Love Hard: Can love really outshine imperfection?

In this world full of uncertainty, a soul that dreams passionately about finding the perfect match for her heart will find her way. Love may sometimes need to take a risk to be able to know what’s really meant for a heart and soul that fights for it throughout the hard times.

Natalie, a single writer based in Los Angeles, has been searching and swiping on a dating app for a long time in an attempt to find the love she craves. Kerry, her friend, expanded her dating app search range across the country to widen her horizons and somehow avoid a series of painful disappointments.

In the end, Natalie found a perfect match in the form of someone amusing and charismatic to talk to. He suddenly wishes if she could join him for Christmas after a long conversation, which she has with him almost every day. Because of this, she decided to take a leap of faith and fly to Lake Placid, New York, to meet the man of her dreams in person.

Then, upon arriving at her destination, Natalie discovered that she had been catfished. She was expecting to meet Josh, but he didn’t look anything like the photo he sent her. Disappointed and stranded in Lake Placid, she was unable to continue her journey.

Natalie went to a bar and let herself get drunk because of the unfortunate moment she had. A few moments later, she saw the guy that Josh had used on his dating app. She went out of her way to impress him, but it turned out to be a terrible mistake. She had an allergic reaction to a drink she had consumed earlier in the day.

For the sake of gaining Tag’s attention, Josh offered Natalie the chance to pretend to be his girlfriend in exchange for his help. She pretended to enjoy Tag’s favorite pastimes and leisure to be referred to as a perfect match and impress him, all while concealing her phony relationship with Josh.

Josh’s goal was to show that he has a partner who accepts and loves him despite his flaws. Natalie was shocked when Josh proposed. She was unable to do anything about it because of the potential for embarrassment, so she said yes.

Natalie had been dating Tag for a few weeks when Josh’s family planned a surprise engagement party. They didn’t expect everyone, including Tag, to attend. She summoned everyone’s attention and decided to eventually tell the truth, even though she knew that she would inflict pain and embarrassment on someone and herself.

In that decision, Natalie lost people whom she had learned to love and see the beauty in their imperfections, but it set her free from the expectations she had envisioned. Due to her eagerness to find her true love, she failed to see the consequences of her own desires and decisions that made her wreck someone’s heart. She has been dishonest just to fulfill her preferences in love, which is the feature of a good-looking guy and someone who has a genuine heart. In her aspiration of having a perfect love story to be told, she was deceived and made to change the real definition of love.

Finally, Natalie chose the one who made herself real enough in discovering the fineness of her life, the one who didn’t force her to love the way she wanted to be loved, and the one who made her realize that in order to find true love, she needed to be honest about who she really is.

Love Hard is a romantic comedy movie with a modern tale of a dating app match. As the season of Christmas is about to come, the movie is perfect to watch with family, friends, or someone special because it portrays the beauty of having loved ones celebrate the holiday and having company to feel the breeze of Christmas. It is a must-watch movie for me because there are lots of lessons to be learned.

I find it so romantic how the love story of Natalie and Josh went through it. It is a refreshing twist on what would have been the standard of feel-good romantic comedies surrounding the holidays. The movie sums up the reality of today’s generation and the so-called dating apps, in short, internet love.

I liked the touch of Christmas in it; it makes me remember someone who is no longer with us, just like the moments when they remembered Josh’s grandfather. I understand that many people don’t feel accepted in our world regarding catfishing, so they have to lie.

Many people, in reality, might not look the same as in their profile photos. They just want to be liked and adored, but they don’t enjoy it all because they are not themselves.

After watching the movie, I realized that love has to be honest and not perfect. Love will surely outshine imperfections. If you truly love someone, regardless of their appearance, it won’t matter because, as they’ve said, love conquers all.

Moreover, I realized that if you want a happy ending, you have to be honest with yourself. Accept all your flaws and mistakes, promise yourself to work on them, and lastly, LOVE HARD.