All aboard the Good Ship Kiss-Con

Love on the Danube: Kissing Stars works due to the always reliable Hallmark stalwart Brendan Penny and his co-star Sarah Power. When I say “works” I mean it’s watchable. Ms. Power has been in a couple of Hallmarks but was a regular on the Hallmark-produced series The Good Witch. Chemistry is always just a matter of opinion with most movie couples (it’s undeniable only rarely), but I think these two kinda had it. Brendan plays Tripp, a rising film star who made a great impression in his first Romantic Comedy movie and his second film is about to premiere. He is up for a continuing role in a trilogy that is scheduled for production but he has a bad attitude towards anything dealing with publicity or his growing fanbase. Savannah is a recently laid off publicist. Clearly these two are meant to be. Now how can we get them together? How about plopping them on a cruise along the Danube? And what if that cruise is the venue for a Rom-com fan Convention called Kiss-Con where Rom-com fans can buy a ticket for the privilege of meeting and getting selfies with their favorite Rom-com stars? Works for me!

Savannah is hired by the annoying little twerp of an entertainment reporter who has set up the event to make sure Tripp makes nice with the fans and doesn’t come across like a jerk when he is interviewed. The thing is, he is not really a jerk. He’s just a small town guy who is shy and reserved. He does like acting, but not the fame that comes with it. You know the type. Savannah explains to him that he is not going to be hired for that trilogy unless he brings his fair share of fans and good publicity to the table. And if he doesn’t get that trilogy, he can’t afford to hire a manager for his aging parents’ Montana ranch. Under Savannah’s expert guidance, Tripp is soon taking selfies like a boss and not saying embarrassing things during interviews. They fall in love against the Viennese backdrop (but it could have been Budapest.) Unfortunately, their falling in love activities cause Tripp to miss a fan event and Savannah gets fired by “annoying little twerp.”

After adding insult to injury by publicly denying his feelings for Savannah while on stage in front of everyone (encouraged by “annoying little twerp”), it looks like the romance is doomed and Savannah will not be meeting the parents in Montana after all. **Spoiler Alert** Needless to say Tripp makes it all OK by the famous Rom-com “grand gesture” with about a minute to go.

This movie was OK, but could have been a lot better. Given that Hallmark holds its own Meet the Stars events like Christmas Con, The Hallmark Christmas Experience, and even hosts a cruise similar to this movie’s Kiss Con, they could have had a lot of fun with this concept and gone a lot more meta than they did. I would have loved to see some cameo appearances by some real life Hallmark actors in this, as they have done so cutely in past movies. References to Captain Stubing and Julie McCoy didn’t cut it.