Travelogue

The Finnish Line

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Finishes Ahead of the Pack

Yes, the title is a bit of a groaner, but the movie is not. Other than the wonderful A ‘90s Christmas and  a couple of others, the Hallmark slate has been disappointing the last couple of weeks. Two were overly hyped and promoted which set me up for even more disappointment (though I should have known better.) Hallmark’s most popular stars are fine and dandy, but not if the story and script aren’t there. One was just another “Hallmark pretends to be the HGTV channel” reality show which I couldn’t even finish, and another I can’t comment on, because though I did finish it, I don’t remember a damn thing about it even after reading the summary. This one didn’t hold much promise. It was another Scandinavian one, the second of the season so far. It featured an Iditerod type race between our heroine and a cartoonishly evil villain who cheated her father out of the same race many years ago. (There was a cute reference to The Princess Bride about that-I won’t explain.) It’s the type of Hallmark that too often uses an exotic setting or an out-of-box plot-line as a crutch so they can skimp on good writing and character development and still put out an acceptable effort. Boy was I surprised!

Fresh and funny banter and dialogue were there from the get go. Kim Matula as the main character, Anya, put on a great performance of a likable character. Right there with her was Nichole Sakura who played her best friend Elyse, who was more than a human prop but also a fully realized character. She was given plenty of screen time, and a secondary romance of her own which was sweet and engaging. As usual lately with many Hallmarks, the primary romance was not the main focus, but thanks to the performances, dialogue, and the rapport, I was invested. The races were exciting mostly because of her rivalry with the evil dirty trickster and some dog crises. Anya even almost dies after almost falling off a cliff saving the bad guy’s dogs and sled. “I can’t beat you if you’re dead!” she shouts at him. When taunted and insulted by the bad guy, she gets off some sizzling comebacks and doesn’t turn the other cheek like a more demure heroine would do. Thank-you!

The movie would have been excellent set in Canada with fake snow (as usual), but there was plenty of Finnish (and Icelandic) landscape and scenery along with little nuggets about Finnish way of life. Ginger cookies and blue cheese are a thing. And the Finnish are comfortable sitting silently with a party of friends: No needless chatter is required to fill silence because in Finland, silence isn’t awkward. I think I’d like it in Finland. Going by the credits, other than 3 of the main actors, the rest of the cast is Scandinavian, which of course lent some authenticity, on top of all the other good things.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Savoring Paris

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Cheese is Life. Apparently.

This is about a lady who flees America, the land of bad cheese,  to Paris, the land of good cheese. And through her love of cheese, she finds her true self and what she wants out of life. So if you love cheese and enjoy movies set in Paris, you will love this one. I like both, but then, I don’t think American cheese is so bad either. Bethany Joy Lenz stars in this and that is always a big plus. But boy, her character, Ella, really really likes cheese!

After a disappointment at work involving cheese, believe it or not, Ella decides she needs a vacation. She had created a dish for the chain restaurant she works for using a good quality specialty cheese, and they used a cheap substitute. Also, she didn’t get her well-deserved promotion, the higher-ups stole her ideas, and her mother is pressuring her to buy a condo and freeze her eggs. It is all too much. She remembers Paris with fondness where she visited with her father after college, picnicked on the Seine, and where her life was changed by eating Comté cheese. Off she goes. Her first stop is a Fromagerie (what else?) where she meets the owner, the very handsome but grumpy Serge. She also makes friends with her landlady, the wealthy and charming Clotilde, with whom she shares her gorgeous apartment. And she meets Gaston, a handsome food critic with a reputation for being a player, who is slender, elegant, flirty, and dresses very french, all in black with tight rolled up pants and no socks.  She immerses herself in Paris life and makes lots of friends because she is BJL and everyone likes her despite her atrocious French. She also gets to know Serge who sells her cheese on a daily basis. One thing leads to another and Ella decides to quit her job and extend her stay in Paris for 3 months. Her mother is very dismayed by this, because she misses her daughter and thinks she is living in a fantasy world. Also, $ $ $ $ $ ? She is not wrong. Serge is expanding his cheese store and needs help. Ella offers her assistance as an intern, unpaid, except for 5 pieces of cheese a day and Serge’s personal tutelage about the beloved dairy product.

