Coffee Shop (2014)  

A Coffee Shop Meet Cute

Donavan (Laura Vandervoort - Finding Mrs. Claus) once had it all, her own coffee shop and a boyfriend, but the boyfriend decided to leave and now Donavan is facing the fact that her coffee shop is struggling due to many of her customers being like family and Donavan treating them as such. When Donavan spots the new bank manager talking to a stranger in town, Ben (Cory M. Grant), she mistakenly thinks Ben is the client who he is going to move in to the building and the fact he is a tea drinker rather than a coffee drinker doesn't go down well either. The truth is that Ben is a writer and a friend of Donavan's sister's boyfriend and it is all part of their plan to stop Donavan from being alone. When Donavan realises her mistake she starts to fall for Ben who not only falls for her but also finds inspiration to write. The trouble is that not only is there the business problems to deal with but also the return of Donavan's ex Patrick (Josh Ventura) back in town.

For Christians who want to watch a romantic drama but not filled with the usual elements such as trying to score and getting a girl in to bed I know that the options are slim. I mention this because "Coffee Shop" is a movie made for that crowd, the audience who want to watch a sweet romantic drama but with out the aspects which may offend them. And in truth whilst I have issues with "Coffee Shop" I can understand that this is made for a very specific audience and as such it works with its familiar story of a good woman who does work for charity not only finding herself romantically torn but also having to deal with her business being in jeopardy. I won't tell you what happens but "Coffee Shop" is one of those movies where good things happen to good people.

But as I said I do have issues with "Coffee Shop" and the softness of this sort of movie is why unfortunately these sorts of movies frequently get mocked. Things which wound me up ranged from the incessant soft music which frequently was too loud to the level of fakeness of the way people act around each other. There are other things, business sense is just one of the many things or in fact lack of it which also annoyed me as whilst I don't expect 100% reality from a movie trying to be a sweet romantic drama I do expect at least something close to believable which is not what is on offer here.

As for the acting, well in truth I find it hard to judge because the likes of Laura Vandervoort and Cory M. Grant play their parts well, they are very nice, very kind and the sort of people you would like to know because they are so good. But unfortunately that is the problem as the characters are not real and far too soft to the point that their niceness begins to work against them and the movie in general.

What this all boils down to is that "Coffee Shop" is made for a very specific type of person in mind, those looking for a sweet and ultimately clean romantic drama. Unfortunately for those not in that category who stumble across "Coffee Shop" they might find the incessant music and constant nicety too much to take.