that one girl who reviews

Puppy Love, which released on Freevee and Amazon on August 18, spins the tale of two seemingly star-crossed lovers. Nicole, played by Lucy Hale, and Max, played by Grant Gustin, are polar opposites who happen to go on a date that ends terribly, only to find themselves thrown together again after their dogs mate. 

Unfortunately for the two leads, their dogs had a much more riveting love story than themselves. 

Hale, who seems to be perpetually stuck in the role of edgy woman who’s “not like other girls,” did a fine job at portraying what she always does. She was convincing enough that, by the end of the film, you could really imagine that maybe these two crazy kids did actually overcome their differences and fall in love.

Grant, however, was the standout of the film, his portrayal of mental illness raw and accurate, only to be undermined by the incessant commentary from the other characters in the film. 

Throughout the movie, multiple people make fun of his condition, Hale’s character even calling him a “pathetic loser” at one point. Obviously, comments like these aren’t reserved for fiction and oftentimes, mental illness is seen as something “wrong” with the person, but to have almost every character make comments like this without any sort of repercussions is only reinforcing the stigma.

Perhaps this is an overly critical review of an otherwise fine movie, but I feel that the movie’s inclusion of mental health is to its detriment. Instead of using the film to accurately portray and destigmatize mental health, it just uses it to check off a “diversity” box. 

Grant’s character is described as “socially anxious” as a way to absolve the writer’s of actually doing their job and accurately representing what he most likely has: obsessive compulsive disorder. Under the guise of “social anxiety,” they can get away with almost anything, including the ending where he’s suddenly okay with having a bunch of people in his home (even though he expressed thoroughly at the beginning how much that bothers him). 

While people can change and mental health can get better, Max’s mental health seemed to be severe enough that it wouldn’t magically ease up in two months just because he met a pretty girl.

Richard Alan Reid and Nicholas Fabiano work hard to create a story that’s lovable and heartwarming. It’s just a shame that it comes from the dogs and not their owners. 
Puppy Love is a fine rom-com with all of the enjoyable antics and corny jokes that are inevitable when creating something fun and romantic. Hale and Grant do their best with a script that, unfortunately,  wasn’t intended to let them succeed.