Off the Beaten Path

This was a genuinely funny romantic comedy and one that I was happy to see had Hallmark moving even further afield from the list of Family-friendly “No-Nos”. Now that they have ventured into the once forbidden territory of gay and interracial romance, this movie tests the waters of normalizing premarital sex and swearing. Or at least a suggestion that premarital sex might be within the realms of possibility for two consenting adults and kind of very mild swearing. Baby steps.

Rachel, likably played by Meghan Heffern, has duped Abby, our heroine, into joining her at a “Lifestyle Wellness Retreat”. Early on, we learn quite a bit about Abby, played by Emilie Ullerup. She is a Public Defender, is very stressed out, and likes to argue. She is a “glass half-empty” type of person, cynical and closed off. But she is quick-witted and loves candy, her best friend Rachel, and that’s about it. The movie starts off with a lot of genuinely funny banter, which continues throughout.

While at the “Wellness Retreat” (for God’s sake do not call it a “Camp”) they meet two of the other campers, a bickering older married couple, the very funny director of the camp, and the very cute head Chef, whom immediately catches Rachel’s eye and vice versa. This secondary couple is Hallmark’s nod to interracial romance as he is Chinese. No Gay couples or black people this time. Or actually, there might be a gay couple but they are deep background. Down-to-earth Abby is not a joiner, nor a fan of nature, or places that call meals “nourishment gatherings.” And, to seal the deal on her bad attitude, Abby meets Sean, her former childhood best friend from whom she has been estranged for 17 years. She tells Rachel that he is a monster who abandoned her at a bus stop as they were getting ready to leave on a long-planned cross-country hiking trip. True to form, Abby has never been in contact with him since, never caring to find out why he did that. Interestingly, the viewer learns bit by bit that Abby is not really telling Rachel (or us) the full story. While finally agreeing to “talk” about what happened 17 years ago, the two hike to an isolated scenic lookout. It is revealed that Sean was actually in love with Abby but didn’t have the guts to tell her. Abby tells him she was in love with him too. They have a pretty hot kiss and fade to black. When we come back to the couple they are lying on a blanket together. Now I’m not saying they did the deed or anything, but it is pretty obvious that they didn’t stop at that one kiss. This is pretty groundbreaking for Hallmark as kisses are usually only interrupted almost kisses, and the actual touching of lips is restricted to the last 30 seconds of the movie. On the way back to camp, oops, the “retreat”, they get hopelessly lost in the wilderness for two days and and two nights. Abby manages to remain in full makeup during their ordeal including falling face first into a mud puddle, and a lot more about their lives, feelings, and that fateful day is gradually revealed to each other and to the viewer. We learn that Abby’s parents were terrible which explains the walls she puts up, and the recent death of Sean’s beloved mother. There is also some pretty good comedy. In one scene, Sean doesn’t want to help Abby catch a fish to eat because he is a vegetarian and he thinks he couldn’t eat “anything with a face.” Abby yells, “Well, I’ll give you the butt!” Abby leaves a trail of candy wrappers to guide possible rescuers only to find that Sean has been picking them up, then to top it off, gets a lecture on “littering”. Abby pulls out candy she has been hiding in her clothes, and Sean quips that she looks like a “sarcastic pinata.”

Meanwhile, Rachel has discovered that Abby didn’t sleep in her bed that night, and is very worried. When Hot Chef suggests that maybe Sean and Abby are together, they go knocking on Sean’s door, looking for them. Yes, the possibility that they might have spent the night together crosses their minds. Groundbreaking, I tell you!!! When Rachel tries to rally the troops into a rescue party, it sets off an argument between the Bickersons, and the wife ends up yelling back at her husband, “Screw the class!!” This counts as swearing in Hallmarkland. No, it’s not the F word, but still! I can guarantee you would not hear such a thing on the Great American Family channel because that would be smutty.

Towards the end, Abby shuts down Sean when he wants to explore continuing the relationship. Sean leaves the retreat without saying goodbye, in a history repeats itself scene. Rachel talks some sense into Abby and Abby has an emotional breakthrough. Sean has some sense talked into him by a teenage gas station attendant in a very cute scene, and the Happy Ending is not far behind.