Chasing Waterfalls

Girl gets her big career chance, falls in love, something happens to cause strife. It happens in all the Hallmark movies. There are times I wish Hallmark would go back to making movies less formulaic as they did a decade or so ago.

Still, Cindy Busby and Christopher Russell pull this off as they always do. Russell has done everything at Hallmark from romantic lead to self serving rat. And I have to strongly disagree with the reviewer who heavily criticized Ms. Busby's performance. To say that her lead characters in Hallmark films are anything like the always selfish rich girl she played on Heartland shows the reviewer either doesn't watch these films closely or didn't watch Heartland very closely. She was the villain most of her time at Heartland and is, of course, playing solid leads for Hallmark. The characters aren't close to being the same.

The falls they used are lovely, the little girl is charming, and I wish Miranda Frigon would get a lead and not play the jealous rival sometime.

I was shocked, shocked I say, in the end of the movie Mark calls for a helicopter to get them out of the woods before nightfall (forget worrying about how they are going to land a helicopter in the woods). So, he calls for a chopper, she says what's the hurry, he says well I did bring my tent, she says is it big enough for 2, he grins and cancels the chopper.. This is a hallmark movie people, since when do we even hint at anything even slightly seductive. They are going to spend the night together in a one-man trial tent. Shock and horror, Hallmark what are you doing.

Anyway, back to the movie Cindy Busby always does a great job and Christopher Russell never disappoints, they had great chemistry. Cassidy Nugent was adorable and a great little actress, Hallmark should use her more often.

The script was adequate, nothing special, typical Hallmark, at least until the end. And the waterfalls and other scenary is spectacular.

Decent family movie.

Very enjoyable 86 minutes.

My advice - see the movie as a family, it will not disappoint.

So did the guy say he would be more worried if it was a sow with cubs or a grizzly? That sure looked like a grizzly to me. How could they make such an obvious mistake? Was just so so, not great chemistry but glad it was Cindy instead of the usual Lacey/Danica/Candace trio.

Given the subject matter and the two leads, I didn't expect to like this at all. I dreaded watching it, but I watch everything Hallmark does (except for a few of the amateur detective mysteries). I haven't liked anything Cindy Busby has been in except the Godwink movie, and I would have loved that with almost anyone. Christopher Russell is just too stereotype of a hunk.

The movie changed my mind quickly. The dialogue was good, at least in the beginning, and some of the situations were interesting. Cassidy Nugent was good as the daughter and I think it always helps one of these movies when the female lead bonds with her opposite's daughter. Busby and Russell did have good chemistry.

I saw the conflict immediately when it was foreshadowed, although it played out slightly different than I expected. I should have, but didn't see the ending coming, other than the obvious outcome.

Give the writers or director extra points for not doing the "It's a date. Oh, no, not a date" line for which there was a huge opening.

This is a rather typical Hallmark movie, running at just around 80 minutes, filmed in Canada with mostly Canadian actors who have experience in TV shows and TV movies.

The plot is an attractive woman is sent on assignment to an area to photograph waterfalls for a piece in an online travel magazine. At the lodge she meets an attractive man who also is one of the tour guides. He is divorced and has an attractive and smart 11-yr-old daughter. This threesome get to liking each other rather quickly.

My wife reminded me half way through that the Hallmark method is to throw in something to create friction then present a way for the man and woman to overcome it. The friction here arises when her photos are published with exact GPS coordinates so any tourist can find the hidden waterfalls, something she promised would not happen.

This is not a superior movie by any measure but it is a fun, pleasant diversion. We watched it at home on DVD from our public library, half drunk after our usual Saturday steak and wine dinner. It is perfect for that type of situation. No extras on the DVD, as budget as you can find.