One True Loves (2023) User Reviews

It had its moments

[calorne · 6/10 · 8 May 2023]

I think that there was disparity between the scripts of the two male leads. Sam had the better, funnier and more crafted lines. Jesse's lines were generally rather trite. So Jesse's scenes were, as a consequence, not terribly gripping - but this was the fault of the writing not the actor.

The resolution to the dilemma was all too neat, easy and implausibly amicable in the end.

I rather enjoyed the scenes of Sam and his students and colleagues when he was wearing his heart on his sleeve, it was not one the least bit realistic but they were amusing and novel set ups and made me laugh a number of times.

Hallmark movie with slightly better actors.

[iamtheman0928 · 4/10 · 18 November 2023]

My wife read the book and made me watch this, and it's simply this. If you love Hallmark movies, you'll love this. Otherwise it's nothing special.

The chemistry between the characters feels like a forced C- effort. The husband gives the best performance but even that feels almost like overacting in comparison.

It's a simple plot, a girl needs to choose between two serious relationship options and there's a very predictable flow from then on out. You're not worried about her bc she's in a win/win either way. You feel sorry (I guess) for the two suitors.

I won't watch this again, unless someone really wants to see this; Id avoid it. My wife said there were some big deviations from the book, but I wasn't interested enough to ask what they were.

She should have went with the other guy.

[Davidon80 · 6/10 · 4 May 2023]

Was pleasantly surprised by this movie. While the set up is a little clunky, imagine the end scene in castaway where Tom Hanks turns up to his wife's home and then turn that into a movie. Had this script been written in the 2000s I can easily see the movie being a screwball Cameron Diaz vehicle with a much bigger emphasis on the comedic elements in the script, perhaps even Ashton Kuchner popping up somewhere. But what this movie does instead of playing for laughs is wring the drama out of the story, giving the two leads Phillipa Soo and Luke Bracey a lot of time to build their romance, which does make us invested in the love triangle element once it occurs. Which is to the detriment of Simu Liu, who does a lot of work away from the main leads, which slightly undermines his leading man status, as Soo and Bracey are the ones we're rooting for, and Liu seems like a genuine inconvenience for most of the movie and is given very little beyond his third wheel status.

Phillipa Soo is great as a leading lady genuinely torn by her love of two fine men, Bracey and Liu both do good work, a pleasant surprise and one definitely worth checking in on.

If you liked the book at all, maybe skip the movie.

[kassireneea · 2/10 · 20 May 2023]

I can easily say that the book was one of my favorite standalone books of 2022. And the saying the book is always better stands too true for this one. So a warning that my review is my opinion and is written as someone who adored the book.

The book catches you in the feels and makes you laugh, cry, and feel literally everything. You get deep character development and you see the story as a whole, the book flows well so that you have a complete understanding of what is going on at all times.

The movie did not do that. It was made too Romcom feel and took all the serious heart felt parts from the book and sort of butchered it so that we saw less and felt almost nothing. They condensed this so much it felt completely rushed the entire time and the flashbacks did nothing to help the frantic feel of the movie. It just felt goofy the whole time. I wanted that heartbreak and emotion from the book.

The Maine portion of the book had so much impact on the story yet in the movie it fell so, so flat and cringe. We didn't see any character development at all like we do in the book, that helped ua understand WHY they fell apart.

The actors had no chemistry at all. The acting was cringe, as well. It just never felt right to me. The actors look great for the parts but their acting didn't do them justice at all. I'm just disappointed in how this turned out, overall. It should have been longer and it should have been less Romcom feel, in my opinion.

Holding back tears and smiles

[arod_85 · 7/10 · 21 May 2023]

I'm not sure why this is rated so low! It was a very sweet, and actually really sad, movie. The premise isn't unique, but it was still beautifully executed and well acted. The scenes could have been arranged differently to have more of an emotional impact. For example, the movie starts with the second relationship, and tells the former in flashbacks. In my opinion, they should have allowed the first relationship to grow on the viewer, then bam! He is abruptly taken from the actress and the viewer and we are left with emotional carnage. Despite that, I did appreciate the conundrum the movie presented. It would be so difficult to have to choose between an old love and new. I found myself "choosing a side" then the next scene the other suitor would give some grand dialogue and I would shift my preference. I did this repeatedly and I found my conservative self almost wishing for throuple! As the movie progresses, it becomes clear one suitor is more compatible with the lead, but it was still heartbreaking to watch. Overall, a good movie that tugs at the heartstrings.

