Shifting Gears

I grew up a tomboy and automobile enthusiast. I love stories about female mechanics and restorers, but I expect them to be accurate. For instance, a 1954 Chevy should have a 235 cid inline six cylinder engine. Chevy didn't sell a V-8 until 1955. A 1947-8 Plymouth had a generator, not an alternator. These mistakes occur early on, which distracted me from the romance plot, and were hers. Was it sloppy writing or thinly disguised sexism?

There was humor to balance the tension, and a cute roller skating dance routine. The actors performed their characters well. Too bad the research didn't support the script. Having said that, I still recommend the movie. Just forgive the inaccuracies.

Jess Barro (Katherine Barrell) works at her family's garage and teaches car maintenance to other women. They have fallen on hard times. A TV producer offers her a spot on a $50k competition show. She is surprised when her ex Luke Childs (Tyler Hynes) becomes a last-minute replacement contestant.

I love Barrell, She has a happy cute comedic style. She should be good at doing these types of light Hallmark rom-coms. Tyler Hynes is fine although I wish that he is a couple of inches taller. Maybe he can wear lifts to level up to Barrell. All the car repairs and TV competition stuff is a little less. Simply put, I wouldn't watch this TV show if it's a real thing. This is fine.

The leads were not a good match and had no chemistry. The female lead was not even likeable, much less appealing. I didn't buy their relationship for a second and am not sure why she was cast in that role. When they were skating they looked silly. I think that Julie Gonzalo would have been a much better choice as she and Tyler Hynes have great chemistry together. I also didn't buy the guy playing Tyler Hyne's father. The get to know you segment on the tv show was super cringey even for a Hallmark movie. I actually think just about any other female in the Hallmark universe would have been a better fit for the female lead than the one they cast.

6.8 stars.

Whenever Hallmark does one of these reality tv show attempts, it usually falls flat. I can't recall many that worked for me. Something about how they incorporate the elements of a reality tv show (in this case it's competition show about remodeling classic cars and showing off auto mechanic skills), comes off as really cheesy and fake.

This woman is supposedly the best mechanic around and helps her dad run his shop. The man is played by Hynes and he does the same schtick that is displayed in almost half of his roles: bad boy, biker, blue-collar, cool as a cucumber...In this story he supposedly wronged her many years back, but he feels bad and she has some minor struggles dealing with it. But she seems to get over it pretty fast. Of course they are both contestants in the competition.

This is a slightly below average attempt for me. It's unfortunate, because I really like both actors a whole bunch, but the chemistry is non-existent. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

I have seen way better movies than this one. The last five minutes was the best of the whole movie. I was greatly disappointed that I wasted my time on this one. In my opinion Tyler Hynes hasn't played in a good movie in a while. The story was choppy and sloppy.

There was no chemistry with Tyler and Katherine in the movie, perhaps because there was basically no story line.

As far as the restoring of cars, well that was choppy and just plain silly in my opinion.

I think Hallmark could do a whole lot better. Get new writers if this is the best you can do.

I think the writers on this story got an F.