Meanwhile, things are heating up romance-wise with both the slippery handsome Gaston and grumpy masculine Serge. We kind of know who she is going to end up with because Serge is challenging, rugged, and attractive and Gaston is a little too French. And when Ella finds out that he isn’t a big cheese fan, it kind of seals the deal. He even buys her a bottle of Chanel No. 5 because he thinks she smells too much like cheese! Rudest Present Ever! In the end, Ella gets the type of visa that allows her to work for money, Serge gives her a real job, she stays in Paris with all of her friends and the life she loves, and her mom will visit her from America. A lot. Ella and the cheesemonger have a promising future together because their love will age and mature like a fine Cheddar. I paraphrase a real line from the movie.

This one was just “pretty good” for me. It did not meet my expectations because I always hold Bethany Joy to a high bar, she is just so good. She didn’t quite hit it with this one. All of the cheese and cheese metaphors got a little much at times. But a big plus was Stanley Weber, who played Serge. For such a romantic-looking guy, he has a very unromantic name. But anyway, the two made a great couple. Sometimes BJL’s co-leads just can’t quite measure up to her charisma and talent. The set decoration, ambiance, and Paris photography (lots of montages) were marvelous, and Bethany’s wardrobe was fabulous as usual. She must have a special rider on her contracts with Hallmark so that she can pick out her own clothes and accessories because they always have lots of pizzazz. It has become kind of her signature, in my opinion.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

A Very Venice Romance

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Bella Venezia

There was very little wrong with this one other than some gaps in storytelling that could have been fixed with an extra scene or two that were apparently left on the cutting room floor. And, set in Venice, Italy, it was beautifully photographed and a pleasure to gaze upon. Thankfully we were spared a depressing scientific lecture about rising seas and how the city is doomed. This was one of Hallmark’s foodie shows (yes romantic dough kneading and a tiny pinch of flour throwing were included) and the interiors and the food were also shown off to perfection. Great lighting throughout. The Italian leading man, was, of course, incredibly handsome, as they are, but he was also a good actor and very charming. As the leading lady, Stephanie Leonidas, was also very attractive and classy without the beauty pageant look of some of the other Hallmark regulars.

Amy is in charge of launching her company’s new venture which is home meal prep kits which, true to her health and wellness company’s brand, are packed with the supplements that they sell which supposedly boost metabolism, energy, immunity, and stuff like that. Her boss and head of the company, Naomi, at first comes across as an airy-fairy new-age guru type who exists on another plane entirely. But not for long. The Asian actress, whose name I could not find anywhere as of this writing, steals every scene she is in. While never letting her peaceful smile or her calm demeanor slip, it is not long before we see that she is pretty tough and no-nonsense. The word “steely” came to mind.

Unfortunately, for Blossom, the company, The meal kits do not taste good and take too long to make. After Amy tries to get the chef to work with their food scientist, known as Dr. Frankenfood, he quits in a temper tantrum. (typical Hallmark chef). Amy needs to fix the mess which leads her to recruit our hero, Marcello, a handsome (good for marketing), renowned, and respected chef to curate the kits and make them delicious while still loaded with supplements. He turns the job down in no uncertain terms without even hearing her offer. The meal kits go against his core beliefs about the art of cooking and food. He is all about fresh quality ingredients, no preservatives, and cooking with love and imagination. If the food was healthy, it wouldn’t need supplements! Amy decides to go to Venice (Without permission from Naomi! But doesn’t get in trouble!) to join his advanced cooking class so she can give him her “pitch.” The two fall in love over food and touring around Venice. It is not long before Chef Marcello wins Amy over to his way of thinking about food. There is a lot going on behind the scenes that we don’t see because we learn that surprisingly Naomi has led Amy to believe that the company will make enough concessions to Marcello’s way of thinking and let him work from Venice, to get him on board. Also one minute she is telling Amy to close the deal with the chef and get her butt back to New York pronto and the next, Amy is staying another 2 weeks to complete the course. I didn’t blame her for being tired of funding Amy’s 3 weeks in Venice with no progress on changing Marcello’s mind. I’d be suspicious and fed up as well. But we never see how or why Naomi changed her mind and let her stay. The side characters of Amy’s fellow students, one of which is famous British actress, Frances Barber, add interest as well as Marcello’s nice mother and father. Unfortunately, Amy herself is rather boring and personality-free.

Amy is finally ordered home and during the phone call, she finds out that her boss will not go “off-brand” to compromise on supplements nor accommodate Marcello’s insistence on curating the meals without moving to New York. Will Amy choose her life and career in New York, or love in beautiful Venice? The answer is to be found under The Bridge of Sighs.

