Or, How Socks and Golf Doomed a 3-year Relationship. But That’s a Good Thing.

This was very mediocre. First, it’s one of my least favorite types of Hallmarks where the plot and characters take second place to the setting. This type has its place in that they are very relaxing and give you something pretty to look at while  indulging in a little armchair sightseeing. But they can also be pretty dull and formulaic, and can come across as being paid for by the local tourism board.

My second beef was with the two main characters. They were not exactly role models for any young children that might have been watching with Mommy (or Daddy).  First, I will set the background to my forthcoming dumping on their characters and future prospects in life and love.

Maddie is a super-planner with more than a smidge of OCD  because of her sad chaotic childhood and bad parents. Every time she sees a group of 4 or more pens in a row she has to line them up and straighten them. We see her doing this at least 3 times. Maybe more,  but I wasn’t going to watch the whole movie again to count. She gets dumped by her boyfriend because of her controlling ways, but her loving and surprisingly well-adjusted sister talks her into going on her honeymoon anyway but with  her instead. There in Niagara, she meets Mike, her tour guide who’s is a fly by the seat of his pants kind of guy and her complete opposite. So naturally, they fall in love while he teaches her that life is more than itineraries and highlighters, and she turns his frown (bad breakup) upside down.

It started off pretty well and I have liked both Jocelyn Hudon and Dan Jeannotte in other things. They were fine, and the their banter was bright and energetic. However, Maddie got on my bad side right off the bat. She was just horrible to Jason, her fiance. I don’t know how they got past the first date let alone forged a 3 year relationship. First off, she threw  away his lucky socks after taking his laundry home against his wishes. Again. These are socks he has worn to every successful sales presentation since he was 20 years old. And he has one of his most important meetings the day she threw them out. He is actually pretty nice about it. But why would she do that? Surely she knew how attached to those lucky socks he was? If she didn’t know, that is just as bad. She doesn’t express any regret for her actions, but asks him what he wants to add to their honeymoon itinerary. He says he wants to find a golf course but she shuts that idea down immediately getting all twitchy about him wanting to play golf on their honeymoon. They meet later at a coffee shop. He is late because he failed to land the account without his lucky socks and is understandably not in the best of moods. She criticizes his lateness, has already ordered for him, and, last straw, nags him about putting his napkin in his lap. He breaks up with her, telling her that she  is too controlling, bossy, and not spontaneous. Now this guy is no prize. He had “bad boyfriend” vibes going on all around him, but such was Maddie’s neurotic and callous behavior, that I didn’t blame him one bit. She definitely had a long way to go on the road to mental health. So that was fine. Enter Niagara Falls and Mike the Tour-guide. And sure enough, it is not long before she is taking risks and being adventurous and is falling for Mike. And he has a major crush on her. They almost kiss. Almost, because while falling for Mike, she has been posting free-spirited fun-loving pictures of herself on social media with the sole purpose of getting Jason back. It works. He reaches out, she reaches back, and before you know it, he shows up in Niagara and they are engaged again. She has not changed, and has apparently learned nothing after all. Mike has been tossed aside like…a pair of old socks? And not only that, but she stands him up when she promised him faithfully to support him at his open mike night. See, Mike is not really a tour guide, he is an aspiring singer/songwriter and he wrote a song about her just for the occasion. He is so devastated by her betrayal that he blows the whole thing and walks off the stage.

So Mike. What kind of a guy is he? He has been sad, sulky, and a big baby ever since he was dumped by his girlfriend two years ago. He was given a job as a tour guide by his best friend, where we see his attitude has almost ruined her fledgling business. He probably should have been fired long ago. I don’t know what he would have done to keep him from destitution though, because he has no prospects, or, in my opinion, talent,  as a singer/songwriter. No large nest egg or other backup career is mentioned. And he has no backbone. When Madeleine behaves like a dirt-bag and stabs him in the back, instead of showing a little of the courage he has been preaching to her, he falls to pieces.

Anyway, Maddie dumps her fiance at the airport when she finds out he is going to play golf the next morning (she really hates golf). She returns to the Falls just in time to attend the wedding of some new friends along with her sister, Mike, and his nice boss/best friend. Her sister has had her own little plotlet as well. She ends up giving up her boring high-paying job to be a photographer (my least favorite Hallmark profession) just as Maddie is going to abandon her successful business (Taxes by Madeleine) featuring a spacious office complex and conference room with a beautiful view of San Francisco. She is moving to Niagara Falls to explore a possible relationship with poor Mike, who promises his boss to try harder to be a good tour guide.  

So happy ending? I don’t consider an ending happy unless there is a clear path to a successful future ahead for our temporarily joyful couple.