Food or Drink-based

Roadhouse Romance

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Country music fan Callie is determined to continue her late grandfather’s legacy. While TV director Luke is in town, he teaches her that sometimes it’s best to look forward instead of back.

Lauren and Lockheart

This was very enjoyable thanks to the charisma and southern charm of Lauren Alaina and her chemistry with Tyler Hynes. The plot wasn’t much, but I do love a fish out of water story and two loves being from different worlds. Lauren is back home from her stint in the army and is upset to find that things haven’t stayed the same as when she left her small southern town of Lockheart, Tennessee. Her boyfriend has found someone else, and her family’s charming barbecue roadhouse is on the verge of failure. If that weren’t enough, her dead grandfather’s barbecue sauce recipe has been lost and they now use store-bought (!!!) Because it’s Hallmark, only a festival can save them, but ticket sales have been slow. Enter Tyler Hynes as a Hollywood TV director who gets stuck in town while driving his girlfriend’s birthday present to her in Nashville. Tyler’s gradual thawing to the ways of a small southern town, and coming to appreciate Lauren, was involving. The shallow girlfriend threatening from the background kept up the tension and suspense.

Unfortunately, the conclusion left a lot of loose ends and questions. Bad girlfriend agreed to give the festival a social media push in exchange for Tyler directing her movie. She holds up her end, but he welshes on the deal! Not Good. Another thing that bothered me was the dissonance between the plot and the theme. The moral of the story seemed to be that change brings good opportunities as well as sadness and disappointment. Yet instead of developing her own recipe for BBQ sauce, which would have symbolized moving forward and a fresh outlook, she just finally finds her grandfather’s. And finally, how are Tyler and Lauren going to make their relationship work when they live in different worlds? Will Lauren leave her small town to develop a singing career? Or will Tyler give up his successful profession to hang around Lockheart Tennessee? Neither option was given any time at all. Like Lauren’s own BBQ sauce, and Tyler’s lack of integrity,  it was left dying on the back burner.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

September 15, 2021

Sweet Autumn

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No Cliché Left Untouched

Soooooooooooo Boring. I’ll have to disagree with most of the reviewers on IMDb and other sites. I usually like Nikki Deloach and Andrew Walker. But Nikki had a weird hairdo and no opportunity to shine because of the dull script and Andrew was just meh in this one for the same reason. It all centers on the over-used-to-death plot of the successful woman’s having to return to her small town to run a business she inherited but has to share with a handsome man who she conflicts with. Lord, I almost fell asleep typing that. Throw in the obligatory festival and a frolic and there you have it. This one, however, is made worse by the dead aunt from whom she inherited the candy store (SWEET Autumn, get it?) reaching back from the grave by leaving cloying and hackneyed words of advice for the couple in order to bring them together. This was a lazy effort and unworthy of the talent.

Rating: 4 out of 10.

October 23, 2020

Secret Millionaire

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A Park, A Food Truck, and a Secret Identity

As usual with non-Hallmark TV romances, this one strays from the formula just a bit. First of all, we have a lack of a festival or small town/big city conflict. This one is the “save the park or whatever” plot. Hey, I didn’t say it was a complete departure!

An indulged son of a real estate mogul has been drifting from one thing to another, while his father wants him to settle down and work with him at his company. He gives him an ultimatum that he has to find a job within a week or he will be cut off from his financial support. Leaving the building he runs into some protesters who are trying to rescue their beloved park from his father’s evil development plans. He conceals his identity and gets a job as a chef in the cute one’s food truck.

Of course, it is only a matter of time before it will be discovered that he is none other than the son of the person who is trying to take the park away. Thus the suspense and tension. The predictable story is enlivened by the cast. Siobhan Williams is a fresh face and is a perfect spunky girl next door type. Steve Lund, a Hallmark regular is as attractive and reliable as usual. And yes, Steve Lund, I saw you in that Allegra commercial. A little side hustle? Good for you. The secondary couple has a sweet courtship, complicated by a rival love interest. Both of the guys are appealing until one of them turns out to be a big phony.

