Hallmark Review: 'A Lesson in Romance'

Megan Mills' (Kristy Swanson) career oriented ways seem to have finally paid off for her, as after her boss sells the company in a merger, she's left ten million dollars richer and with a prestigious job offer in her lap. Unfortunately, Megan's dedication to her work has not only left her disconnected from her stay-at-home husband Mike (Scott Grimes), but from her children Sean (Paul Butcher) and Zoe (Allie Gonino), who have both recently left the house for college.

Learning about his wife's potential new career proves to be the final straw for Mike, who decides not only to return to college to pursue the engineering degree he never completed, but to file for separation from Megan. Devastated and desperate to reconnect with her family, Megan does the only thing she can think of: enroll in college alongside Mike and their children. But despite her business savvy and attempts to integrate herself back into their lives, Megan's initial attempts to reconnect with her family lead to disaster. Will Megan be able to mend her tattered relationship to her family while she still has the chance?

It seems all too fitting that this movie serve as my first non-Christmas Hallmark review, as A Lesson in Romance (which also airs on Pixl under the snappier Mom and Dad Undergrads) is as traditionally "Hallmark" as a Hallmark movie can get. With a cast stuffed with quirky characters and situations that wouldn't be out of place in a Disney Channel kidcom, it's a film that definitely won't be to everyone's taste. However, for what it is, A Lesson in Romance proves to be a harmlessly fluffy movie with a strong cast that works well with the material to make what could've been a corny misfire enjoyable.

Characters like Megan Mills can be easy to do poorly and make unlikable, but Kristy Swanson manages to take up the task and do it well. While it takes a while for Megan to finally start cluing in on what she's been doing wrong regarding her family, and her awkward attempts at reconnecting with them at times become obnoxious, Swanson keeps Megan grounded and allows the viewer to see that despite her flaws, she truly has realized how absent she's been in her family's lives and wants to find redemption with them.

Scott Grimes is similarly likable as Mike, with his transition from being a stay-at-home husband to pursuing the degree he never finished being a nice gender flip on the plot arc we usually see. There are moments, however, where Mike's motivations become a bit fuzzy and lend themselves to some unfortunate implications that were (as I see) unintended on the part of the writing team. As he prepared to leave Megan, I found myself wondering, "Is he really upset about Megan's detachment from their family, or is his primary frustration with not being the breadwinner of the family?" But as the film progresses, Mike's motivations become clear, and his character is as solid and sympathetic as Megan's ultimately becomes.

Tying together this solid main cast are Paul Butcher and Allie Gonino as Mills siblings Sean and Zoe, who find themselves caught in the middle of the awkward situation of having both of their parents attending college with them in addition to having their parents' marital strife and their mother's late attempts to bond with them. With both suffering from their own social issues that are exacerbated in their new surroundings, Butcher and Gonino do well in portraying these all-too-relatable feelings.

The side cast, however, is where much of the film's quirkiness lies, with some of these characters working better than others. While she starts out the movie as the prototypical "Hyperactively Perky Sorority Girl," Yin Chang's Ashley Moon develops into a more fleshed out character who ultimately proves to be something of an ally for Zoe. Jazz Raycole is more lowkey comedic as Megan's roommate Eve, who is quick to pick up on Megan's primary goal with enrolling in college and becomes her ally in reconnecting with her loved ones, acting as a more involved ally (if just slightly) than Ashley. Other strong side characters come in the form of Megan's co-worker Diane and Mike's flirtatious Spanish teacher Amara, who are respectively played by Dawnn Lewis and Tessie Santiago.

The supporting cast's biggest letdown, however, definitely goes to Will, Sean's roommate and self-proclaimed ladies' man. While there's nothing wrong with Kevin Covais' performance, Will spends so much of the movie as such a sleazy creeper that it makes all of his scenes a chore to watch and his character arc uninteresting to see unfold. The "Wannabe Casanova" trope is a very easy trope to make obnoxious, and A Lesson in Romance drops the ball in this regard. The only moment where Will is marginally tolerable is when Sean calls him out on his arrogance, but it's short-lived and only seems to exist to justify Will's rushed character development.

The plot also takes a few dips in quality along the way, which is a shame given that this is a Hallmark movie with more focus on family rather than just romance, which opens the film up to explore different relationships and character developments. Unfortunately, A Lesson in Romance rarely ever goes beyond skin deep on the dysfunction of the Mills family, with one particularly frustrating instance of this occurring when Megan reveals that she felt Mike often made her feel as though she were a lesser parent than him. This could've made for a emotional revelation on Mike's part and led to a climax where both he and Megan realize their faults in their marriage and work to improve themselves and reconcile. Instead, this development is dropped almost as soon as it's introduced, with the film taking the easy route of having Megan painted as the sole reason for the Mills family's collapse. This also puts a dent into Sean and Zoe's character arcs, as their respective social issues are never quite explained as a result of this lack of exploration and thus feel light on emotional impact.

I might have as many complaints about A Lesson in Romance as I do praises, but in the end, the film is a success at being what it was presumably intended to be: a sweet romantic comedy to let viewers feel good. It's not the type of movie you'll necessarily want to make time to view, but if you've got some down time and want to watch something light-hearted, A Lesson in Romance is worthy giving a chance.

Score: 6 out of 10 weather vanes.