STAR-CROSSED ROMANCE

STAR-CROSSED ROMANCE is an engaging and quite funny romantic comedy airing on UPtv.

Piper, a single mom and Denver’s most prestigious sportscaster, prioritizes independence to the detriment of herself and her son. Called into her son’s school over the issue of his fighting with a female student, she meets the girl’s single father, Erik, and sparks fly over whose child is at fault. Required by the principal to give their children the attention they desperately need, the two are forced into working together to stage the school play, a Steampunk reimagining of Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET. The parents discover each other’s passions, strong competitive streaks, likes and dislikes in the process of serving out their detention. More importantly, however, they begin to learn what their children have been missing and what they’ve begun to feel for each other.

Can Piper overcome her ego, Erik his over-protectiveness, and come together for more than just a high school staging of the Bard’s classic play?

STAR-CROSSED ROMANCE has an exuberant tone throughout, which helps draw viewers into this fairly formulaic romantic comedy. The leading lady and gentleman are both effective in their roles as single parents with singularly different problems. Also, their children are sympathetic and believable, and minor characters offer hilarious cameo performances. The movie’s only disappointing part is that it took Piper’s discovery of her boss’s lie about her promotion to get her to be there for her son in the end. This is a saddening catalyst for the final push toward character growth for the story’s female protagonist. At the beginning of the movie, Piper believes that, “Independence leads to success. Take care of yourself, and no one can take that away from you.” By the end, she’s thankfully singing a different tune, knowing that, “What matters most is supporting who we have at home.” The fact that this change is largely due to her uncovering that her boss was stringing her along, is disappointing, even though such jolts are often necessary to achieve such a paradigm shift. Despite this low blow from the filmmakers, this clean and entertaining romantic comedy is in many ways a breath of fresh air.

STAR-CROSSED ROMANCE has a strong moral with some humanist views of love and a few surprising oddities. The focus on the school play accounts for much of the movie’s humanist elements, but a strange feminist perspective from Erik’s neighbor, Maurice, is hard to accept. In advising Erik about his daughter and his relationship with Piper, Maurice he says: “She (Anya) is 13. One wife, three daughters, I learned my place pretty quick. All you gotta do now is. . . support her choices.” Later, he adds, “You take care of everyone else. It’s time to take care of yourself.” This is oddly unbiblical advice for a movie whose heart is clearly steeped in biblical values.

Outside of these oddities, STAR-CROSSED ROMANCE is remarkably clean and watchable. It has no violence or sexual content. STAR-CROSSED ROMANCE is a joy to watch, with no major issues or problems.