I guess there is a lot I could pick apart in this movie, but I won’t because it was so nice to look at, and just nice in general. All of the actors were good, and none of the characters got on my nerves at all with silly or questionable behavior. So despite its contradictions and missing expositions, it was a pleasant watch.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

A Pinch of Portugal

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Hallmark Pulls a Fast One

I was not looking forward to this one despite its setting in Portugal which, unlike France and Italy has never been used as a backdrop for a Hallmark movie. I think I saw Heather Hemmens in something or other and she was fine. The previews seemed to set up the usual scenario of the beautiful, competent but underestimated heroine meeting the native hunk who shows her the sights while they commence falling for each other.

Heather plays Anna, a prep cook for a world-famous and difficult celebrity chef. They travel the world along with their little crew: the producer, the editor, and the cameraman. But this time, Dean, the Chef, is in contract negotiations so the support staff is sent on ahead to start shooting what they can without him. The second I saw the cameraman who was a dead ringer for Chris Hemsworth (Thor) I thought, “Too bad he’s not the hero. I like him!” Further cementing my approval, he opened his mouth, and out popped an Australian accent! I was kind of smitten despite his blondness. But it is made pretty clear early on that they are just best buddies. And we still had the designated dark-haired handsome hero on the horizon. They have a meet-cute at his farmer’s market and while they sniff and rhapsodize over all of the vegetables, they have lengthy conversations and flirt like mad. Our hero was very smiley. We learn his dream is to own his own restaurant. A girl who dreams of settling down and doing things her own way as a Chef and a guy that wants to open his own restaurant? Yep.  A perfect match. But things started to take a turn at the 41-minute mark. Did I just imagine that smoldering look from Thor? It seemed to come out of nowhere. I could scarcely believe it. While the volatile star chef continues to not show up, things started to get interesting. I was actually in doubt as to who was supposed to be the love interest until the 1 hour and 17-minute mark. Hallmark really pulled a fast one, and I heartily approve!

Besides the scenery and the yummy-looking food, there were some other really nice touches in this one.

  • Anna’s supportive mother.
  • Anna’s journey from an awkward fill-in to finally finding her niche and making the job her own was well done and believable. Heather Hemmens was really good, especially in the cooking while seasick scene.
  • Brooklyn, the cute editor, started out as a nothing character but turned out to be a real dark horse. She has one of the funniest lines in the movie. When Anna is taking out her anger on the vegetables she is chopping, She stops her, “You should really use your words. Violence is not the answer.”
  • Some surprises and twists: the sudden reappearance of the evil Chef who behaves like a real jerk. And the hidden agenda of another character that I for one did not see coming.
  • The happy rehabilitation of the bad guy was a surprise but was well-founded and understandable. I liked the way it was done.
  • There is a crisis at the end, but it was not a big misunderstanding between the couple. The romance was nuanced and drama free, but totally involving. My breath was bated.

Hallmark showed some sophistication with the script and casting, and the actors did not disappoint. Of course, Portugal did not hurt either.  There was not a silly minute in it (except possibly the weird moment when Anna grabbed Thor’s delicious-looking ice cream cone and threw it in the garbage.) And last but not least, Anna wore sensible shoes throughout and not only in the traipsing about Lisbon montage.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

A Paris Proposal

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**spoilers**

Diamonds are Forever and Paris is Always a Good Idea

Going by the previews this had the feel of a placeholder-type Hallmark artificially bolstered by an exotic location.  They hope their loyal viewers won’t notice a mediocre plot, an unengaging romance, and the usual Hallmark set pieces (sight-seeing, festival attending, gala going, etc.) our attention being diverted by the on-location shooting, the foreign accents, and the scenery. And to be sure, we are not spared from a few of the above-mentioned activities. But it was better than that. Of course, the authentic scenery of Paris was a big plus. But the romance was good too and there was plenty of suspense and drama. And no frolicking in the kitchen! And child-free!

