“Love in an Airport” might be a better title. Not because it actually is a better title, but because I loathe airports and would like to have reasons to not loathe them (as I cannot seem to avoid them).
Our subjects meet over her need for a phone charge in an airport lounge. Doncha love modern romance? Hate it if you must; fear it if you’re sane, but there are more ways to connect with strangers now than ever before in the history of our species. Technology doesn’t have to end in cyborg horror; I mean, it will end in cyborg horror … but along the way, it can stop for candy and flowers, dig?
Hadley (Haley Lu Richardson) needed a phone charge and a new flight; she missed her boarding to London and now might be late for her father’s wedding. This allows her to meet Oliver (Ben Hardy), a London native also studying in the United States. Is he headed back for a wedding, too? That’s a bit of a coincidence, yes? Hadley is a bit of a basket case and Oliver is a bit of a perfectionist, so they seem to fit well together. None of us is surprised that these two immediately hit it off.
OK, you two have 90 minutes to fall in love before your flight. And … go!
What’s that?
These two are sitting together on the plane which allows for several more hours of falling-in-love time? I see fate is playing favorites today. Sorry, favourites.
Amateur’s note: If you are thinking about falling in love, please try to pick up on your potential partner’s surname; it makes the search easier should you get separated.
Cute is in abundance here. So much cute you wanna hurl. Ben Hardy is cute. Haley Lu Richardson is the very definition of cute. The endless supply of random love-related statistics is cute. Jamella Jamil plays the omnipresent role as cupid/narrator … and that’s cute. The fellow maids of honor welcome Hadley with a dress, a stylist, and alcohol … and that’s cute. Hadley’s navigation of London’s public transportation to go find Oliver’s event is cute. And Oliver is attending a memorial for his mother. But his mother isn’t dead; she’s dying and wanted to celebrate going out in style with a Shakespearean theme party. I know I should find this an odd combination of eccentric, somber, and sardonic, but mostly I found it … cute.
There isn’t much to Love at First Sight, but with romance, there doesn’t have to be much. You just have to keep wanting the romance. Can’t say I was gaga for this couple, and I’m certain to forget this film inside a month, but for now, it worked.
There once was a collegian called Hadley
Who needed to make her flight badly
But fate stepped between
Making a play, unseen
Turns out, being late suited her gladly
Rated PG-13, 90 Minutes
Director: Vanessa Caswill
Writer: Katie Lovejoy, Jennifer E. Smith
Genre: Cute cutish cutesy cute
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Suckers for romance
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: The rest of us
