What I Did for Love

If you like sappy romantic movies with shallow plots and bad acting you will probably like this one. But I'm a country boy and I can tell you that nothing the rancher family did was realistic in the least little bit. Allowing a clearly antagonistic, hateful and spiteful ex-boyfriend to hang around after he deliberately let the cattle herd out to roam the desert with predators around all because he wanted to frame the current boyfriend? He should have been arrested. The father who treats his daughter's boyfriend like a criminal? It was beyond crude and rude, I would run away from that family as fast as my legs could carry me. The whole movie was filled with improbable sub-plots like this.

Every time a new scene appeared, I found myself shaking my head incredulously. That just isn't how real people act, especially not ranchers. Farmers and ranchers are real people with real values and don't engage in the kinds of petty big-city actions prevalent throughout this movie. Another Hallmark stinker clearly written by clueless Hollywood writers who don't know how the real world works.

At least the girl was very pretty.

"What I Did for Love" is a 2006 romantic comedy film directed by Mark Griffiths. Here's a review of the film:

"What I Did for Love" follows the story of Claire (Katee Sackhoff), a struggling actress who takes a job as a waitress to make ends meet. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets Jason (Adam Kaufman), a charming and wealthy attorney who mistakes her for a high-priced call girl.

The film explores themes of love, identity, and the pursuit of happiness. Claire, despite her initial misgivings, decides to go along with the mistaken identity in order to pay off her debts and pursue her dream of becoming an actress. As she spends more time with Jason, she begins to question her choices and wonders if she can ever truly be herself around him.

Katee Sackhoff delivers a charismatic performance as Claire, capturing her determination and vulnerability with ease. Adam Kaufman brings charm and sincerity to the role of Jason, making him a likable and sympathetic character despite his initial misunderstanding.

The chemistry between Sackhoff and Kaufman is palpable, and their evolving relationship is the heart of the film. As they navigate misunderstandings and obstacles, they learn valuable lessons about honesty, trust, and the true meaning of love.

The supporting cast, including Brittany Ishibashi as Claire's best friend and James Callis as Jason's friend, adds depth and humor to the story. Their interactions provide comic relief and insight into the main characters' lives.

While "What I Did for Love" follows a somewhat predictable romantic comedy formula, it manages to inject freshness and charm into the genre. The film's witty dialogue, engaging performances, and picturesque settings make it an enjoyable and uplifting watch.

Overall, "What I Did for Love" is a sweet and entertaining romantic comedy that will appeal to fans of the genre. It offers a heartfelt message about being true to oneself and following one's dreams, all wrapped up in a delightful love story.

Typical Hallmark movie fare...not very good...with canned, repetitive music. Only reason to have this movie on is the scenery in Lone Pine, California. This is the setting of so many great westerns. It is just beautiful.

James is lost & they think he drove to LA..Wasn't his car outside?

OK, it's just a Hallmark movie, I shouldn't take it too seriously and a lot of the production crew will be on autopilot, but I wanted more nuance than this. I'm a little surprised at some of the "pro family" reviews as well. The main theme seemed to be "be as obnoxious to your unfamiliar guests as possible and maybe your daughter will marry someone like you".

This hardly seems the stuff of Christmas sentiment (unless you count The Grinch). I just couldn't buy into the bigoted hick stereotype as being gruff but lovable, just unpleasant. The daughter's role seemed to consist of smiling weakly while her boyfriend was metaphorically spat on from all sides. If the roles were reversed and the boyfriend's parents made her take ice cold baths every morning and strip naked to serve drinks to their society friends, somehow the family friendly motif would be put into sharp relief. Everybody's family could be this loathsome to strangers if they really tried, but why would you celebrate it? Why would you reward their climb from boorish vindictiveness to grudging acceptance as attaining a state of grace and forgiveness?

I know that TV movies tend to have broad-brush plot lines with little room for subtlety, but the creative contempt and continuous humiliation that the daughter's family put him through just irritates after a while and is too obviously there simply to hang the sub-plots from. No one would keep putting up with this level of abuse with little or no help from their partner and the unreality reminds you that this is just a product. You can't lose yourself in something this caricatured.