Anna and Sebastian are tasked by their boss to work together in Paris to reel in a huge client for their advertising agency.  The two colleagues are poles apart as far as their personalities and approach to their profession. But their boss feels that together, they will balance each other out. Sebastian will help Anna regain her creativity and think outside the box, and Anna will balance Sebastian’s swing for the fences approach to advertising campaigns that ignore such pedestrian things as budgets and other practical considerations. To wit: he once burned down the coat department of his family’s famous and elite department store by staging an indoor promotion that featured flame throwers. So Yeah. He was fired from the business and his family both. Anna is just a stick in the mud. To be fair, the one time she did something unplanned and impulsive was in Paris and it led to a disastrous 1-year marriage and a divorce.  In their initial meeting with their clients, Anna, in a slip of the tongue, inadvertently kinda sorta tells them that she and Sebastian are married. Their clients, the blissfully married owners of Durand Diamonds are charmed. It is A & S’s job to lose.

What follows is the usual keeping up the pretense of being married alternating with crises of conscience for lying to their very nice clients. The two walk around Paris, and despite their totally opposite personalities, they grow closer and start falling in love for reals. They also struggle to come up with a stellar advertising campaign with the added pressure of a rival agency head, who is a nasty piece of work, breathing down their necks. Adding to their guilt and pressure is Sebastian’s estranged family who welcomes Anna into the fold. Oh boy. Even the mean father,  who just can’t let the flame thrower incident go for some reason,  starts to soften toward his son.

Alexa PenaVega is not a Hallmark actress I go out of my way to watch, but I liked her in this. Nicholas Bishop as Sebastian was a charmer and very cute. They were well cast and worked well together. Other pluses were some amusing banter between the two leads and Anna’s fashions, which were quite bold and fashionable. I liked the diamond angle as well. Really tired of chocolate, wine, and baked goods. It all comes to a head during The Big Gala when the nasty rival publicly outs our couple as unmarried liars. They are not only humiliated and lose the account but get fired by their boss right then and there in front of all of the glittering gala guests and Sebastian’s family! They turn on him and basically kick him out of the family. Again.  Hallmark did not spare our couple one bit. Which I also liked. Poor Sebastian. Even Anna yelled at him and blamed him before having a change of heart.

In the last 10 minutes, they start to scratch their way back to a happy ending by each taking the blame, Anna to his family and Sebastian to the Durands. In the “one year later” epilogue, they have opened their own Ad Agency in Paris, have two big accounts (guess who?), and are engaged. The ending montage was cute and clever.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

The Wedding Veil Unveiled

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Prego!

In part two of the trilogy, The Wedding Veil Unveiled, Autumn Reeser is going to Italy to teach an Art History class for a month or so. She is taking the veil with her to confirm that it is the same veil in the portrait, and if so, to learn the history behind it. For one thing, how did it get to San Francisco? First of all, if I were Lacey Chabert or Alison Sweeney I would be royally P.O. ed that Autumn Reeser got to go to Italy for her part of the trilogy, and I didn’t. The beautifully photographed scenes in that country were one of the best parts of this one. While Autumn and her love interest are investigating the story behind the veil worn in the portrait by the fictional artist Amici we vicariously explore some beautiful destinations including Venice, Verona, Burano, and Padua. No Rome, and I didn’t miss it at all.

It seemed like there were more side stories in this one than is usual. The story behind the Veil was intriguing and well thought out. They brought in some hurdles for Autumn to overcome in teaching her Art History class which were engaging. It was good that they had the capable and poised Autumn screw up a little bit. Her buttoned-up personality needed to be loosened up. Her love interest, Paolo, had his own problems. He was part of a family that has been in the lace business for generations. We get to know his large loving family, which was nice. But he wants to expand the business, and his father is too cautious and conservative. One of the stories, about the young student who couldn’t afford the tuition came out of left field and was basically a time-filler since it was completely untethered to anything else going on in the stories. Since we didn’t have baking shenanigans, ice skating, or snowball fights? With the extraneous details given about the boy’s situation, it seemed like they were going to hook it in somewhere, but in the end, they just didn’t get it done.

Although the male lead was handsome and likable, the romance was just so-so, and more than a little routine. But I liked the meet-cute and the meet-cute part II. And when the final scene showed them getting married I admit I had an “Awwhh” moment. Maybe there was just too much other stuff going on.

I just want to add that Autumn’s wardrobe in this was beautiful and well-chosen and she looked great. I questioned a lot of the choices for (or by?) Lacey Chabert in part I, but the only thing that was a little questionable in this one was her choice of shoes to go sightseeing in. She looked very uncomfortable. Part 3 featuring the cynical unromantic Alison Sweeney character was well set up and I’m looking forward to it.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

February 15, 2022