Romance on the Menu

Expectations were very mixed to not particularly excited. This sort of film can be charming if done right and Australia is absolutely wonderful in terms of scenery and culture, not to mention food. A large part of me knew that 'Hearts Down Under' (aka 'Romance on the Menu') would be very predictable and nothing special, and with a few exceptions Cindy Busby is not my cup of tea as an actress and has a fairly limited and samey range (even for somebody typecast/pigeon holed in these roles).

My mixed to not particularly excited expectations were not improved upon in the execution. This could have been much better than expected and there are many films that sound nothing special and very basic that turn out to be at least above average and even pretty decent. 'Hearts Down Under'/'Romance on the Menu' is not one of those films and actually turned out to be worse than expected. It has a few good things but also a lot of major bad things.

The good things shall be begun with. The scenery is absolutely magical and the photography does nothing to cheapen it and even enhances, clearly in love with it without being self-indulgent. The food looks amazing and makes the mouth water.

Also thought that Tim Ross did very well with what he was given, the character is underwritten but he has a natural charisma and is easy going.

Busby unfortunately is another story, she never looks comfortable and can be hammy. She also provides no variation on a type of role she contiually played in in a similar way each time for Hallmark. The supporting cast are stuck with cliched ciphers and are forgettable. So is the music, which is also intrusive. Busby and Ross have no chemistry together in a romance that doesn't develop very well and everything about it has a seen it all before vibe.

Something that is true with the story throughout, a well worn formula with all the typical Hallmark plot and character cliches executed in a mundane and more of the same formulaic way. The final third is especially predictable and is contrived and too convenient. Not to mention that it is paper thin and often moves at too slow a pace. The script is full of cheese and schmaltz and never flows naturally.

Overall, weak. 3/10.

I know this movie as "Hearts Down Under" in the U. S., listed as an original Hallmark movie.

It's a typical, traditional Hallmark movie. Boy and girl meet and fall in love at first sight, tension arises due to some outside issue, they both realize how silly they are, one runs back to the other and confesses their stupidity, and they live and love happily ever after.

I've seen the Aussie actors in Australian shows so I was very happy to see they didn't use Americans trying to do fake accents. I hate that.

While this isn't a blockbuster rom com, it is a feel good one, so those of you complaining about the acting obviously don't get the Hallmark channel or, if you do, you don't watch it. Almost all of their movies are like this. If you want light and airy movies you can turn on while doing something else, these are the movies to watch.

It's a cute movie where boy meets girl and they fall in love. The nice thing is it's in a beautiful setting in another country. Hallmark has only just recently started spending money on filming in more countries outside of Canada and the U. S. This is a welcome change.

I'm an Aussie girl and saw this movie on Netflix. I was very excited watching the preview with our Aussie accents on display and this movie didn't disappoint. Those people that are Aussies but give it a bad review are most likely those that only love a good action or drama. My hubby wouldn't be interested in this movie for that very reason, but he is away so I get the tv to myself tonight so this movie piqued my interest. It is light hearted, I really like the chemistry Of the couple and It's just an enjoyable watch. Thank you also for displaying some of our cultural differences and choosing actors that are actually Australian. I could see myself watching this movie again for something easy and light hearted.

Hearts Down Under or Romance on the menu, either way this was a formulaic Hallmark Romantic film...light and breezy with a Happy Ending.

Stubborn control freak New York Laboratoire restaurant owner and chef Caroline inherits a quaint Australian restaurant named The Seagull from her deceased aunt Doreen. Caroline goes to Australia to sell the restaurant quickly and get back to New York for an important critic review. While in Australia she stays in a cottage owned by Simon Cook, who turns out to be the cook at The Seagull. As the staff rally together to convince Caroline not to sell, Simon and Caroline spar and one up each other over their differences in cooking. Desperate to make repairs quickly in order to sell the restaurant Caroline strikes up a deal to cook for Simon while he does the needed repairs on the restaurant for the building inspector which is required for her quick sale.

Caroline gets to know the staff and loosens up a bit in the process. There is a ridiculous looking dog named Spatch (short for spatula) and sunny beach scenes...but the best part is really the actor who plays Simon Cook. He looks a bit like an Australian version of Ben Affleck and he really wins you over with his smile.

...please note this was a Netflix film. Hallmark just bought and retooled it a year later to fill out the schedule.