On Jan. 24, the Hallmark Channel debuted its newest rom-com, “Caught By Love.” The movie stars Luke MacFarlane as Jake, a private investigator on the hunt for a jewel thief. He ends up searching at a Malta resort on a tip. Rachael Leigh Cook co-stars as Annie, a resort guest who gets drawn into his investigation.
While the fictional stolen jewels in the film were taken from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre robbery occurred around the same time, when the French Crown Jewels were stolen in a smash-and-grab on Oct. 19. Cook told DECIDER that she couldn’t “believe the similarities” between the one fictional and one real robbery.
We had wrapped two weeks before that happened,” the “Cross Country Christmas” star said. She joked about asking MacFarlane where he was, as if he were a suspect.
I wish the movie was coming out closer to the time that that had happened,” she continued.
“I think it’s ok to talk about because no one got hurt, from what I’ve heard,” she added. “But anyway, I cannot believe the similarities with the Louvre robbery, incredible.”
Meet-Cute Scene Mirrors Iconic ‘She’s All That’ Moment
Fans of Cook’s film, “She’s All That,” may have had deja vu when it came to her and MacFarlane’s meet-cute scene in “Caught By Love.”
“I mean, I’m falling in a red dress, towards a handsome man,” Cook said. “The comparison could definitely be made. It’s a very different red outfit and there’s no stairs involved, but I had a very similar feeling as to when I shot that scene in “She’s All That,” which I hadn’t experienced in a really long time.”
While Cook recalled being told she didn’t need to fall so hard, MacFarlane was more than up to the task of catching her. “Everyone is safe when he’s around somehow because he’s just kind of magic like that,” the “Sisterhood Inc.” star said.
Rachael Leigh Cook on the Future of Rom-Coms: ‘The Future… Is Bright’
“She’s All That” was Cook’s introduction to romantic comedies. However, continuing to make them all these years later is a testament to her love for the genre.
I think there’s something about having a genuine and fervent love for the genre that I’m just lucky has somehow aided in my ability to continue its traditions,” she revealed. “And for people to know I’m just truly in it for the love of the game. I take our tropes very seriously, and I love them, and I just want to keep bringing fresh takes on them forward.”
While she thinks that, initially, “the cell phone posed a lot of problems” for rom-coms, she views them as essential, and something people need now “more than ever.”
“I think that the future of the rom-com is bright,” she added.