There is a corporate-type other woman for our hero to provide some drama, and the Dad learns something about his own grandfather that leads to a happy ending for all. Of course.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

September 14, 2021

Falling for You

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Taylor is Actually Quite Likable in This

I was never a fan of Taylor Cole, but in this one, playing against type, I quite liked her. For one thing, and I realize this sounds very shallow, her hair has gone out and got itself a makeover. It used to be thin and lank to the point it was quite distracting. At least the style she chose made it seem that way. In this one, it has some body and natural flow and her beauty is undiminished by her “crowning glory.” Tyler Hynes has always been a favorite and the two have quite a bit of chemistry.

Unfortunately, the bake sale plot is a bore. An extra star for having the heroine move out of the small town she loves to pursue her career dream. What a concept usually foreign to the usual Hallmark ethos!

Rating: 6 out of 10.

September 21, 2020

Love Under the Olive Tree

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At Least You Can Learn About Olive Oil

Even though this Hallmark has a relatively high rating all of the actual reviews seem to be very negative. So I feel like it’s my duty to give it a good review. First of all yes, yes, yes, it does incorporate many many many of the Hallmark clichés and stock storylines. What a shocker! Alert the media. First of all, I liked the Olive oil-making plotline. It was certainly different and I enjoyed the fresh setting other than chocolate, wine, and cupcakes. It was interesting, unlike blueberries or pumpkins. The two leads had good chemistry. The family conflict and rivalry kept my interest. I liked that the grandfathers who started the feud were actually more reasonable than their offspring. It was realistic. I also loved the secondary romance of her best friend and the coffee shop owner. It was sweet. I was invested in the outcome of the olive oil judging and wager and happy that there was a clear winner and it was the one I was rooting for. And Tori Anderson is always a treat. Wait a minute. That Poster. What the heck are they drinking there?

Rating: 7 out of 10.

June 27, 2020

Love is a Piece of Cake

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A Bakery is Saved

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This is pretty much a by-the-book save the ______ story. This one is about a bakery owner whose building has been sold out from under her. Her main focus has been to honor her grandmother, from whom she inherited the bakery, legacy not to actually grow the business and make a profit. Thus she is averse to change and shies away from any innovation or moves forward because it would take the business further from how she remembers it from her childhood with her Grandmother. And of course, she can’t envision the business without the setting. I really have a problem with running a business like it’s some idealized lifestyle rather than a functional contributor to the economy. It’s all too common in Hallmark-land. Grow or Die, as they say.

Anyway, inspired by a new rich client, whose wedding she is going to provide the cake for, she finally gets a fire lit under her and decides to finally do everything she can to make enough money to buy the building from her landlord herself. Also, she falls in love with her client’s brother and his little girl, who, yes, is truly adorable. She actually is successful in making enough money to make an offer on the building. But not before the inevitable flour fight with her new man and the wipe the flour off the nose kiss.

The big existential crisis occurs when her bid is turned down and she finds out that the real estate company that is buying the building is the employer of the new boyfriend. Of course, he is innocent, but she won’t give him a chance. She mopes, sulks, and backslides to her unambitious self and gives up despite the efforts of her kooky assistant and her energetic business manager. Desperate, they finally call in the big guns (her mother) who tells her her grandmother would not approve of her trying to preserve the bakery like it was some kind of monument to her. She tells her that when Granny took over the bakery from her mother, she moved the business into a new building and changed and innovated to save the business. The lightbulb finally switches on for our heroine.

