Movie Review: A Picture of Her (2023)

Synopsis: After spending the last three years helping on her dad's fishing boat following a bad breakup, Beth returns to Los Angeles to take care of an aunt who broke her leg. When her photo is taken without her knowledge while she's sniffing roses at a flower market and makes the cover of a local magazine, it goes viral and makes her an instant celebrity. As she tries to figure out what to do with her newly found fame, Beth is unaware her new boyfriend, Jake, is the person who took the photo.

Who's in it? The movie stars Rhiannon Fish, Tyler Hynes, Samantha Ferris, Robert Wisden and Alison Araya.

Review: After spending a good chunk of the day outside and enjoying the gorgeous weather, my wife and I settled down on the couch and looked for a movie to watch. We have a bunch of Hallmark films in our library and this one looked interesting, so we gave it a try. Overall, I thought it was an OK choice.

A couple things really stood out for me when it came to this movie. For one, I loved Beth's (Fish) bubbly personality. She was funny and friendly, but it was also easy to tell she had some depth and smarts as well. Basically, unlike a lot of other films in this genre, she seemed like a strong woman with a mind of her own and didn't necessarily need a guy to round out her life.

Also, while I'm not sure if it was intentional, the movie did make a point when it came to privacy (or the lack thereof). Truthfully, between someone snapping and publishing her photo without her consent or knowledge and the fact the magazine editor gave out her phone number without permission, I realized I would be pretty angry if it happened to me. It seemed like the filmmakers also saw it in that way as well because, while Beth took it in stride, you could tell she was very uncomfortable with the idea.

One thing I wasn't a fan of, however, was the choice to keep Jake (Hynes) from telling her she he was the photographer. The film tries to give a very vague reason for this but there was simply no way for him to come out of that without looking like an ass. Frankly, he should have told her he took her photo when he ran into her at the dog park the next day. 

Oh, and the fact he only sent the photo to the magazine by accident doesn't help with this. Having him only take it for his own private collection gave him a serious stalker vibe. And I know you could argue he was an artist and Beth was just a muse, but it didn't make it any less creepy. 

That part of the plot also makes Beth look bad, in my opinion. For one, how the heck did she not see Jake taking the photo? She was looking right at him. Second, she was a smart, independent woman but didn't even question whether Jake was the photographer? It would be different had he not told her what he did for a living, but that was never a secret. Her being blindsided by the revelation only made her seem a little dumb.

Final Opinion: The more I think about how Beth and Jake became a couple, the more I worry she ended up with someone who is more disturbed than the movie let on. However, it was an entertaining movie and Fish does a great job in the lead role so I did still enjoy watching it.

My Grade: B