The Wedding Setup

Greene (From the Woods) doubles down on queer romance in this frothy rom-com but doesn’t quite pull it off. High-powered New York City businesswoman Ryann reluctantly agrees to travel to quirky Loveland, Colo., to help organize the wedding of her friend Stuart to the man of his dreams, Jai, on a tight two-week deadline before the town’s annual group wedding ceremony on Valentine’s Day. Charged with checking out vendors with Jai’s maid of honor, handsome butch community volunteer Maddie, Ryann indulges Maddie’s whim to flirtatiously pose as a couple themselves while sampling cake and choosing flowers. She soon realizes that the grooms, as well as Maddie’s friends all over town, are conspiring to set them up. Given this peer pressure, the romantic atmosphere of Loveland, and Maddie’s undeniable appeal, Ryann gives in by the time the party comes around. The story leans into a classic Hallmark movie tropes—a big-city woman enchanted by love and small-town holiday enthusiasm—but Ryann comes off as more swayed by the fact that she and Maddie look good as a couple than by actual budding love, and seems resigned to a big life change on short notice rather than delighted by it. It will all leave the reader just a bit cold. (Jan.)