Pucked in the Friend Zone
starring: HANNAH LOWERY & SETH EDEEN
When Reese unexpectedly reunites with her ex-best friend and first love Grayson four years after he broke her heart, she agrees to pose as his fake girlfriend for his sister's wedding. But as old feelings threaten to bubble out, Reese must decide if a chance at true love is worth the risk of repeating history.
REVIEW
⭐⭐⭐
Verticals haven't really explored the friends to lovers trope much, so was keen to watch this one, and see how it is done.
It's a decent attempt, and by far the best bits are when @hannahloweryofficial and @sethedeen get to spark off each other, with high emotions as Reese and Grayson fail to tell each other how they feel thanks to both misunderstandings and malicious interference by Piper.
I actually really liked the bit where Grayson misunderstood where Reese was pointing when confessing her love, refreshing change to be a simple mistake and not just villain energy.
@missjcann brings it as Piper, with some excellent arched eyebrows and narrowed eyes
Also people in verticals
1) really need to get better locks on their homes as Piper pops up everywhere
2) better boundaries as Piper endlessly barges into bedrooms, bathrooms and more
All the performances are good, it is just let down by a script which feels like it has been a bit micromanaged by data - you have to have a shirt off scene here, let's remind the viewer what everyone is feeling every minute, the only way a male lead can be a dashing hero is by rescuing his female lead from an attempted SA
I'm frustrated because the potential was here, and Hannah and Seth have some really great moments. All plaudits to them as they were why I kept watching until the end.
So please @reelshortapp can you correct the spelling of Hannah's surname in the credits?
💖 Top swoonworthy moment:
It all gets a bit hot under the collar here, as seems to be the fad in verticals at the moment. S*x toys and self pleasure ahoy. Which is a shame as by far the best bits are the emotional connection between this two - the arguments when both are pushing each other away because they are so hurt and desperately love each other. This is what kept me watching.
🦹🏼♂️ Top villain award:
Well Piper doesn't know how to let it go does she. To be honest I blame Grayson's mum more for encouraging her. Also the onlookers for being far too keen to chant friend zone Reese. Can't decide who is the worst tbh.
😂 Comedy gold:
I do also have to speak out about some of the crimes against fashion here. Those trousers Grayson wears at the beach house. The yellow shirt. I can't even.
🎺 Unsung hero:
No unsung hero here - instead a bit of a shame that the script didn't trust the audience more. We know what is going on, we don't need a voice over recap 3 times every episode from both Reese and Grayson about how they feel and why they aren't together. Hannah Lowery and Seth Edeen sell it - please let them shine! Also in the credits Hannah's surname is spelt incorrectly as Lowerly.
✍🏼 DETAILS
2026
Available on ReelShort