What cringey acting

[User-84658 · 2/10 · 11 May 2023]

Read the book and loved it. Was so excited to see the book adaption into a movie.

The look of the characters met the description of what I had pictured when reading.

HOWEVER, the acting was so distracting - just so beyond cringey and not relatable. Surprised that Simu Lui would add this to his movie build after the success of Shang-Chi.

The overall production felt so budget and rushed. The scene/story transitions feel haphazard and not seamless.

Watched about 40 mins of the movie and then I just couldn't continue anymore.

None of the actors captured the heartbreak or joy of the scenarios that was being told. Awful movie.

Relationship-flick nicely balances comedy and suspense.

[goodellaa · 7/10 · 14 April 2023]

This was quite good. Not a wrong note. Every technical aspect done well. I wanted to know more about the helicopter adventure, just for fun and to make the overall story more real. No problem, though, as this is a story about love and what can happen in unusual circumstances. Every character rings right. This happy movie also isn't afraid to poke fun at itself at times. The humor also, is about love. I felt involved in the story enough to be really concerned about how the characters could deal with the difficult dilemma that is the plot. Not at liberty to reveal much. Suspense builds toward the end, especially for those of us who don't watch movies like this much. Recommended.

Cringe at best

[tmryyzjqh · 3/10 · 2 August 2023]

The opening scene was great but it was downhill from there. I can't believe I paid for it. First of all the acting was awful and these are all very good actors. Low energy was what i called it. Like they were either in between better gigs are not really into the job. It came across. The music was terrible and didn't fit the type of movie. I think it was a drama but the music was for a kids movie. The actual cinematography was bad. The scene splices were pure lifetime movie. And the decorating was awful. They tossed in fake fall foliage here and there to make it seem like fall but trees change colors not bushes. Overall a total waste of time. Save your money or wait until it comes on lifetime and you have nothing better to do.

A little amateur but watchable

[TaylorYee94 · 7/10 · 30 May 2023]

'One True Loves' gives a Hallmark vibe, all goody-goody and big speech and revelation, a little over-the-top dramatic. I get that, but how the director narrates the story throughout is stable and organized. HOWEVER, what's wrong with Simu Liu's acting? High school drama club can act better than that, and actually, one of his students whose name is not even on the cast list is more natural. I cannot see any chemistry between him and Phillip Soo. I can sense from the other side of the screen they are not even close friends on the set. Audio editing is very crude and coarse. Background sound and music are blasting while their lines are comparably quiet.

Horrible Acting and Storytelling

[mikeshouse-93416 · 1/10 · 15 May 2023]

A movie is supposed to make you fall in love with the characters at a slow but steady pace, this movie drops you right into the plot, with no build up or substance, just a bunch of flashbacks which is ridiculous, so many possibilities with this plot and I can't believe that this is the way they decided to tell the story, just a frustrating watch and zero feelings for any of the characters, every kiss feels wrong, and the lead actress is just horrible at showing feelings, very robotic acting and just awkward on every scene, I would not watch another movie she's in, all and all, just not worth a watch.

I always wondered what Chuck from "Cast Away" would've experienced

[Jt-81769 · 10/10 · 25 May 2023]

Loved the messaging of "One True Loves"... had the right balance of romance, comedy, and suspense... is this a blockbuster quality movie? No. Don't know what the budget was, but it ddefinitely did not have a blockbuster feel. More like a lifetime special or something. Lol. Still good, but again it's really about what expectations you have going into it.

Is this a great romance comedy that touches on personal growth, dealing with loss and finding love? Absolutely! The movie will have you guessing and definitely thinking "what would I do in that situation?" Came out with smiles at the end!!!!!!

