Starring: Laura Vandervoort, Nicholas Gonzalez, and Mia Quaranta De La Rosa
Released: 2021
Summary: A 13-year old student is assigned to create her own small business and decides to start a matchmaking service for her "clients."
Image: Crown Media
The Movie Is Based On A Book
When Hallmark strays outside of their own little world to find new stories to tell in their movies, it's always a breath of fresh air.
It might surprise you that Playing Cupid isn't based on an adult romance novel, but on a juvenile fiction book targeting tweeners--kids ages 8-12. In author Jenny Meyerhoff's version, the focus is on Clara being a new student at Austen Middle School, but when she finds she has a talent for matchmaking, she uses her skills for a 7th grade class project. Clara isn't looking for a match for herself, but she ends up with a secret admirer. The book is filled with all the boy-girl drama one expects from middle school!
You can purchase this Scholastic book for your own student reader here:
Hallmark adapted the novel to appeal to fans of adult romance, and it was a perfect selection for their Love Ever After 2021 line-up.
Nicholas Gonzalez Is A Hunk You've Seen Before, But Not On Hallmark
Nicholas Gonzalez is best known for his role as Dr. Melendez on The Good Doctor and recurring role on The Flash, but he's been in a ton of other shows, including Pretty Little Liars, and even on the big screen opposite Jane Seymour in Pray for Rain.
Here are some other fun facts you may not know about this newest Hallmark hunk:
- He was born in San Antonio, Texas, and was a star on the track and cross country teams at Central Catholic High School in Texas.
- He majored in English at Stanford University and even studied literature at Oxford in London.
- His father and brother are surgeons, and his mom is a bookkeeper in a radiology office.
- He married a co-star from The Good Doctor, Kelsey Crane, in 2016, and welcomed a daughter, Ever Lee Wilde, in 2017.
Photo by Braedon Photography
One thing's sure, Gonzalez brings a sexy and appealing Latino charm to the role of "David Martinez" in Playing Cupid that will cause your corazon to pound!
Who Is Laura Vandervoort?
Laura Vandervoort, who portrays teacher Kerri Fox, is a very versatile actress with an impressive resume. She is most recognizable as "Super Girl" from the hit TV series, Smallville, as well as the sci-fy series' V and Bitten, though she has guest starred in a variety of other TV shows.
More recently, she starred in the Hallmark Christmas movie, A Christmas Together With You.
Vandervoort enjoys working behind the camera too, both as a developer and producer, and her production company has three films in the works for the coming year.
Like her co-star, Gonzalez, she studied English along with Psychology as her areas of concentration while at New York University.
Impressively, she holds a second degree black belt in karate.
Image: Crown Media
Mia Quaranta De La Rosa
Born to a Mexican mother and an Italian father, Mia is a very smart young lady who speaks English, Spanish, Italian, and is currently learning French. She is a very hard-working middle school student who loves reading, writing, drawing, and painting.
Playing Cupid is Mia's first acting debut, and she hopes to become a successful actress.
Image: Crown Media
Something New With Hallmark
Playing Cupid is one of the first movies where Hallmark includes the ex-spouse in on the action. Typically, the male and female leads have broken up with a boyfriend/girlfriend or fiancee, a spouse has died, or their ex-spouse has abandoned the family and is never seen again.
This time around, Clara's mother, Eva, returns home. Kerri assumes Eva and David are reconciling, so she considers leaving town. As much as Clara is elated to have her mom back, even she recognizes her parents aren't meant to be together.
Of course, in Hallmark land, Eva isn't at all jealous, spiteful, or venomous to Kerri in any way and even helps Kerri's students buy her the desk, chair, and laptop she wants for her classroom.
Hallmark also spends more time in the classroom with students than they have in past movies. Usually, viewers learn the lead is a teacher, but their interactions with students are brief or non-existent. Playing Cupid is really a hat-tip to all the dedicated teachers who invest their hearts and souls into helping their students grow and achieve success. In fact, Kerri credits her former teacher for helping her overcome a stutter, which inspired her to become a teacher as well. She wanted to impact young lives the same way hers had been.
Playing Cupid offers small but refreshing changes to Hallmark's business as usual approach, so let's hope the trend continues.
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Playing Cupid..........one of my favourites with sexy Nicholas Gonzalez.
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