A&D Review - Signed, Sealed, Delivered: From Paris with Love

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Holly is gone,
And that's not even the best part.

No, seriously, it's not.

Forget the fences---they swung for the stars & ended up in outer space.

If you need to be reminded of what the film was about here’s the synopsis. But something tells me you remember just fine a good majority what went down!

Let’s get the most obvious things out of the way: Holly is out. The ring is off. #NoRita is officially a thing. Spring is coming. And while this generally covers the film’s highlights, there’s a few other character and plot-related things, that, when taken in context with the series as a whole, are definitely worth noting.

Overall the cast deserves an Emmy, another Christopher Award, or some kind of other commemorative hardware to reward and encourage the kind of performances that Eric, Kristin, Crystal and Geoff put on here.

While I already took on the issue of what bugged me about Oliver’s behaviors in From Paris with Love, I think Eric did an incredible job of creating and executing Oliver’s emotional/relational breakdowns and buildups throughout this film. Let’s be clear, this is probably the least consistent and steadfast we have ever seen Oliver. And to top it off, Eric repeated not a single facial expression the entire time---is there an award for that?

I mean, before Holly even arrived, he had sung to Shane, shared that fleeting romantic moment with her, gotten angry with her to the point he couldn’t form a complete sentence, gotten into a verbal argument with her which included a lot of not-so-nice accusations, and also found time to contemplate aloud the vexing words of Holly’s poem such that Shane had to allow her colleagues “five minutes to be weird.” He certainly ran the gamut, and that was only in the film’s first forty-five minutes.

While the film certainly centered on Oliver, I will go on the record and say that ultimately this movie, and all its action, was actually a direct result of Shane’s love for the people around her, Oliver in particular, that began way before From Paris with Love was even written. Oliver was the one who confided in Shane about Holly to begin with, and he’s been on nothing but a crash course with Holly ever since, mostly as a result of Shane pushing him towards resolution, whether he wanted to or not. And since her arrival, Shane, and eventually Oliver, did what they could to facilitate Rita and Norman finding their way to each other. Shane has constantly attempted to get these people to relate better to one another and the world since she came on the scene. All of this came to a head in From Paris with Love.

Is it just me, or is she pretty even when she cries?

But this time, in the midst of Oliver’s turmoil, Norman’s reckoning, and whatever it was Rita had going on with Ramon, Shane took on the role of anchor for the first time ever. What made it brilliant is that she exhibited and executed it with the same grace and strength which Oliver would normally. Yet ultimately her own vulnerability, which she put aside for the majority of the film to help everyone else, proved too much weight, and caused her to tender her resignation for a second time. The brilliant part about it is that for all Shane had done to help Rita, Norman and Oliver connect better with each other, she ultimately reaped all of that back at the end with Oliver, closing the loop.

One more time, in case you needed a reminder how flawless Shane (Kristin) is.

There were a couple other bits that I really liked about Kristin’s performance, like how she made Holly’s name sound like a curse word and an accusation all at once when she called Oliver out for refusing Joey the choice of what to do with his letter. I cheered at the screen because Oliver really needed put in his place right about then! Also, when she told everyone they had five minutes at the Grille because everyone was in such a funk---too funny! Do I even need to remind you about that porch swing business at the end? Cue the Youtube montage videos---we just found our new go-to clip! Shane just had all kinds of gems throughout this story, and they will continue to live on in whatever way we POstables can make happen!

I don’t think I’ve ever loved Kristin Booth as much as I did in this film. If there were more words to describe how much I loved her digging into Shane and her character, trust me, I would use them. There just aren’t enough, and I am uncomfortable proceeding without knowing them all in fear I might leave the best descriptors out. I’m not even kidding--- I would personally hand her all the awards...twice.

The same could also be said of Crystal, because while I loved seeing Rita energetic, confident and downright sparkly for a majority of the film, she really shined in the middle of the night in the DLO contending with Shane’s departure and trying to explain to Norman through tears what happened. It was the best and most honest I've seen either Crystal or Rita. She needs a set of awards, too.

While we’re at it, let’s also polish a set for Geoff, who dug into Norman such that I felt like this is the first time I have ever really met Norman Xavier Dorman. I ended this film loving him more than I ever have. One of my favorite Norman moments was when he and Oliver were talking at the Mailbox Grille and Norman finally opened up about what was holding him back in his relationship with Rita. It was a long time coming! Nice to meet you, Norman Xavier Dorman.

#NoRita in crisis.

There was only one thing that kinda threw me off. I have to say, given the circumstances, I was surprised that the conversation post-#NoRita kiss was “I’m hungry” rather than “We can’t let Shane leave.” Obviously Oliver had that handled, but they had absolutely no way of knowing that! All’s well that ends well, I guess?!

Yes, I know I haven't talked much about Caitlyn and Joey, but, as is tradition, their story encompassed various elements and themes of the other love stories playing out in this film. Also, did you notice that Joey had dark hair like Oliver's, and Caitlyn blonde hair like Shane's? Not a coincidence, my friends, I'm sure!

In a nutshell, the beauty of From Paris with Love is how each actor dug into their characters as deeply as they could to really embody the complicated people they were meant to portray. The results left POstables stunned, speechless, and scouring the internet for torrents to see it again. Don’t lie---you were one of them, too!

Curious about the From Paris with Love soundtrack? See this track list.

Long wait until September, POstables! But I’m confident we can find some POstable-approved ways to pass the time, right? :-)


Much POstable Love Always,

~C