A pleasant movie, with lovely Canadian scenery and talented, eminently watchable actors. The leads, Fiona Gubelmann and Antonio Cayonne, are both charming and attractive. For me, it was a kick to see (and hear) Linda Thorson again.
The plot involves some standard tropes of Hallmark movies. Two sisters, estranged for years, have to save a very special business, before it is sold off to strangers. A woman is unappreciated by her clueless male boss. A wedding needs to be organized very quickly; it also needs to be perfect to honor a dead parent.
Some other reviews have been pretty low. The biggest problem is one of expectations, I think. This doesn't feel like a typical romance or a usual Hallmark movie. [However, it does remind me a bit of an earlier Hallmark movie, Thicker Than Water, with Lindsay Wagner and Melissa Gilbert; years after watching it, I only remember the relationship between the estranged sisters.]
Both of the leads are so restrained, almost introverted, whenever they share scenes. Jared (Antonio C.) might look fondly in the direction of Hazel (Fiona G.), but only from several feet away. Hazel encourages Jared to do what he loves (and vice versa). In short, Hazel and Jared seem like they would be great friends, but nothing more than that. In the real world, that is a lovely way to start a relationship; in a 90-minute movie, though, it doesn't come across as romantic enough.
Spoiler: There is some kissing at the end. But only in the last minute or so. Personally, I would have rated this movie a little higher without that last minute or so; it didn't fit.
Whether it is a traditional romance or not, at its heart, this is a story about familial love.
The plot involves some standard tropes of Hallmark movies. Two sisters, estranged for years, have to save a very special business, before it is sold off to strangers. A woman is unappreciated by her clueless male boss. A wedding needs to be organized very quickly; it also needs to be perfect to honor a dead parent.
Some other reviews have been pretty low. The biggest problem is one of expectations, I think. This doesn't feel like a typical romance or a usual Hallmark movie. [However, it does remind me a bit of an earlier Hallmark movie, Thicker Than Water, with Lindsay Wagner and Melissa Gilbert; years after watching it, I only remember the relationship between the estranged sisters.]
Both of the leads are so restrained, almost introverted, whenever they share scenes. Jared (Antonio C.) might look fondly in the direction of Hazel (Fiona G.), but only from several feet away. Hazel encourages Jared to do what he loves (and vice versa). In short, Hazel and Jared seem like they would be great friends, but nothing more than that. In the real world, that is a lovely way to start a relationship; in a 90-minute movie, though, it doesn't come across as romantic enough.
Spoiler: There is some kissing at the end. But only in the last minute or so. Personally, I would have rated this movie a little higher without that last minute or so; it didn't fit.
Whether it is a traditional romance or not, at its heart, this is a story about familial love.