The Art of Us

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I thought this was a nice Hallmark film, which had a decent storyline and two leads who had good chemistry - both of which are essential with this sort of film. Well worth a watch.

7.4 stars. Harper (Cole) is a Ph. D artist who teaches art, and hosts exhibits for an art museum. Also as a hobby she used to paint, but in the not so distant past her confidence was dashed upon the rocks of critical review. Tom (Lund) is an amateur artist who paints as he feels the inspiration, with no formal training, and a dog walker by profession. Eventually they meet by luck, because she has a dog, he walks dogs, and they happen to both be painters. By coincidence she discovers his paintings and sees they are brilliant and she wants to showcase them in one of her exhibits. The rest of the story is semi-tragic, not life ending, not necessarily traumatic, but life altering nonetheless. I won't spoil any details, but I will say Harper and Tom fabricate a story and it blows up in their faces. The passion between Cole and Lund is entertaining from a romance perspective, however this film falls short in many areas and it's too slow. The "villain" is a cranky do-gooder professor whose character doesn't match the actor's interpretation. At one point he is sympathetic and familiar, then he comes off as being disconnected from who we thought he was and a possible third side of him emerges. The rest of the supporting cast have very ordered and robotic roles, no personalities to speak of. "The Art of Us" is a strange title for an even stranger movie. Another negative is the lack of object lesson or theme. The story takes us on a journey but we are left hanging. It's not that the plot leaves us in the lurch or on a cliffhanger, but the ends seem to justify the means, and I don't like it. Otherwise, this film is fine for a one time viewing, and since it's Taylor Cole, I'll watch it again in 5 years.

I can't confirm, but the luminous painting of the kissing couple is reminiscent of the style of the recently deceased Leonid Afremov. Check out Google Images for more examples. I believe the estate is liquidating his personal collection little by little, so there may be some available to purchase, at least as prints. 9/25/2020

Am familiar with Taylor Cole and Steve Lund as lead actors, more so Cole due to seeing more of her filmography. Cole has always been variable to me, sometimes she is charming and easy to like and at others she comes over as cold and it does depend on how her character is written. What has been seen of Lund has been nice enough if not wow worthy. Have always liked looking at paintings and was interested in seeing whether Hallmark would do an interesting story out of it. 'The Art of Us' is a bit of a mixed bag, with some good things but also some underwhelming ones. When it comes to Hallmark's 2017 output, it is not one of the best and it is also not one of the worst. Personally put it in the middle of the pack category, and it is a case of the art being better than the film itself and it would have been a better film if the female lead character was likeable and if the story had been a lot more engaging than it turned out. By all means there are good things. The best thing about 'The Art of Us' is the art, which is absolutely gorgeous and luckily showcased in all its glory. The production values are very nicely done, Hallmark nearly always delivered when it came to the scenery which is very nicely complemented by the photography. Lund is charming and has a subtle charisma, and his character is a lot more likeable than Cole's by some considerable distance. Also thought that the dog was adorable, the most likeable character in the film, and the supporting cast solid. Cole however doesn't work. Will agree with those that found her too much of an ice queen, and this is not the first or last time where that has been an issue for me with her. Also really disliked her character, where she comes over as too cold, too spoiled and too deceitful. Lund's character is not near as much of a problem, but he also started to frustrate later on when he comes over as too naive. Didn't really detect much chemistry between them personally, at times too distant and then in the latter moments when the lie becomes increasingly out of control it becomes forced and hard to believe that Lund's character still saw appeal in Cole's. Did feel too that too much of the script was awkward and silly and while appreciating that the music wasn't over-scored or too much it made the mistake of being samey and completely unmemorable, also too soft. The direction is not amateurish but has no distinction. The story is too thin and formulaic, as well as difficult to connect to emotionally. Also found it unrealistic and not always tasteful, how the secret is discovered could have gone into more depth and the reaction is handled far too indifferently. The final quarter is both contrived and whatever and considering the way Cole's character acts and the events that happened not long before the ending is far too convenient and pat in an undeserving way. On the whole, didn't come together for me sad to say despite the art. 5/10.

My dog woke me up to this movie that kept saying his name...his name is Harper. He was named after Mama's Family...and come to find out the leads last name is Higgins ( Unice Higgins) is Carol Burnette s character....I loved it and so did my dog! LoL

One of the reviews mentioned that the ancestry research on Vincent Van Gogh was inaccurate and that the actor held the paintbrush incorrectly. I hope this was a simple oversight. It is very important that we try to be as accurate as possible. Our best shouldn't become mediocre. I think the dismissive term "whatever" has permeated into society. We accept things without question and cut corners because challenging our minds has become a chore. Also, there was no real emotion or portrayed seriousness to the potential consequences of this huge lie. Basically, once it was revealed, it was like, "oh well, whatever!" Other than that, Steve Lund was refreshing.

A classical romance with Art flavor. Not pretentious but rather light and delightful for an every day entertainment. If you don't have great expectations this movie should entertain you good enough.