Change of Heart

If you like self-absorbed celebrity hosts who think ratings are boosted by trashing people and places then this is your movie. Jared is so obnoxious and conceited that I turned this movie off several times.

Diane is clueless in her own way. She's worked with Jared and she still thinks he's going to make a "run down" B&B look good. Personally, I don't see how trashing a place that is already unknown is going to boost ratings. Despite her cluelessness about Jared, Diane's thought that helping a place like Forest Cove would be better ratings than trashing it probably makes a little sense.

This movie tries too hard in so many ways. Every wide shot has leaves carpeting the ground almost completely. Jared is too calculating and cruel. Diane tries too hard to help out at the inn. Andy bangs on the same spot outside Diane's room for way too long without doing anything else. "Hayride" alone in the back of an ancient truck?? There's even an abundance of budding romance stories, which is not necessarily a negative as long as it doesn't dilute the main story.

Then there are the overused plot devices like save-the-family-inn, writer/investigator-gets-involved, leaving-for-far-away, and some others.

In movies like these, I look to the relationship building between the leads to make it worthwhile. In this movie, that consisted of repair work. There was no spark. A perfect example is the sour look on Diane's face after Andy says something nice to her. The acting all around isn't a plus.

There is a nice mini-twist at the end which is foreshadowed a little before it happens.