Agradavel de assistir, mas faltou contar melhor a historia.

[ricardofcamara-50022 · 6/10 · 26 April 2023]

A pleasant movie to watch. I don't classify it as a comedy. It's a drama that's been toned down with a Hallmark-like happy ending. The story is very interesting and could be further explored in the individual conflicts of the characters. I found the scenes of the groom explaining his feelings to a bunch of students and teachers pointless. Here is where the film tries to be comedic and fails. He was alone and alone and needed to vent, but it could be with a friend and with fewer scenes. The film did not show much of the wife's suffering, we can only get an idea when the husband reads the letter she wrote. Another missing point was showing where the husband stayed and his suffering alone for 4 years. The ending was no surprise to me as these movies always end up with everyone getting together at the end and "everybody lives happily ever after".

As for the acting, I liked the wife, there was feeling in the conflict scenes. The husband also did well, however, he was hampered by the little screen time (should have more). I didn't like the groom, in the scenes of feelings he seemed kind of glace and he was more like a comedian (like a fool) when the subject was serious. I recommend it, I had fun.

Do yourself a favor - Read the book

[netaslonim · 2/10 · 15 August 2023]

I'll being by saying that this is an amazing book by Taylor Jenkins Reid. If you haven't read it by now I highly recommend you do.

From this moment on, I will address the movie and how they destroyed, in my humble opinion, the massage and story of this beautiful book.

The way Sam and Emma meet in the books is via working in her parents book store. This holds a lot of meaning, the development of their friendship and builds his character through their interactions. Whilst in the movie, they open in the pool party, with Sam and Emma talking, where in the books it was nothing like that.

Another big miss they had was Emma's best friend, Olive, where did she go?

The way the story was told wasn't according to the book and in my opinion was wrong in displaying the connection Emma had with Jesse and Sam.

When she learns about Jesse's return and goes to see him, they do not kiss or do anything else, which shows the struggle and inner conflict she had. In the movie they open with it. A very strange decision.

A big part of Jesse's story about the time he was gone had to do with the mystery surrounding the missing of the pinky finger. They decided to remove that from the movie completely. Can't figure why.

The way Emma and Jesse decide to go to the cabin was lacking the way of thinking that this decision was made in the book.

Also, in the movie, the way that Emma was supposed to be driving first and only after he said he would drive, ruined the thought behind the entire thing. It came to show a lot about his character and the movie missed that.

The scene where Emma and Jesse finally talk about their relationship was lacking in the movie and was so beautiful in the book. They missed on Emma cutting her hair and about the fact that she started playing the piano.

I also didn't realize why they showed so much of Sam's personal life. The book and the story really isn't about him. It is about Emma and her choices and her development. All the scenes with the teachers and the students were redundant.

They ruined Sam's character and most of the important scenes he had with Emma that were meant to show their relationship and the development they had, alongside her own growth.

I also really disliked the meeting between Emma and Sam the second time. It didn't show how she wasn't really ready to start something again. Also, their whole beautiful first date just vanished. They removed the piano man gag they had and all the inner jokes.

In the movie, Sam didn't tell Emma that it was too hard for him to be in contact with her and that he would reach out when he can. They completely missed the idea behind this narrative. The longing both Sam and Emma had for each other in the end.

The proposal. Why. Why. Why. The original scene was so beautiful, why would they tamper that in the movie. I honestly can't understand why they made this decision.

The timing of the letter and the scene of it all, the fact they chose it to be in the lighthouse. In that way, They hadn't shown the meaning that the lighthouse held for them and they just breezed through the entire process of excepting their (Emma and Jessy) relationship was over. They didn't show the entire fan of emotions each of them experienced, which was portrayed so beautifully in the book.

The relationship between the sisters was so poor, and worse than in the book. Her sister was more annoying than the book and generally I didn't like the direction her character took in the movie.

Small part that bugged me and was probably so that they could hire this specific actor, they changed Sam's surname from Kemper to Lee. Just a little weird.

