From Chicago with Love Plot Summary
A marketing specialist's life becomes chaotic when she fakes an engagement with her boss's client in a desperate attempt to convince her building manager to rent him the penthouse.
Starring: Rebecca Liddiard and Dan Jeannotte
My Movie Grade: A+
Why From Chicago with Love Is Great American Family's Best Non-Christmas Movie
If Great American Family (GAF) continues to produce movies of equal caliber to From Chicago with Love, it will put the network on a fast track to becoming everyone's go-to happy place for light-hearted romance movies.
From Chicago with Love is the best non-Christmas movie GAF has made to date, surpassing previous hits like A Prince in Paradise, Love in Bloom, and A Royal Seaside Romance.
What ingredients does From Chicago with Love contain that culminates in such a delectable recipe for love?
The Movie Features Wonderful Acting from Liddiard & Jeannotte
Rebecca Liddiard is a new face in the rom-com world. Liddiard's film credits are fairly modest, yet she delivers a delightful performance as Poppy Evans, the marketing strategist who falls in love with the man pretending to be her fiancé even though she's already engaged to someone else. Liddiard assumes all the right facial expressions, gestures, and attitudes for every scene, and the confidence and strength that shines through her voice and body language conveys a bit of a Julia Roberts vibe.
Dan Jeannotte is familiar in the rom-com universe, having starred in several:
- Paris, Wine, & Romance (2019)
- Christmas in the Highlands (2020)
- Ghosts of Christmas Past (2021)
- The Royal Nanny (2022)
You may remember Jeannotte in GAF's A Royal Seaside Romance (2022) where he played opposite Brittany Bristow.
Jeannotte isn't your rugged, studmuffin type, but he's charming, suave, endearing, and funny. Let's hope he'll become a regular on GAF.
The Movie's Plot and Conflict Make Sense
When engrossed in a movie, one of my pet peeves is when the writers get sloppy and create tension or subplots in the story that make no sense. Either a character gets a bug up his or her butt over something dumb, or they react to circumstances in an unrealistic way.
None of that happens in From Chicago with Love.
You might wonder why any man about to be married, like Joel, would tolerate his fiancée pretending to be engaged to another man. The writers make it believable in two ways.
First, Joel knows how much Poppy wants to work at the ad agency, Aspire. Her current boss is very demanding and hasn't promoted her, so Joel knows how much the job change means to Poppy. Landing her dream job also explains why Poppy is willing to go along with the charade. Second, we ultimately find Joel isn't in love with Poppy enough to make a lasting commitment, which leads him to break off their engagement.
Poppy gets mad at Milo, but unlike in other cheesy rom-coms, her anger is justified. Milo's insistence on leasing the penthouse suite in her apartment building not only gets her fired from her job with Ingrid, it dashes her wedding plans. She has packed up her apartment for the move, but now she has to stay put. Her life has gone topsy-turvy, all thanks to Milo!
From Chicago with Love is Humorous
The movie is a bit of a comedy of errors. Poppy's landlord, Tony, refuses to rent to bachelors, so she and Milo invite him to dinner where Tony almost discovers the drawer hiding pictures of herself with Joel (turns out, Tony already knew about him).
Tony insists Poppy and Milo hire his sister, Wanda, to plan their wedding. Wanda requires all couples to show her a wedding book, so Poppy and Milo spend a lot of time photoshopping to create a dating "history." Wanda also insists on a cake testing at the same time and location Poppy is supposed to join Joel for the same reason, which means she has to ping pong back and forth between the two rooms without giving herself away.
It doesn't get more awkward than when Ingrid throws a party at Old Chops, the restaurant where Joel is the chef, where she turns it into a celebration for Milo's and Poppy's engagement.
The Movie Has a Satisfying Ending
Ingrid realizes how much she depends on Poppy, so she finally gives her the promotion she deserves, just when you assume Poppy will be leaving to work at Aspire.
Even though Milo really wants to live at The Gregory, since Hemingway was rumored to hang out around the building, he picks a different place just a couple houses down. Tony decides not to rent the penthouse for a while, just in case the happy couple ends up getting married and wants an upgrade.
Poppy makes her dream of vacationing in Japan a reality by booking a flight to Tokyo.
From Chicago with Love is very entertaining and a must-watch for GAF fans.
Before You Go...
GAF Fans: Have you checked out Candace Cameron's Bure's new podcast? If not, click on the photo below to learn more about it!
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