You can’t get more normal than that, especially when they’re both kind, sweet people, so they’re an easy couple to root for and watch. The movie also starts with a clever meet cute which has been used before but I love the spin that they put on it here. Conrad strikes up a conversation with a cute girl on the New York subway about the Count of Monte Cristo; meanwhile Emma was having a conversation about coffee and reading on the subway when both meet-cutes are interrupted by a power outage. Conrad posts a ‘Missed Connection’ ad which Emma answers thinking it was her missed connection. Over coffee, Conrad and Emma start talking about what they’re looking for and vow to help each other find their missed connection.
It’s still a predictable romance but it puts a nice spin on it. Emma and Conrad both like each other right away but instantly turn it into an enviable friendship. There’s also a scene later on where Emma actually meets Conrad’s missed connection and after having developed feelings for him, still does the upstanding thing to do and introduces them. There is some real heart and care put into these characters and their relationship.
The film also has some actual discussions about art; of course, nothing deep or complex, but accessible, and that is arguably better.
The Way to You is one of Hallmark’s better offerings. The main couple is nice, sweet and relatable, they have real conversations, and their romance develops in a non-linear way without any easy resolutions which is different for this genre. It’s still predictable, surface-level and lacking in interesting subplots, but the central relationship is enough to carry it.
|