In the end, where Jessy told her about his new love, was supposed to be a phone call. I loved that. He send her postcards but this information was important enough for him to call her. The postcard way of delivering the message that was portrayed in the movie took from that.

And overall, I didn't see the chemistry between the cast. Not between Emma and Sam and not between Emma and Jessy. Didn't love the editing and the transition between scenes.

If you stayed this far and haven't read the book yet, go do that. You'll thank me later.

She wasn't truly in love

[jmorrial · 3/10 · 12 May 2023]

If she loved Jessie, she should have returned to him when she found out he was still alive. She may have learned to live without him for several years and felt affection for her best friend, Sam, who had been there for her during her grief, but real love is supposed to be embedded in one's heart despite anything that happens. She may have been able to move on with her life, accepting tragedy, but it's hardly believable that she could choose another man over her one true and first love. In the real world, it's improbable she would choose Sam over Jessie because Sam is only a replacement for a lost soulmate. Therefore, the conclusion is that she wasn't in love with Jesse, as she chose Sam in the end. Also, it would have been more natural if Luke Bracey had his Australian accent in the movie. His American accent here is quite unnatural.

Made believe love hope doesn't exist

[gentlejack · 1/10 · 6 May 2023]

I watched this movie and it made me believe that love and hope just doesn't exist if Emma was so in love with Jesse the way it was betrayed then she would have never moved on to someone else that quick they didn't find a body and I thought it was 7 years before someone was declared legally dead either way she should have waited at least that long before starting to get into a romantic relationship which I believe Sam took advantage of Emma's vulnerability and manipulated his way and to top it off she picks the other guy over her husband what a joke clearly not a romance movie seems to me she cheated on her husband.

Like a bad hallmark film.

[cruise01 · 2/10 · 23 November 2023]

1 out of 5 stars.

One True Loves is a horrible romantic comedy drama film which follows a young woman which she thought she loses her husband in an accident. Moves on with her best friend and gets engaged. Until her husband comes back and she faces the dilemna of being in love with both of them.

The plot is eh. The acting is flat out bad. The script and direction is cringy and dumb. It is boring. The film gets dumb as the characters discuss there love for each other. While other is regretting life choices. Its very cliche. Predictable. And definitely a film that is worth skipping. It was just horrible all around.

Stick to the book.

[saffbryana · 2/10 · 22 May 2023]

This film left me disappointed, I was excited to watch it but found the bad acting too cringe worthy and I couldn't watch the whole thing. The book on the other hand was gripping and I couldn't put it down. Such a shame of what could have been a great adaption if it had a better cast and budget. It felt forced and lacked the authenticity and depth that the characters deserved. It was as if the actors were struggling to bring the complexity and emotional depth of the book's characters to life on the screen. The visual presentation also felt lackluster and failed to recreate what the book painted in my mind.

We really liked this move

[mcddoug · 9/10 · 29 July 2023]

My wife and I enjoyed the movie. We had not read the book. We thought the acting was good, characters were believable, scenery was appealing, story line compelling. In particular the question of how she was going to resolve the issue of which man to choose was handled well. I don't understand the low ratings from other reviewers, but apparently that stems from what they expected from having read the book. We almost didn't watch the movie because of the negative reviews and so glad we decided to watch it anyway. My advice, if you watch the trailer and like it, watch the movie and I think you'll enjoy it.

lose someone to find real love

[murphy1982-87-443803 · 4/10 · 26 May 2023]

Watching this movie make you think why married someone when you are really in love with your best friend whole time I was hope she pick Jesse but in the end she pick Sam which make you think about love does it take you too lose one person to find your real love in the end like whole movie was about Emma trying find who she should be with but longer I watch the movie more I got bored so I end up going to the end of the movie to see who she pick which was Sam and in the end made you think was her love for Jesse real or was she really waiting for her best friend the whole time.so whole story is about lose someone that you think you love but really love your best friend.

She chose correctly, but...

[Boristhemoggy · 5/10 · 11 May 2023]

A lady engaged to be married finds out her dead husband is in fact still alive, and she's still in lone with him.

