Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Inoffensive romance coasts on the charm of its leads.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
What's the Story?
Molly (Alexis Bledel) is a perpetually short-on-cash waitress who one day waits on an unusual customer: He carries thick scientific textbooks, he records his thoughts on a portable mini-recorder, and he seems just generally out of it. When she meets Gus (Zachary Levi), he's sweet and charming, but also weird and preoccupied. What gives? Does he have another girlfriend or something? No. What Gus has is a brain injury that prevents him from making short-term memories. Each day he wakes up not knowing where he is, and he can no longer work as an astrophysicist. Though he can navigate daily life, he can't connect with other people. Can Gus and Molly's romance succeed against the odds?
Is It Any Good?
There's genuine pathos in the idea of a truly, irrevocably damaged person who's desperate to connect and Zachary Levi is a good enough actor to make you care about Gus' dilemma. Though memory loss is a bit of a shopworn cinematic cliche (see: Overboard, 50 First Dates), thanks to the fine performances in Remember Sunday, it actually grabs the viewer and gives this lightweight romance something to grab onto.
For a while Gus manages to fool Molly into thinking he's a normal guy by taking notes and reading his "Molly" file every morning. When she eventually finds out the truth, the couple both fasten their hopes on an experimental surgery that might restore Gus' memory. Just when the viewer's ready for the movie to have a big, dramatic, unrealistic happy ending, the movie subverts it, but ends happily, if more realistically, than you expected. It's a pleasing twist to a movie that mostly coasts on the appeal of its leads.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why this movie was made. Hallmark is best known for making greeting cards. Why would a greeting card company want to make romantic TV movies?
Is the audience supposed to root for Gus and Molly's romance? What about these characters' dialogue, costumes, or other aspects of their characterization brings you to this conclusion?
In real life, would Molly decide to stay with Gus? Why or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : May 1, 2013
- Cast : Alexis Bledel , Zachary Levi
- Director : Jeff Bleckner
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Hallmark Entertainment
- Genre : Romance
- Run time : 96 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : January 9, 2022
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