The story is kind of like Life as We Know It, but even a closer to The Christmas Sitters which I guess actually came later in the same year. The trope isn't as overused as many but it's predictable. I didn't see the conflict coming, but an alert viewer might have guessed it. The middle school dance was a fun diversion.
Travis Van Winkle is over the top early on as the irresponsible playboy, and then suddenly he and his character, Alex, calm down. Tammin Sursok starts out almost as over the top. She is the rigid rule following worrier, Maggie. She also does a temporary and abrupt character change becoming the opposite. They did have chemistry and that's what drew me in.
I'm thinking some of the problem may have been in the director since they only significant characters who seemed halfway real were Corinne Massiah and Caroline Aaron. The kids were OK. The actor playing Amber was a little too stereotypical as the blonde.
The backdrop for the phone calls from Hawaii were obviously cheap blue screen.