As you would imagine, the road trip is fraught with problems, like getting car-jacked or attacked by a bear at a campsite. But can the adversity bring our two soulmates together?
So, I’ll start negative and head to positive. Underneath The Same Moon is simply fraught with logic problems and defies commonsense. The biggest is obviously hiding your marriage to a person who loses their memory is clearly the worst move you can make. First, you’re setting your partner up to cheat on you and, in this case, by letting him spend a hot and heavy evening with a super-hot ex-girlfriend. Second, hiding the truth is generally worse than telling the truth. Watch Tell Me Who I Am for a real-life example of this.
Another problem is when you base your story on the protagonist making an incredible, bad mistake, it’s hard to sympathize with that character. In the back of your mind, you’re always thinking, “this is a problem you made for yourself, and whatever your partner does you allowed it to happen without stopping him/her.”
“…this is a story of someone trying to recreate the initial romance with her partner…”
The third problem is the standard “show, don’t tell” issue. The basic premise is hammered throughout the entire film with obvious hints littered throughout by random strangers that Tom and Kelly are a happy couple are just a little too obvious. Don’t tell me these two love each other, please show me. Anytime someone says it in a script, it could be easily written to show it instead. Doing less in this area makes the actual romance much stronger and allows us to fall in love with them as they do with each other. Please trust me on this. Let me also throw in that the film is twenty minutes too long; the first act can be tightened, and the sister looking for a job sub-plot is unnecessary.
Here’s why I’m giving Underneath The Same Moon a marginal recommendation. First, this film is what it is. It’s a mushy romance, and the Lifetime channel is riddled with illogical romances. Deep down, this is a story of someone trying to recreate the initial romance with her partner, while holding on to a valuable secret. We all do this in one way or another. Kelly’s sacrifice for the love of Tom…even though this is her doing is played out well.
Speaking of playing-out-well, the other good thing about Underneath The Same Moon is the two leads. Say what you will about the overall plot, Tom and Kelly played by Anderson Davis and Sara Ball make a cute couple, and Sara Ball clearly does a great deal of the emotional heavy-lifting.
Underneath The Same Moon is an adorable story of romance with a well-meaning story and excellent performances. You do literally have to shut your mind off and deal with the film’s logic problems and bad decisions. But if you love love, then love will conquer all.
"…Tom and Kelly played by Anderson Davis and Sara Ball make a cute couple..."
