My Fake Office Fiancé Review: Reminiscent Of ‘The Proposal’ Only It’s Not

When I think of “a-list” vertical actors – ones that are the best of the best – Cayman Cardiff comes to mind. A friend of mine asked me if it was possible that I thought that because of his abs and while I can be that shallow, it’s not it. It’s because from the moment he walks into a scene you can tell he’s become the character and Cayman is gone. He becomes his character – giving 100% of what he has to a role.

And he definitely did that here in My Fake Office Fiance.

In all fairness, I was asked if I wanted to review this one and I am always game to sit down and watch a vertical. You tell me it stars Cayman Cardiff and I am then even more excited. Though, I am always scared to review because I know I can be brutally honest. For the first five episodes of this one I thought that is what I was going to have to be.

But by episode six, that changed. Why? Because I realized that it gave me the same feelings as The Proposal. The 2009 movie that starred Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Anything that can give me a sense of nostalgia I tend to fall head over heels for.

FEELING NOSTALGIC

My Fake Office Fiance is about, “A focused, intimidating, workaholic girl boss is at risk of getting passed over for the CEO job of her dreams because the out of touch board wants her to be married. So, she turns to the only man in her life – her assistant – for a fake marriage to get her approved. The only problem: they can’t stand each other.”

If there is anything that I have learned about synopses in my time working in the entertainment industry is that they can sometimes be misleading. The thing is that it’s lines written to draw you in and sometimes it works. Here though, it is somewhat misleading. It’s not so simple because you’ve got two character that are really hard to define. Every time we pull back a layer on them what we find is that they are not anything like we thought they were.

At first I thought Jenna was a shrew, but by the end I thought she was a woman who was just in need of believing in herself and knowing she’s good enough. At first I thought Brian was a man that was intimidated by women, but by the end I thought he was a man willing to put in the work because he was guided by love.

WHY I GOT MAD

Now what pissed me off about this vertical and made me laugh at the same time was that Jenna (Maggie Rose Hudson) has a one night stand. No, that’s not the part that upset me. The part that upset me was that the man she slept with and then kicked out was so petty that he got appointed to the board of his fathers company, and made it so she had to get married in order to be promoted to CEO.

Why? I am thinking that people think that makes a person look more stable? It doesn’t in this writers opinion, but what do I know is that one night stand – Devon – has issues. Not sure if he was expecting a wedding because they slept together or if he was certifiable.

There was also somethings that were screaming at me that had to have been a nepo baby decision or someone knew someone. And by the end of this I will say that faded and it didn’t matter because Jenna and Brian were all I cared about. I couldn’t have cared less about anything else – my ship had set sail and it was all that mattered.

What is evident from the beginning is that Brian is the best option for Jenna.

Jenna isn’t the best boss. She’s mean to Brian. Brian (Cardiff) was ready to cuss Jenna out and tell her off in front of the board, when she takes the moment to announce he’s her fiance. He looked confused, but he didn’t debate her. He backed her up.

Over the course of the series – the thing that I love about Brian is that he’s kind and giving. Jenna is not. She’s a boss, but he’s not the greatest one, because she doesn’t think that she needs to be part of the team, that people just work for her.

WE ALL DESERVE A BRIAN

It’s kinda heartbreaking to see how much Brian wishes that he was someone she tried to know. He knows everything about her – and while yes it is a part of his job, it doesn’t mean that it’s his job. I work as an assistant and while I know a lot about my boss, there is a lot that remains to be remembered and is in my notes app.

The two go all in for this marriage, but the best part is that his parents come to town and they are doing everything that they can to get to know her, as well as help plan this wedding. Jenna may have an aversion to getting married, but little by little you see it breaking down.

That’s part of the beauty of this vertical – you get so much character growth out of Brian and Jenna. As you watch, walls come down and you get drawn into this world of a man that’s been in love forever and a woman who hasn’t realized yet, that just because someone broke her heart doesn’t mean that everyone will.

EXES SUCK

Brian shows his jealousy – especially when her ex, Clark shows up. While I always like Nic Caruccio in a mafia role (he’s got a lot of them), him as Clark is not likable. Clark is the worst and the way he plays with Jenna’s emotions – well lets just say that he got what he deserved. It’s just him being around, if I was Brian, I would have been in a fight. Just count on bailing me out or seeing me in hell, cause when the devil show up on your door step, you send them away.

But here’s the thing, Brian doesn’t do that. Instead he’s supportive, caring, and stands beside Jenna no matter what she does. He holds her up when she’s about to fall. He makes her see that she’s not what others may tell her she is. Instead he’s making sure that she knows that her past hurt and heartache doesn’t define her. What defines her is the woman that she can be and chooses to be.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Now, don’t get me wrong – there is a lot of drama in this vertical and if we’re being honest, my favorite scene was one of the last ones – it takes place in a closet. It’s just when you get moments of vulnerability and real connection, I believe that you have to hold onto them.

My Fake Office Fiance isn’t perfect, but it is really good. It’s what you hope that a vertical will be – an hour of your life that you walk away feeling like that was a good hour spent. This one does that. It’s a romantic comedy that makes you stop and think, I want someone to love me like that. At least that’s how I felt.

OTHER THOUGHTS

If someone ever asks ‘do you know who I am’ that’s cause enough to kick them out or block then
If someone ever tells you that you don’t know who his father is, that is someone not deserving of your time
I like how sometimes something happened and they left you guessing what an answer or action was (but it was all tied up at the end)
If Devon’s father didn’t kick him off the board may he get really bad food poisoning
Being kind and being mean are both free, but remember they do have consequences
If a man dons an apron, makes me a bomb breakfast, and then tells me its time to go before I can eat it – you can guarantee I am eating it in the car.
There are a few continuity errors in here, but I don’t think that they are visible unless you’re looking and being as part of my day job is looking for things like that I couldn’t unsee them
If anyone ever gets rid of my mattress and replaces it with a waterbed – you had better get used to using your hand for things and sleeping alone
Clark is evil and I hope he got bit by something going down the mountain on that hike
Gonna need someone to look at me the way Brian looks at Jenna
Jennas wedding hairstyle looked as though she was trying out for the Real Housewives of New Jersey. Not sure if that is good or bad.