Movie Description:
Cole Masten. Abandoned by his superstar wife, Hollywood’s Perfect Husband is now Hollywood’s Sexiest Bachelor: partying hard and screwing even harder. Summer Jenkins. That’s me, a small town girl stuck in Quincy, Georgia. I cook some mean chicken and dumplins, can bluff a grown man out of his savings in poker, and was voted Most Friendly my senior year. We were from different worlds. Our lives shouldn’t have collided. But then Cole Masten read a book about my small town. And six months later, his jet landed on our dusty airstrip, and he brought Hollywood with him. From the start, I knew he was trouble. For our town. And for me. Sometimes, opposites just aren’t meant to attract.
Link to Passionflix:
Buy the Book:
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2hy1b8A
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2wS596C
Our Review:
Reviewed by Donna ~ 4.5 stars
In 2015, I read 371 books and at the top of that enormous
pile was Hollywood Dirt, my favourite read of the year. You can read my review
here: http://www.theromancecover.com/2015/09/release-day-blitz-excerpt-review.html
From the first to last page this book captivated me and I took these two
characters into my heart and soul, so you can imagine my excitement when I
found out it was being made into a movie (cue fangirling).
I will admit, being in the UK and not yet getting the full
benefit of Passionflix, and the fact that I was reticent to watch because of
just how much I loved this book, I didn’t sign up when this venture was first
launched. However, the curiosity was just TOO MUCH and when Alessandra Torre
announced the film was live I found myself signing up and watching immediately…two
hours later, I had a smile from ear to ear and was frantically telling everyone
to watch it.
I must start by saying that Emma Rigby was the star of this
film. I had no idea at first that she was British and even though I am not
American, I have a few “Southern” friends and I felt that she nailed the
accent. Even though she looked familiar it still didn’t dawn on me that this
was an actress I had seen on a UK soap called Hollyoaks, I just thought that
maybe I had seen her on the cheesy Hallmark films that I also watch when I’m in
bed. Emma Rigby brought Summer to life with fire, sass and perfection.
Summer was one of the few heroines that I have loved with a passion and Emma
Rigby nailed her personality, her quirks, her wit, her passions and her
insecurities.
Johann Urb was not who I had personally pictured playing
Cole Masten, however, once again he brought to life this character who had
burrowed himself deep into my heart. I think that due to time constraints the
film never really projected just how hard this man falls when he loves. He
loves hard and with everything he has and this side of his character I felt
wasn’t portrayed as well as the book. However, what was captured perfectly was
this quote from my review of the book… “Take Hollywood out of the heart throb
and you get a gorgeous man on the inside and out. Cole Masten will have you
eating out his hands in no time.”
The chemistry between the on-screen characters was
perfection, their interactions were believable, tugged at every heart string
and will have every viewer championing them along. The sex scenes were extremely
hot, tasteful and conveyed with gusto just how hot and passionate these two
were within a mile radius of each other. That push and pull, that love/hate all
came to life and I adored every scene that these two shot together.
I felt that the scene setting was perfect and small- town
Quincy came to life before my eyes along with the small-minded inhabitants. With
very few side characters this film needed those one liners that perfectly
captured what small town living was all about and how politics and social
standings are the be all and the end all.
I adored the casting for Brad de Luca but will be honest and
say that the casting for Ben was extremely off. The friendship between Summer
and Ben was what initially drove the book and I felt that their dynamic on
screen was not a true reflection, it felt forced and not as organic as the original
characters.
Yes, as with any movie adaptation there is artistic licence
and certain scenes that I loved never made the big screen. I understood, time
constraints and everything, yet despite them missing I felt that the whole
dynamic, flow and feel of the book was perfectly captured. Cocky, yes, our
chicken played a huge part in the original book and this was trimmed down in
the film. I know a cockerel is no Oscar winner in the making but I wish he had
a little more time on the big screen.
Overall, this is one of my favourite book to screen
adaptations. Given that this wasn’t a Hollywood blockbuster with a huge budget
I felt that Passionflix did amazingly well and stayed true to the original.
While it wasn’t perfect, I have already watched it twice and it made me re-read
the book. This will be one of my feel-good films and one I will be watching
again and again.
