8.3 stars.
This is a surprisingly stunning romance for Hallmark to produce in the summer. I am surprised and caught off guard at how wonderful this story is. In fact, 'Villa Amore' is one of the best in the past year, arguably their best of 2025 thus far. We still have six months to go, so who knows if anything surpasses it this year. I'm hoping they crank out a few more like this, because what a pleasant experience for me today!
These two actors have great chemistry and I don't recall if they've both been co-leads together in a romantic film before. I hope they reunite for another, possibly a sequel, because she threw three coins into the fountain. You'll see what I mean.
The story is about a woman who is engaged and is basically dumped after six years of dating this obnoxious man. That first scene where they have some friction and she is caught off guard is clunky, and got the movie started on the wrong foot. He is not a likable actor whatsoever. It was awkward and out of place. At that point, I was skeptical, figuring this was going to be a monumental failure of a movie, even though it stars two of Hallmark's favorite actors. These two don't do silly; they are known for quality films. Thankfully, they maintain their reputation and value in 'Villa Amore'.
After the clumsy breakup, she goes to Italy to find herself again, revisit where her parents fell in love near a villa in a small town. She eventually falls in love with the whole village and a man. He's an American, but spent a lot of his childhood here, because one of his parents is Italian.
In her grief and while she's trying to be more spontaneous, she makes a very impulsive decision and spends the rest of the story trying to climb her way out of a deep rut. Perhaps her new man will help her with the predicament, and maybe they can find fulfillment and love in the process.
I highly recommend this. If you like Hallmark, you will love this and I know you'll watch it, so I need not embellish my high praise any further. Suffice it to say, I will be watching this every year.