It’s a revelation! The finish is a strong one which moved the needle from lackluster to fairly watchable. She demonstrates that she has really changed by letting go of her controlling “only I can do it right” attitude. She lets her assistant decorate the cake (which turned out really hideous in my opinion) for the wedding, buys a new and even better building, makes her two loyal employees partners, makes up with her boyfriend and is his date to the wedding. The director did some editing to take advantage of the talent and appeal of five-year-old cutie-pie, played by Mila Jones, by making her a flower girl at the last minute. Check that wedding scene out carefully.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

You’re Bacon Me Crazy

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Mismatch

I don’t feel this couple was very well matched. Besides looking very much younger than Michael Rady, the character of Cleo acted like an immature and spoiled High School girl as opposed to Gabe, who responded to her antics in a mature level-headed way. She pulled a dirty trick on him by ordering all that food she didn’t need while she could see that he was being slammed. What a brat! And then, when he successfully delivered it, he didn’t even charge her for it. Did she even apologize? I don’t remember. And then, when he offered to drop out of the competition, she had a tantrum because he was being egotistical instead of taking it kindly the way it was meant. Was he being egotistical? Maybe. but so what? That was his problem.

I’ve always liked Michael Rady, but have been unimpressed by Natalie Hall. So far, she has brought very little to the table except a pretty face with too much make-up for conditions and a lot of pep. The story was actually pretty interesting and I did like that there were no big misunderstandings. A nice epilogue at the end further justified the half-hearted “7” that I gave this effort.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

April 8, 2020

A Taste of Summer

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Nothing Special

This had nothing over and above the usual formula. I do appreciate Hallmark’s efforts towards more diversity which this one exemplifies. I found the heroine too glammed up to be relatable or realistic for a hardworking chef in a kitchen. When will Hallmark learn that tarting up their actresses like they were selling cosmetics in a department store is not the way to go. Unless that is their profession. Or on TV. Or a model. The romance was not front and center which was actually refreshing. But Ironically, I didn’t find the chemistry out of the ordinary considering the two leads are married in real life. The actress reminded me of Sandra Bullock but without her appeal and the actor reminded me of Topher Grace.

Rating: 4 out of 10.

August 19, 2019

Paris, Wine, and Romance

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Richie Rich Wine?

This was a very well-put-together romance. I liked the story of a prestigious wine competition and the underdog Oregonian company taking the snooty French wine culture by storm. The whole setup seemed pretty authentic. And I do love wine, so I appreciated the little tidbits of info. I liked the tour around Paris. I’m not a big Jen Lilley fan, but her acting is OK. I loved the male lead. He was very handsome with a lot of charisma. I just didn’t think he “went with” Jen Lilley. Oh. I see she was pregnant when she filmed this. Nevermind. Lolita Davidovitch was very well cast as the glamorous but gracious loving mother, as was the brother. The resolution to the long-distance romance problem was well set up and believable.

I just wish they had chosen another name for Jen’s wine. “Ricci Ridge” sounded like “Richie Rich.” It was distracting, though it did provide a few giggles.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

May 12, 2019

Love on the Menu

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Delicious!

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This is how it’s done, Hallmark. Good Job! When you have two engaging and attractive leads who are good actors and have good chemistry, it already puts it far ahead of the majority of Hallmark offerings. Bravo Autumn Reeser and Kavan Smith. Add an interesting inside look at restaurant goings-on and an agreeable restaurant (and chef) makeover plot and you have a definite winner. Kudos to the beautiful and authentic food photography. The love story is built slowly and realistically. The leads did not have silly misunderstandings or antics. When there was a bit of conflict at the end, it was resolved quickly with a very nice groveling scene and a deserved abject apology. There was a tough boss who turned quite evil at the climax for some drama and tension.

I also want to compliment the wonderful young actress who played our hero’s teenage daughter. Jordyn Ashley Olson is lovely and a very promising young talent. Latonya Williams also adds sparkle, as usual.

I only mark it down for two aspects. The gourmet breakfasts that our chef-hero cooked for his daughter and were meanly rebuffed by her were so over the top, the scenes were cringe-inducing. Also, the ending was a little sudden and needed another scene to tie the loose ends up nicely. Maybe they are planning a sequel. I’m in.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

March 3, 2019