Mirza Aaqib Beg
Directed by Brandon Camp, ‘Love Happens’ is a romantic drama film that revolves around Burke Ryan, a motivational speaker, therapist, and author who is famous for his bestseller book that discusses dealing with grief. His wife, unfortunately, passed away three years ago, and Ryan courageously dealt with the grief that accompanied his loss. However, during one of his week-long workshops in Seattle, he meets Eloise, a young creative florist who just broke up with her boyfriend.
The chance meeting between the two sparks a relationship that ends up changing their lives in unthinkable ways. The romantic story of grief, love, and second chances can move anyone, and in case it makes you wonder about the origin of the film’s plot, or if it is rooted in reality or not, you have come to the right place. Here’s everything we know.
Is Love Happens Based on a True Story?
No, ‘Love Happens’ is not based on a true story. According to Brandon Camp, the director and co-writer, the journey of the romantic drama film began with the death of his mother. In one of his interviews, he confessed that he felt lost after his mother’s death and was in denial for a long time. However, after mourning for his loss, Brandon realized that there is something about the process of grieving that makes it interesting. While he was coping with his pain, Brandon’s friend Mike Thompson was touched by his courage.
As a result, the producer decided to work on a project that will delve deeper into the themes of grief, acceptance, loss, and second chances. It sowed the seeds of the romantic drama film, ‘Love Happens,’ which was later written by Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson. As the co-writers began to work on the script, they were naturally drawn to the big philosophical question about life that often explored the absurdity of some of the human emotions and the existential dilemmas that most of us face in our lives.
However, as they dug deeper into complex issues like death and dealing with loss, the co-writers did not let their scripts get affected by the negativity that sometimes accompanies these emotions. Instead, the co-writers began looking for the light in all the hopelessness and despair, which eventually led to the development of the central character, Burke Ryan, a grief guru who bravely contradicts his own reality and spreads the message of hope.
Speaking about the film, actress Jennifer Aniston, who plays the role of Eloise, said in an interview that the movie is not just any other typical love story, and it goes a couple of layers deeper. She even confessed that the script even surprised her and she was moved by the touching story.
Both the writers confessed in an interview that they love exploring the story of ordinary people dealing with extraordinary circumstances, which is probably the motivation behind the love story between a creative florist and a therapist. So, even though the story and the characters are Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson’s own creation, the real-life loss ultimately was the motivation behind the story.
Read More: Where Was Love Happens Filmed?
