Forever My Girl Movie Review

By: Lynn Barker

Forever My Girl features country music super-star Liam Page (Alex Roe) who leaves his high school sweetheart Josie (Jessica Rothe), literally at the altar right after his first Country song becomes a mega-hit. All fame-addicted, he hits the road but never really gets over her. Something is missing in his life and when his best high school buddy dies, he goes back home for the funeral but the whole town basically hates him and Josie most of all. Will this change? What do you think?

Liam, Josie and Billie on a family date

Wedding Woes

We hear that Liam’s song is a big country hit as Josie is ready to walk down the aisle. Her bestie Kiera (Morgan Alexandria) sadly informs her that Liam isn’t coming. He’s left town to pursue his music career. Eight years later, we see that Liam is a huge star playing big arenas but he’s drinking and sleeping with a groupie he doesn’t know. He goes nuts, running through town barefoot chased by fans when his really old cellphone is broken and he must get it fixed. You learn that there is a really old message on it from Josie and he doesn’t want to lose it.

Josie is left at the altar

Funeral and Home

Learning that his high school BFF Mason (Terayle Hill) has died, Liam abandons his tour and goes home to small-town Louisiana where, of course, everybody still hates him. He lingers on the edges of the funeral service and burial with tears in his eyes. Running into Josie who now has a 7-year-old daughter named Billie (Abby Ryder Fortson), she glares at him and punches him in the stomach! He goes home where his minister dad Brian (John Benjamin Hickey) lets him crash in his old room but is also fed up with him. Liam phones manager Sam (Peter Cambor) to send him his credit cards.

Liam ecourages Billie to sign up for a talent show

Flower Shop Revelations

Getting around town riding his old bike until the credit cards arrive, Liam tracks Josie to the flower shop she owns and they argue. He’s not wanted there. Billie is his daughter and the call she made to him was to tell him she was pregnant but he never called back. Dad Brian says he came to Liam’s concert and would have told him but Liam was stoned and ignored him. At church Brian preaches about forgiveness and how hard it is but the townspeople, except Josie’s bro Jake ( Tyler Riggs) and Josie seem ready to forgive him.

Liam and Billie practice together

Getting to Know You

Liam finally convinces Josie to let him get to know his daughter who, it turns out, also has musical talent. He goes to awkward family dinners and realizes he has a lot to learn about being a dad. Can he handle the responsibility? Finally Josie agrees to go on a fancy date with Liam. She never knew him as the superstar. He picks her up in a helicopter and they fly off to fancy fun in New Orleans where he tells fans she is “the one”.

Liam offers Josie a helicopter ride to their fancy date

Picnic Disaster

At a family picnic, Billie chokes on a hot dog and, clueless, Liam just stands there freaked while Jake helps Billie cough it up. Liam realizes how useless he is. His kid could have died if he’d been alone with her. With Jake telling him the same thing in angry terms, he goes back to his tour convinced he will only bring destruction to his love and child. He realizes that since his mom died when he was a kid, he was afraid to love anyone…they might die.  Will Liam get it together and go back home?

Josie and Liam ready for their date

Wrapping Up

Forever My Girl is a sweet love story but never digs very deeply into the characters’ emotions. Actors Alex Roe and Jessica Rothe seem to have cutesy chemistry but either the direction or the story doesn’t give them enough to work with.

The Liam character has come home for the funeral of his high school best friend but this is kind of glossed over. We don’t see much pain over the death and he’s off to try to repair the relationship with the girl he ditched eight years before. She is so angry at first that her evident decision to forgive him seems to happen very quickly as does his adjustment to being a dad.

Liam and Josie cuddle up

Since the death of a friend wasn’t a big crisis in the film, I kept waiting for one…. and waiting. Freezing while his kid nearly chokes on a hot dog doesn’t seem enough of a life-changing moment to make the Liam character decide he has zero skills as a dad and again leave town.  Writer/Director Bethany Wolf evidently changed quite a few things in the novel…turning Liam from a rock to country star etc. so not sure how book fans will react.

Josie is still hurt and angry

Hunky Alex Roe does a convincing job as a Country superstar and songs seem true to the genre. If you are into that kind of music, you’ll enjoy the few stage/singing moments in the movie. Young Abby Fortson was evidently directed to seem extremely adult for her age and this is sometimes over the top. I remember Dakota Fanning when she was that age but this is her on steroids.

Newly-inspired, Liam writes a song

If you like those clean, Nicholas Sparks-style romances, Forever My Girl is an even less complicated version however, both Alex and Jessica are good on the eyes and good together so might be worth a romantic visit to the cineplex. We go three stars.

Forever My Girl Movie Rating: 

Forever My Girl Poster

See Forever My Girl in theaters now!

Have Your Say

Are you into sweet romance stories? Would you take someone back if they once left you at the altar (or didn’t show up for prom)? Chat it out below with a comment.