MadelainePetsch – Credits Rolling

Based on You’ve Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner, Maintenance Required follows Charlie (Madelaine Petsch), who runs the mechanic shop that she inherited from her father. Together with her best friends Kam (Katy O’Brian) and Izzy (Madison Bailey) the business has become a staple in their neighborhood. When a big time car dealership moves in across the street, Charlie’s business is threatened. What she doesn’t know is that her business rival Beau (Jacob Scipio) just so happens to be the person she’s been confiding to online for months.

I really wanted to like this film. Romcoms are always a good idea and the fact that this one was a remake of one of my all time favorites certainly peaked my interest. Unfortunately it all fell apart for me rather quickly and I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. It did have potential, but that potential just never really saw the light of day.

I have been a fan of Pestch’s since her Riverdale days (Cheryl Blossom was my spirit animal). Now that the show is over and done with, I have been looking forward to seeing what she would do next. While she’s already tossed her hat into the horror genre ring, I had not yet seen her do something more contemporary and I think it really suited her. The character of Charlie is one who is one hundred percent dedicated to her job. She’s so dedicated that she lets other parts of her life take a backseat. Although she had to make some difficult choices, she always stayed true to herself. I was not familiar with Scipio prior to this role and while I thought he and Pestch had decent enough chemistry, I did not like his character one bit. I know that was the point, but I wish we had seen more of a backstory to him to garner some sort of empathy.

What I did enjoy about the film was the friendship between Charlie, Kam and Izzy. You could tell that they had each others’ backs no matter what. The way that Kim and Izzy in particular would always show up for Charlie and help find ways to keep the business going was so sweet. Everyone deserves friends like them! Their scenes together really lit up the screen; that was the true love story.

Overall, Maintenance Required was not great. It had some flickers of promise, but it never came to fruition. It had some pretty big shoes to fill and yet it just fell short. There was a magical spark that I couldn’t help feel was missing and that just made watching it through difficult.

Rating: ♥️♥️

Alexa, play New Year’s Day by Taylor Swift.

I am fully aware that some places haven’t hit fall temperatures, yet here I am watching my first holiday movie of the year.

Starring Emma Roberts and Thomas Mann, About Fate is the story of two people who believe in love, though they have never been lucky in it. Griffin is getting ready to propose to his Instagram influencer girlfriend Clementine (Madelaine Petsch) while Margot is hoping her boyfriend of three months Kip (Lewis Tan) will agree to come to her sister’s (Britt Robertson) wedding. But when none of their wishes come true, fate intervenes and they are thrust together on the last night of the year.

While the storyline may seem predictable and cliche, I honestly didn’t feel that way while I was watching it. There were some obstacles thrown in here and there that threw me off and at times nothing seemed to be going the way it was supposed to. The comedy wasn’t always strong, but the addition of Cheryl Hines as Margot’s mother was a welcome casting choice.

What made this film work so well was the chemistry between Roberts and Mann. The way in which their characters meet at Bennington’s and then are constantly thrown into each other’s path kept me on my toes. They seem to be made for each other with their love for Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the fact that they both live in the same apartment complex, just on opposite ends of the way.

Not a lot of people know about About Fate, but I am hoping to have changed that. It’s a feel good film that will keep you smiling and rooting for the main characters to get everything that their hearts’ desire. Plus, it takes place during one of the most wonderful times of the year, so who would argue with that?

Rating: ♥♥♥