Love by Chance
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The premise
Claire's mother is Claire's secret matchmaker.
How unusual is it?
Mostly classic comfort-watch, give or take mistaken identity.
Who’s in it
Behind the camera
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Directed by
Written by
Wait, what?
The quirks and curveballs that make this one a little weirder than your average Hallmark. No spoilers, promise.
- The mother essentially catfishes a man on a dating app using her daughter's identity.
- The mother stalks the love interest at his place of work (a pediatric clinic) to force a date.
- The revelation that the parents' 34-year marriage was also based on the mother's manipulation of a 'meet-cute' in a bookstore.
- The 'Wandering Gourmet' review specifically mentions the 'wonderful drama' of the owners fighting in the kitchen as a positive attribute.
Every trope, all in one place
Here’s everything this one has going on, from the setting to the way it wraps up. Tap any of the 27 to find more movies that do the same thing.
Time & season2
Characters5
Romance5
Tone & quirks3
Why we’d put this one on
The premise is one line and it is a great one: Claire's mother is Claire's secret matchmaker. Beau Garrett plays Claire, a pastry chef trying to keep her new bakery afloat and exhausted by her mom's meddling. What she does not know is that her mother, played by Brenda Strong, has built a fake online profile and hand-picked a kind pediatrician, Benjamin Ayres, to "accidentally" meet her. The film leans all the way in, even revealing the parents' own 34-year marriage began with one of mom's engineered meet-cutes. At a 6.2 it is light and daffy, with plenty of bakery warmth. How Claire takes the truth is the whole question.
How it all plays out
Already seen it, or just can’t wait? Open this up for the whole story, ending included.
Full story (spoilers)
Beat by beat
Opening
Claire and Marco struggle with their bakery's finances while Claire's mother, Helen, unsuccessfully tries to set her up with Peter Bloom.
Inciting Incident
Helen creates a fake dating profile for Claire, meets Eric at a bar, and later stalks him at his office to convince him to meet Claire.
Midpoint
Claire and Eric meet at a gallery fundraiser and begin a romantic relationship, while Eric hides the truth about Helen's involvement.
Complication
Claire's father Sam discovers Helen's secret meetings with Eric and realizes Helen also manipulated their own marriage's origin story.
Climax
Helen confesses her meddling to Claire; Claire feels her relationship is a lie and breaks up with Eric.
Resolution
The bakery receives a 4-star review, Helen and Claire reconcile, and Eric wins Claire back by declaring his love is independent of how they met.
27 tropes in one movie
We counted 27 distinct Hallmark tropes packed into this one — a genuine greatest-hits reel.
How it stacks up
Where this one’s rating lands against every other rated Hallmark movie.
Higher-rated than 22% of every rated Hallmark movie. The median is 6.4.
Where this one fits
The corners of the catalog Love by Chance belongs to — handy if you’re after more of the same.
Lines worth quoting
The lines that stuck with us — the ones you’ll be repeating after the credits roll.
“Perfecting a coconut lime tart is an on-going quest. It's like a triple axel for a skater.”
— ClaireExplaining her dedication to her craft at the start of the film. “My meddling days are done. That's what I wanted to tell her.”
— HelenHelen lying to Sam about her continued interference. “So my favourite story about us is a lie? Great.”
— SamSam reacting to Helen's confession that she manipulated their first meeting 34 years ago. “The ambience was equally appealing and the owners provided wonderful drama, both in and out of the kitchen.”
— The Wandering Gourmet (Review)The final review that saves the bakery.
Meet the characters
Who’s who before you press play. Nothing here gives the ending away.
Claire Michaels
LeadPastry Chef
HardworkingIndependentIdealisticTalentedEric Carlton
Love interestPediatrician
Boyfriend
KindGuilt-riddenGood with kidsHonestHelen Michaels
SupportingReal Estate Agent
Mother
MeddlingRelentlessManipulativeLovingMarco
SupportingBakery Co-owner
Business Partner
SupportivePessimisticLoyalSam Michaels
SupportingFinancial Advisor
Father
PatientPrincipledRomantic
Questions people ask about Love by Chance
Where can I watch Love by Chance?
Love by Chance is available via fuboTV, Philo, and YouTube TV. Streaming options change often, so check current availability before settling in.
How long is Love by Chance?
Love by Chance runs about 1 hour and 24 minutes, and was released in 2016.
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Talking Hallmark
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So do we. Come hang out on the Talking Hallmark channel, where we dig into movies just like this one, episode after episode.

“This Hallmark Christmas movie is aggressively stupid”
Data and sources
HallmarkDB catalogue. How we research films













