotunity to test drive his book. He’s self published it and seems to think that his charm will get her to put the book into rotation. When she declines, he asks that she reads the book.
And she does.
And doesn’t like it.
There is no way not to love Meg’s bluntness. She doesn’t hold back, but does it in such a constructive way that I don’t even feel bad that she does. I am actually like you go girl. Then I want to grab a notepad and take all the notes.
I have yet to see a movie that Erin Krakow doesn’t shine in. She makes you feel like you’re watching your best friend and you want to support her. You are cheering for her every move. You want to kick the people that let her character down and you want to support her. That’s just her as an actress – she makes the viewer believe she’s the character and you, as the viewer, appreciate her.
Blind Date Book Club is no different. Though Buckley’s character of Graham is great, he sometimes comes across as too cocky and too wrapped up in himself, which makes him quite annoying. That’s not a slam against Buckley, but rather a compliment to his portrayal of the character.
As the movie progresses, Meg is trying to decide if she’s going to sell the bookstore (her aunt wants out of her half, as she’s getting older). Graham is loving his time there, but he ends up screwing up everything.
The man goes to the book club about his book (which is written under fake name) and people are dragging it. It’s actually a mixture of well, you asked for the truth and oh this isn’t something that anyone should sit through. It was one of those things, where you can see how uncomfortable he is, but I also think that it’s a good thing that he kept quiet.
Until he didn’t.
And then he let it slip who he is, when someone notices it. He also lets it slip that he’s written under this pseudonym. The book everyone has been hating on is his.
Meg is mortified. She felt as though she was deceiving people and then decides to sell her bookstore. I think that it’s proof that you shouldn’t make decisions when you are angry. Decisions made because of feelings – well, I was always told never to make them at the height of that emotion.
We all know that when conflict happens in a movie, especially a romance, there will be a solution. And yes, Graham and Meg are going to find their way to each other. They are also going to find out who they are and what they want.
Of course the bookstore – she’s not selling her part. Of course he’s going to finish his book. The “of course” isn’t bad. Sometimes you need the predictable, because it brings comfort and it makes you feel. That’s the point of movies like this – they are supposed to make you believe that love, overcoming conflict, and finding your way is possible.
There’s nothing wrong with that.