Movie Review: ‘Hopeless Romantic’

Review by James Lindorf

Everyone is familiar with directing duos at this point, with the Russo’s, Farrelly’s, and the Wachowski’s all directing numerous hits. The record for the number of directors on a single film goes to the 2012 independent film “The Owner,” which was directed by 25 directors from 13 countries. While not coming close to the record, Game Theory Films’ latest project, “Hopeless Romantic,” is nothing to sneeze at with its six different directors. As cliche as it sounds, love is a splendid complicated emotion that can make you feel like you are soaring broken beyond repair. One other thing about love is that everyone has a story. Lynda Boyd (Virgin River) is Anna, a recently widowed, facing new romantic challenges and forced to give a speech at her niece’s wedding. While waiting for that dreaded public speaking moment, Anna bonds with six other women as they each share their unique relationship stories. Game Theory will release “Hopeless Romantic” on February 12th on all major digital platforms.

This mildly depressing take on romance was directed by six women from the East Coast of Canada, Deanne Foley, Martine Blue, Stephanie Clattenburg, Latonia Hartery, Ruth Lawrence, and Megan Wennberg. While they may come from similar backgrounds, each of the film’s six segments is its own distinctive experience. From first crushes to rebounds, unrequited love to sexual assault, the whole gamut of romantic interaction is explored. The six directors also helped write the screenplay along with three other people. Generally that many writers would make a film feel muddy and disconnected. Aided by the anthology-style “Hopeless Romantic,” feels incredibly authentic. I believe every story happened to one of the writers or someone they know well.

The film is raw, stemming from a lack of experience or a lack of funding. In many instances, it helps the movie by adding a sense of realism to the scenes. Things aren’t overly polished, and the sets feel lived in, not staged. My biggest grievance is with the acting. Boyd and the main cast all do an admirable job, but the supporting cast and child actors left them down. The film’s best performance goes to Francine Deschepper (Weirdos), who plays the recently divorced Simi. Simi’s segment where she learns her highschool bully is the mother of her new boy toy is the best and most humorous of the six stories. The most contrived story belongs to Susan (Susan Kent). The chances she and her husband would decide to take adult swimming classes, at the same gym, at the same time are astronomical. The talented Amy Groening (Goon) plays Lauren in the most triggering segment of the movie, where issues of consent of self-blame are tackled.

“Hopeless Romantic” is the perfect movie for single people, particularly women, as we approach Valentine’s day. Since men do most of the ghosting, and most of the cheating, and most of the assaulting, they may be able to learn something, but they can’t fully put themselves in the character’s shoes. Unlike movies like “The Notebook,” “Hopeless Romantic” tells true to life stories of love and love lost. While the quality of the experiences vary, true to the name, the characters can’t wait to do it again and encourages the audience to take the leap when the chance arises.