A Hallmark in Blind Dating
Both Nick (William Baldwin - Lead with Your Heart), a contractor, and Julia (Stefanie von Pfetten - Seeds of Destruction), a bakery owner, find themselves chatting online and getting on remarkably well. What neither of them realise is that they were once married to each other when they were younger but things never worked out. With them both getting nagged by their friends to meet someone they decide to meet up on a blind date, which of course is quite a shock when they realise what has happened, leading to an awkward meal. It also leads to them trying to set each other up with their friends only to realise that they still have feelings for each other.
Hallmark does grown up romantic comedy; it is something which I have noticed more and more in the last year or so with not just movies which feature an older cast but a focus on charm above the usual cutesy and cheap laughs. "While You Were Dating" is certainly one of their attempts at grown up romantic comedy as whilst the whole storyline of ex's discovering they still have feelings for each other as they try to set each other up on dates could have worked as a throw away rom-com, it instead goes with trying to be smoother and much more charming. And to be honest it succeeds with this easy going, laid back tone which allows for the humour in "While You Were Dating" to be gentler and warmer rather than corny.
Now I have to say that it is the casting of William Baldwin and Stefanie von Pfetten which is a huge part of why "While You Were Dating" works because they bring age to their characters in a perfect way. As such when it comes to Nick you can see that when he was younger he probably had habits which would have wound Julia up but you can see how the years have mellowed him. It is the same with von Pfetten as you can see how her character probably was demanding when she was younger but again has mellowed with age. And that is why "While You Were Dating" works as you can see how these characters feel about each other and despite having never seen them in their younger years have matured while they have been apart.
What this all boils down to is that "While You Were Dating" is one of those Hallmark movies which doesn't so much break the mould but shows that they can deliver more than just throw away rom-com cuteness. Much of that comes down to the more charming tone but also the performances of William Baldwin and Stefanie von Pfetten who bring their characters to life.