When the production crew of THIS MAGIC MOMENT comes to the town of Stone's Throw for location shooting, the life of Clark Gable, a local store owner, is thrown into delicious disorder.
The basic themes of this movie, about the confusion of reality, fiction and desire, are very good ones. The structure of this movie is very promising. Diana Neal, who plays the movie star who becomes friends with Mr. Gable, is very good.
The major problem is the script. Plot points are revealed by having characters say them -- to others who participated in the events. These things should be shown, not told; in the event that time constraints make explication necessary, why tell them to others who know them? The other problem is one that I've noticed in several recent Hallmark Channel movies: the bright, tweedly, intrusive score that Mickey-mouses every emotional shift. I don't know who does these scores, but it would be nice if the producers would find someone who can provide a score that complements the emotional content of a scene instead of telling you how you're supposed to feel.
THIS MAGIC MOMENT makes a stab at some complicated, layered story telling but is handled so poorly that there are no surprises. The movie makers have placed no faith in the ability of their audience to discern subtleties and have made the movie loud, obvious and contemptuous.
