'Just My Type' Review: Family movie that will make you grab your tub of popcorn and hold onto your dreams
Young author and journalist Vanessa Sills (Bethany Joy Lenz) is ready to take on the challenge of acquiring a position as senior lifestyle editor among competitors. Armed with a story about the different types of yoga to appeal to a ying-yang friendly crowd, she heads on a vacation with her best friend, only to weasel her way to a better story. Vanessa has a dream to be a novelist, but she is also at the crux of a promotion that could allow her to cover stories of importance. How does she fare a war of will and wants as she tries to navigate a life she's always wanted to live?
After a gas station incident saw Martin Clayborne (Brett Dalton), an illustrious mystery author, pumping their gas, Vanessa's best friend convinces her that there's a way that promotion could be hers. Vanessa, who's a huge fan of Clayborne sets on a mission to get an interview with one of the world's most reclusive authors — who's had an interesting past, at that.
Not trusting journalists, and being haunted by a past incident, Clayborne is cautious of Vanessa. She lets him know that he isn't an "interview conquest" and having been moved by his work herself, she wanted to move people as well — he was an inspiration to her. Clayborne agrees to an "all-access ungarnished account" of how he lives and works as long as his honesty awards him with a read of the piece before it gets published.
Here begins a journey to make sure Vanessa can fill 10 columns worth of an exclusive interview, and meet an aggressive deadline.
As Vanessa thinks about a hard life as a successful novelist, she gets a big scoop on Martin Clayborne, enough to sell magazines. Having to choose between a childhood dream or a successful career is an interesting story to say in the least. A story that had started with a trip to help clear minds for big promotions, turns into one of an avid friendship. The themes of trust and instincts are valuable in this romantic story, as Vanessa decides to live the life she imagined she always would. You're going to have to wait quite a while before you see the ending but we promise the "writer's block" scene will have you aww-ing.
The story is a sweet one — one may even get a deja vu moment if you've read Shannon Stacey's 'Exclusively Yours.' A feel-good movie about dreams, and honesty, Hallmark brings you the perfect popcorn and nachos moment for a family movie night.
Bethany Joy Lenz's Vanessa Sills brings the idea of a sweet and successful 'girl next door' who leaves love behind for a career and ends up with a lot happier than she bargained for. The movie reveals the test of will when it comes to power and success — how much are you willing to give to a dream set halfway? Sill's acting proves to be very nonchalant and natural to the story's narrative and her delivery is really enjoyable to watch.
Brett Dalton's Martin Clayborne is definitely not a man next door but brings up the themes of how pressure from success can emotionally curb the need to make your fans happy. Having had to make a big decision, and having to watch it fairly out in ways that he himself never thought of — through the help of a curious journalist — is the cutest love story that's about to come your way.
Directed in a rural town where a reclusive life and dream opportunity are both tested, the happy-go-lucky-vibe of this romantic drama brings out themes of self-discovery and self-love.
‘Just My Type’ premiered on Hallmark on Saturday, March 28, 2020, at 9 pm/8c.