A Splash of Love

I was really looking forward to this movie since my husband and I recently went on a whale-watching excursion during our Alaskan Cruise. Not enough Whale encounters to salvage this one! A Marine Biology PhD student "afraid" of the cold ocean water? No knowledge of how to scientifically collect water samples? During the first 10 minutes the female lead got lost using a paper map and was repeatedly doused by a motorized rubber boat doing donuts too close to shore. The male lead who ran a whale watching excursion business was "surprised" to discover whales in a certain place where they should have been anyway. The obligatory Aurora Borealis sky views at night. I agree with everyone who was irritated by the OMG teenage squealing of the female lead which continued throughout the movie. OMG is right!!!

I tried to get past how stupid the female lead character was, but I couldn't. Here was a student studying for her PhD who totally lacked common sense. I guess the writer needed a cute meet set up which I could get overlook, but the character continued to act like an idiot. I really wanted to see this movie for the location and subject matter, but making the female lead an idiot was not for me. I may fast forward through it to make it watchable or just watch a nature program.

In too many of this genre of movies, the two romantic leads end up sparring with each other until the second half of the movie. In this one, however, they display kindness and genuine fondness for each other. It was a refreshing change! I hope to see more of the same going forward because I don't think anyone watches this stuff to see couples acting like oil and water.

Some of the side shows and B-plots were rough around the edges, the science wasn't all correct, and I could see some bits irritating viewers, but overall I think this comes across as cute and charming. There was a realism to the relationship circumstances that I think many of us could relate to.

I enjoyed watching A Splash of Love. And I'm pretty sure this was the first Hallmark movie to feature orcas (and people say Hallmark movies are all the same).

Another reviewer asked about the lovely musical score. It's by Mario Vaira.

This was my first exposure to Rhiannon Fish as a lead (her parents must have really liked Fleetwood Mac). Rhiannon's performance as Chloe reminded me a little bit of Hailee Steinfeld, but I can see why some may have been put off a bit by the somewhat childish (I'd call it endearing) way that Chloe acts at times.

There's a great review here by Jfenn53058 in which she mentions Chloe's "school girl glee" and her voice which she describes as "nearly a squeal with delight", but adds that she has "a relative who is also a wildlife scientist and she reacts the same way." I have also known women who occasionally "squeal with delight" and exude excitement about some aspect of their career or about something important to them. I find it charming and infectious. Some don't.

I know Ben Hollingsworth, who played Ben, mostly from Virgin River. In that show, he made me hate his character, but then he made me reassess that same character. Here, his character was a likeable, credible match for Chloe. Loved the "What's up Doc?" Bugs Bunny reference.

I do have a few questions though.

Why is Chloe, supposedly the "first choice for the program" (or anyone in Miami) being offered a last minute opportunity to use a research grant to study orca whale migration in the Pacific Northwest with just a week's notice? And for just one week? That's something that should have been set up months in advance. The last minute plane ticket alone would have been twice as expensive. Hallmark loves last minute opportunities and ridiculously unrealistic fake deadlines.

Why would a pretty young woman get in a car with a total stranger in the middle of nowhere, but then initially reject his offers of help in town?

Was that guy in the inflatable boat deliberately trying to get Chloe wet? He literally made 2 runs by her boat that seemed unrelated to any other objective.

And how did she even get access to that little skiff minutes after her check in? And not know the bow from the stern despite living in Miami and studying ocean whales?

I get that Chloe was there thanks to grant money, but did that include the cost of a spacious and nicely appointed oceanside cottage that looked like it would cost $500/night (or more)? I'd love to stay there.

And how about Mary's response to Chloe's "what do I owe you?" Is Mary independently wealthy?

Is Mary (warmly played by Laura Soltis) the only employee at her very large B&B (she works the front desk, delivers tea in the rain, takes orders as a waitress, and made a comment about needing to drop food into the fryer). It sure seemed like she was a one woman show, and on the big Dock Party dinner night, the only people who seemed to be helping were Ben, Chloe and the fishing boat couple.

And were those four going to eat their 4 fish and chip dinners on the couches where they ordered those dinners?

What's the likelihood of the "only road" into town washing out after a few hours of rain and then taking so long to open up that guests and supplies couldn't get through?

"Abandon ship"? In response to a mechanical failure?

And what was the point of having the exes show up? It's possible to make a good romance movie without having the exes show up. I'm getting REALLY tired of the "unexpected appearance of the boyfriend" trope, especially when, as here, he travels a long distance (Miami to Squamish??) and has the worst timing (right before Chloe is due to fly back?). And here, his reaction to Chloe's response was literally unbelievable. I've seen guys get more upset when a girl says "no" to "can I buy you a drink?"

As for Ben's ex, telling us she left town was enough; we didn't need some manufactured reason for her to also suddenly appear. I would have preferred keeping the focus on Ben, Chloe, the locals and the whales. That, and the conflict about how to make it work between 2 people who live 3,000 miles apart, was more than enough conflict to work with. Too often, Hallmark movies add unnecessary conflict to drive the story. That's lazy writing.

But even my favorite Hallmark movies have things I don't like. And yet I love them anyway and grade them on a curve. This one was good and well worth watching.

Rhiannon Fish's almost incessant screeching & rapid speech ruined the movie for me. Her actions were more like a hyperactive 5 year old rather than a PhD student researcher. Whoever directed her to that performance made a huge mistake. I'm surprised my ears didn't bleed. The whales were wonderful to watch & the scenery was gorgeous. What a waste,