‘Forever My Girl’ Is Mostly Perfect, Predictable Plane Viewing [Review]

For most of its running time, “Forever My Girl” is surprisingly inoffensive, the type of movie that you’d watch on a plane and not feel too embarrassed by – at least until it made you cry. (Pro tip: this is why you pick the window seat.) However, the country-fried romance written and directed by Bethany Ashton Wolf becomes a victim of self-sabotage as it nears its (predictable) conclusion, removing any good will it created in its first half.

A prologue introduces us to bride-to-be Josie (Jessica Rothe), but her groom is noticeably absent from their wedding. Fast forward eight years and the would-be groom Liam Page (Alex Roe) has left behind the small town of Saint Augustine, Louisiana, and his first love, for a life as a country superstar who packs arenas, graces tabloid covers and is about to embark on a European tour. Despite his success, he’s unhappy, often drunk and suffering from writer’s block, keeping him from finishing his next album. After performing a New Orleans show, he learns of the death of an old friend, bringing him back to Saint Augustine and within range of Josie’s ire – and her fist — which Liam and his six-pack learn the hard way. While staying with his father (John Benjamin Hickey), he discovers that Josie realized she was pregnant shortly after being left at the altar, and their daughter, Billie (Abby Ryder Fortson), doesn’t know who her father is. He lingers in Saint Augustine, getting to know his child and reacquainting himself with her mother.

What sets “Forever My Girl” apart from similarly sweet substitutes for Nicholas Sparks is its emphasis on the relationship between Liam and Billie, giving it as much time as the (inevitable) rekindling between him and Josie. Films rarely pay this much attention to the father-daughter bond, particularly when there’s romance nearby, but it’s welcome and appreciated here. As the precocious Billy, Fortson displays some of the child-star eagerness in her line reading, but she’s so adorable that she got laughs from even the more jaded critics at my screening. (I know I’m a sucker and am not to be trusted.)

Unfortunately, British actor Roe falls into the trap that often snares some of his less-talented countrymen. In an attempt to master an American accent (even one from Louisiana), Roe often comes across as bland, especially when paired with the sparky Fortson and Rothe. The latter actress was part of the reason last year’s “Happy Death Day” was so unexpectedly charming (not a word you generally associate with horror), and she’s almost as good here, despite the lesser material.

And it’s really only lesser material in its final third. Most of “Forever My Girl” is… fine. It holds its own against other enjoyably sappy love stories. It would do better to focus more on Josie and Billie, rather than Liam as the source novel from Heidi McLaughlin does. Part of why it falls apart in the end is that it shifts to centering on Liam, and neither the character nor the actor can shoulder the burden. The obstacles the film places between him and Josie and Billie feel manufactured, and Roe can’t make us buy his choices.

Roe was likely cast because he can carry a tune and is at his best when he’s on stage. He’s convincing in the role of a giant star, and not just because “Forever My Girl” constantly cuts to swooning concertgoers. Country music fans will also enjoy the rollicking soundtrack, with original songs by Lauren Alaina, Dan Tyminski and Travis Tritt, who makes a cameo as well.

“Forever My Girl” may still earn perfect plane-watching status if weepy romances are your travel movies of choice. Just make sure you time it so that your in-flight entertainment is cut off about two-thirds of the way through. You know how this one ends anyway. [C]