For my review of No Postage Necessary, my original plan was to publish it on Valentine’s Day. This decision was made because, last year, I wrote about Evan Williams’ Hallmark film, The National Tree, in honor of the Christmas season. While working on my aforementioned review, I was also finding research for my upcoming Sally Solves a Mystery article. However, locating research for my Sally Solves a Mystery entry took longer than I expected. That means I ran out of time to publish my review of No Postage Necessary as originally intended. But I haven’t reviewed a movie since last week, so that’s why I’m still publishing my No Postage Necessary review. When it comes to “chick flicks” and “rom coms”, Hallmark has capitalized on both genres. But Hallmark is not the “end all, be all” when it comes to romantic comedies. Will No Postage Necessary mirror the quality viewers come to expect from Hallmark? Keep reading my review to find out!
Things I liked about the film:
George Blagden’s performance: While I liked the acting throughout No Postage Necessary, the strongest performance, in my opinion, came from George Blagden. That, along with how George is the reason why I sought out this movie, is why I’ll be highlighting George’s performance in this review. The most notable aspect of George’s portrayal of the protagonist, Sam, is how effortless he makes his performance appear. Toward the beginning of the film, Sam is a pessimistic man, using sarcasm to combat disappointment. During these moments, the sarcasm rolls off George’s tongue, with the delivery being sharp. As the story progresses and Sam becomes attracted to the film’s female protagonist, Josie, his attitude begins to soften. George adopts a calm, yet playful demeanor to show Sam’s changing persona. The aforementioned effortlessness, along with George’s ability to readily change emotions and expressions, allows Sam’s transformation to come across as believable!
The on-screen chemistry: For any romantic comedy to work, there needs to be, at least, some on-screen chemistry between the lead actor and actress. If this on-screen chemistry is strong, it believably sells the protagonists’ romantic relationship to the audience. As I previously mentioned in this review, Sam becomes attracted to Josie. Throughout the story, Josie and Sam spend time together and eventually fall in love. While interacting with each other, I could sense on-screen chemistry between George Blagden and Charleene Closshey. These interactions were not only very sweet, but it seemed like their characters developed a sense of understanding between each other. I also want to point out how natural Sam and Josie’s interactions were in No Postage Necessary. The acting abilities of George and Charleene worked in this movie’s favor!
The messages and themes: Similar to other romantic comedies, especially from Hallmark, there were some good messages and themes within the script of No Postage Necessary. One major theme is taking responsibility for one’s own actions. Prior to the events of this movie, Sam was arrested and faced accountability for the crime he committed. He is on probation during the events of the film. But when he discovered a letter from Josie, Sam takes the initiative the turn his life around. He seeks out better employment so he can prove how self-sufficient he is. Sam even purchases a new car, trying to give Josie a good impression of himself. Because of the screenwriting and acting performances, this theme was delivered well in this movie!
What I didn’t like about the film:
The cyber security/Bitcoin subplot: George’s character, Sam, is a computer hacker who was arrested for his crime. Despite his criminal past, he still believes he could use his skills for good. Throughout the movie, Sam is accused by Agent Ames of stealing Bitcoins, even though Sam has never worked with Bitcoins before. While I’m aware Sam needed a conflict to work through, as well as a reason to change his ways, the overall tone of this subplot clashed with the cozy, sweet nature of the main romance plot. It felt like a Hallmark Channel movie tried to incorporate a Lifetime movie conflict into their script. This aforementioned subplot also, at times, seemed to serve a talking point for bigger, real-world issues. That prevented the film from completely adopting escapism.
Underutilized conflicts: In one of Josie’s letters, Josie shares how she wants to enroll her daughter, Daisy, into a prestigious school for gifted children. This decision was sparked by Daisy’s inability to socialize with her peers, to the point she is physically harming other students. But during the movie, Josie spends more time talking about what she wants to do instead of creating a plan to accomplish her goals. I know achieving goals and dreams takes time as well as determination. But in an hour and forty-four-minute film that prioritizes the main romance plot and the cyber security/Bitcoin subplot, this is one example of a conflict becoming underutilized.
Omission of George’s musical talents: When I published my editorial about why George Blagden and Evan Williams should go to Eurovision 2024, one of my arguments was George and Evan’s musical talents. I highlighted how both Evan and George are not only musically gifted as individuals, they also sound good together. With that said, I feel it was a missed opportunity not to include George’s musical talents in No Postage Necessary. In this movie, Josie shares with Sam how she has dreamed of becoming a singer. There’s even a scene where Josie performs with her former band at a local pub. If the creative team behind the movie knew they would be incorporating music into their production, they should have given George an opportunity to perform at least one acoustic musical number. Even a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” playing over a scene would have made sense.
My overall impression:
Hallmark has gained a reputation of having some of their movies look and feel too similar to each other. This creative choice has caused viewers like myself to crave creativity and uniqueness from the network. No Postage Necessary tries to give their romantic comedy a different identity from other movies of this genre, including those from Hallmark. While I appreciate this effort at creativity, the tones of the main romantic plot and the cyber security/Bitcoin subplot clashed with one another, causing them to feel mismatched. When the movie focuses on the romantic plot, the story feels reminiscent of a Hallmark production. Even though there is cozy, sweetness shared between the protagonists and the messages and themes within the script are good, the creative team behind No Postage Necessary still found a way to tell their own story without appearing to copy Hallmark’s homework. If you’re a fan of George Blagden or have enjoyed his performance in other programs he has starred in, I’d recommend watching this film for his performance!
Overall score: 6.8 out of 10
Have you seen No Postage Necessary? Are there any romantic comedies you’d like to read about on my blog? Tell me in the comment section!
Have fun at the movies!
Sally Silverscreen
18 Cinema Lane 