Runaway Bride, Catch Me If You Can

starring: NOEMI VANSLYKE & KEVIN DOCKRY

A runaway bride hops on a stranger’s motorcycle to escape her wedding, only to discover he’s her arranged husband and wealthy heir. Their fake marriage sparks real feelings, but his ex and mother plot to destroy them.

REVIEW

⭐⭐⭐

This is an example of the talent involved being way better than the script.

In my view you have 2 absolute pros here with Noemi VanSlyke and Kevin Dockry and it starts off well. We lean into the comedy, they get to spark off each other… and then we disappear into tedious office politics, all the usual tricks and we spend far too much time away from Sophia and Leonard delivering zingers.

And it is so frustrating because they are so good, and capture moments of some of the greats.

Kevin Dockry reminds me of Cary Grant in this. I looked up some clips, and they both use similar facial expressions. The charm and the physical comedy is there. I stand by this opinion.

P.S. it is so lovely seeing Kevin get to do comedy (although he is also one of the best at a yearn).

I'm still struggling to work out who Noemi VanSlyke reminds me of and I think it is a mixture of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher. It's there with the tilt of the chin, and the facial expressions.

You have 2 super actors here who need to be stretched. Give them more to work with, because there are glimpses of genius here - the whole fight thing, and Leonard realising Sophia more than held her own. Imagine if they had an even better script.

And we have another powerhouse duo with Michael Sullivan and Carolina Rezende as one of the most memorable random couples.

Erik Ruof does what he can with a slight role.

I just wish the script had lived up to the talents on display here.

It has moments, I don't know what happened, was there a loss of confidence that you couldn't make a vertical without the office cliches? That is my worry, that these things get put in because they think we the viewer need them.

We can manage without, tell the story you want to tell. Lean into the comedy. Make sure the leading couple have as much joint screen time as possible. Hopefully this will help in the future, because this vert was a bit of a missed opportunity.

💖 Top swoonworthy moment:

We have a super romcom pairing here, and a great start with the exit from their wedding on a motorbike. All the best bits are when Sophia and Leonard are sparking off each other. I wanted so much more of this, and this is why I stayed to the end.

🦹🏼‍♂️ Top villain award:

This is where it all falls down. We spend far too long stuck in a loop of office politics, and all the usual tricks from Sophia’s nemesis. I’m saying it - I watched these bits on double speed. There, I admitted it.

😂 Comedy gold:

Lots of super bits here - Leonard and John spying on Sophia, Jackie grabbing Leonard by the ear, the whole fight scene (go Sophia), the terrible cooking. I really wish this vertical script had gone all in on the comedy, rather than getting lost in the office politics. Because you have 2 amazing stars here channelling some of the greats.

🎺 Unsung hero:

The Michael and Linda double act with Michael Sullivan and Carolina Rezende. We lived a lifetime with them…

✍🏼 DETAILS

Director Zephyrine Tam | 2025

Available on DreameShort