Quirky little movie, not great acting, and an odd story and yet immersive. I wonder though why each love story has to be blighted by infidelity? I get that love is not always an easy road and there are pitfalls along the way, but creating the very worst case scenario is after a while very wearing and tiring.

Emotionally I feel worn out with these type of films when really I should be invigorated by them.

The storyline was OK, but why to to the nth degree to make the love harder and therefore more deserved? It isn't always that way!

There was some good humour throughout and of course despite someone always gets hurt, a happy ending for those who believe in love.

It will never be a classic but it's an easy watch.

Read the book instead

[laurencampise · 1/10 · 15 February 2024]

Why would they turn a great book into such a terrible hallmark movie?? The score literally sounded straight out of a hallmark movie. Such cringey acting by everyone involved. They never even explained what happened to Jesse on the island?! That was such an important factor in her final choice. And they did Sam's character dirty. They didn't show enough about their early friendship or present to help you understand why she loved him so much. And the ending was worst of all. Just so beyond cheesy and ridiculous and nothing like the book. They could have made this movie two hours to incorporate all the necessary details to make it actually worth watching.

After school special?

[heidi-23871 · 2/10 · 1 March 2024]

I am always a fan of reading a book before watching the movie, and normally the book is better but I didn't even love the book. But this movie is SO BAD, it made me appreciate the book a lot more.

It looks so cheap, I don't want to say low budget cause not all low budget movies are bad.

It is super rushed. There is no depth to the characters at all, they are all completely unbelievable. There is not enough history maybe to develop the characters, but I guess even if they had it would have been as bad as the rest of the movie.

It's actually frustrating to watch, the dialogue isn't good, and they have the book to go off of, which definitely had better dialogue. It's as though they didn't know how to convey parts of the book without the cringey dialogue.

I don't know if it's the acting or directing but it just feels flat, on all levels.

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 4/10 · 28 July 2023]

One True Loves is a romantic comedy slush melodrama.

Following the trend of adapting popular books and, in this case, popular authors (with the author of One True Loves being Taylor Jankins Reid who has more adaption to come) the movie follows a woman who is trying to move on with her life after her husband was assumed lost in the sea, when he comes back.

The film overall feels like a Hallmark movie, though its not. Even the acting gave those vibes!

But, they did handled a tricky story well enough and the outcome was satisfying, with some tension towards the ending that helped get things a little thrilling.

I'll be cliche, the book was better

[karimari79 · 9/10 · 7 May 2023]

Of course the book will always be better, because you are taking an eight hour read and condescending it into an hour and a half movie. Had this been a mini series I think it would have worked better. The beginning of the movie was kind of confusing because the flashbacks weren't as clear as they were in the book. The book explored Emma and Sam's relationship more. During Emma and Jesse's the trip to Maine, the reader finds out more reasons why they've grown apart, and quite frankly, Jesse is a complete jerk. The book is mostly from Emma's perspective and never from Sam's. However, I can see why the screenwriters added the scenes where Sam is speaking to his students because it added comic relief, and made it a rom-com. All and all it was a fun movie, but I suggest reading the book.

Lame hallmark version of Tom Hanks Cast Away

[nonchalange · 1/10 · 18 April 2024]

Lead actress is really bad at showing feelings, very poor acting in every scene, a real halllmark movie!

The film is structured through vignettes that give you whiplash with every time jump from present to past and back again, while confusing its tone by cutting off a moment to jarringly switch to another character's. Where was the shocking moment that Jesse is still alive? Did I miss something? POV. It doesn't sit long enough with any of its attempted emotional pulls to make them impactful. Both the script and the performances beg the audience to assume chemistry based on bullet-pointed outlines of history rather than any true emotive execution in either department.

There is no chemistry with the best friend whom she choses at the end of the movie. And daders thing is you know after 5 minutes she will chopper Sam over Jesse.

Although its a copy of Tok Hanks castaway , what really is a great movie, one true loves is a weak copy. Same story only shorter with no emotional impact.