This Matter of Marriage (1998)

One of my all time favorites.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The acting was excellent but sabotaged by a poorly-written story. Too bad because the basic idea was good but the details stunk.For example: They went to the well way too many times with the plumbing problem as an excuse to have them drop in on one another. How lame.And the initial building proposal was absurd. There was nothing original there - just some towers. How did a proposal for an office building suddenly become a proposal for a community? But by far the worst was when the hero showed no interest whatsoever in her career ("So you're an architect. So how's the weather?") until later in the movie, he's basically drooling over her community design. It wasn't bad acting; it was bad writing.It was apparent these two had nothing in common other than living next door. She had no experience with relationships. He had one experience - and didn't understand why it failed. And there wasn't even a glimmer of sexual passion between them. Prediction: One year max before they get divorced.What a sad waste of good acting in a terrible movie.

Above-average chick flick.Please note: the facts in the previous summary had the main female characters mixed up.Hallie (Leslie Hope) is the main female lead, with Donnalee (Sherry Miller) being the first one who tries video dating, which then spurs Hallie on to give it a try, but with less success.Also, Hallie is the one who lives next door to the guy with the daughter, who is going through his own personal crisis.The acting was pretty good, with the two ladies being the strongest. And, for the most part, there was a good deal of character development -- this was not the standard piece of fluff.

Leslie Hope shines in this watchable if predictable TV movie. She is very convincing in her role as an architect who cannot find love until it turns up at her door, well next-door. There are many strands to the story, some are left unexplored while others take center stage; yet what holds it together is Hope's charming performance. She rises above the predictable material and never overacts. We can sympathize with her character. The story itself is obvious from the beginning but the tone is typically Canadian - low-key and unsentimental. This low-key tone is quite unusual for a Harlequin film, but it's part of its charm even though it feels like a soap opera most of the time.

Donnalee (Sherry Miller) is an architect with a history of romantic disappointment. Her business partner, Hallie (Leslie Hope) is in the same predicament. When Hallie finds success through a video dating company, Donnalee feels the urge to give it a try as well. Meanwhile, the ladies land a big project for their business and Donnalee has a nice-looking but agitating man and his grumpy daughter move in next door. What does the future hold for these gals, professionally and romantically?Donnalee and Hallie are job smart and love dummies. Miller and Hope are lovely to look at and portray the frustration of the single woman over 30 very, very well. But, if only they would use their brains! The script is just a tad beyond mediocrity and the costumes or art direction are not noteworthy, either. Yet, the film is still worth watching for those who love romance movies beyond all others. Hold a showing at a gathering of thirty-something women soon, if you can locate a copy.