South Beach Love

I am an avid Hallmark movie watcher. I always look forward to the premieres each Saturday. I have to say... This production seemed a little... off. The storyline was interesting and the acting was on point, but I think the location was problematic. The sound at some of the locations had major echoes and it made it difficult to understand the dialogue. Also, I don't know whether this director is someone who has directed a lot of these, but it seemed like there were so many tight, close up shots and it was very distracting. Honestly, between the sound and the visuals, I didn't make it past the first half hour.

While a lot of the 2021 Hallmark films really surprised me, especially in the early half of the year and the best of the Christmas output, the quality did decrease in a lot of the second half of the year. Was not crazy about most of the Summer Nights films and the same goes for most of the Fall Harvest output ('Love Strikes Twice' being by quite some considerable distance the best of the block). Am not the biggest of fans of Taylor Cole, have seen performances of hers where she comes over as cold, so expectations were not high.

The good news is that 'South Beach Love' was a good deal better than expected, and while it is not 'Love Strikes Twice' level it is one of the more watchable 2021 Fall Harvest films. The not so good news is that 'South Beach Love' is also not particularly good, though the aspect that left me most apprehensive was actually surprisingly a redeeming quality. It is not one of the worst 2021 Hallmark films, nowhere near close, though it is a long way from being one of the best. Middle of the road.

'South Beach Love' has good things. It is a very attractive looking film, especially the suitably exotic looking scenery that the slick photography was clearly in love with (without being too much so). The setting is not a novel one, but Hallmark have done it quite well in other films of theirs and there are parts that were fun. Was very pleasantly surprised by the cultural aspect of the film, it was nice to see some and it was done tastefully and makes one want to know more without resorting to stereotyping.

Another aspect that pleasantly surprised me was the performance of Cole, who is not the cold ice queen that she can be in her films but there is a warm charming presence here and she always look at ease. The supporting cast are above average.

However, William Levy struck me as very wooden in a role where the extreme flaws of the character made it difficult to warm to him initially. He and Cole don't gel together and the chemistry between them is minimal at best and non existent at worst. The banter between them lacks wit and flow and comes over instead as overdone in the amount of talk and bland in the delivery. Which is true of the dialogue in general actually.

Moreover, the story is very predictable and thin, which made for some very draggy pacing. Charm and emotion are minimal. Found it very difficult to connect with any of the characters, especially Levy's, due to them not being very well fleshed out and having motivations and behaviours that don't ring true. Do agree regarding the very echoey sound and repetitive music score as well.

Concluding, very average but worth a one time watch for Hallmark completest sake. 5/10.

After the brilliant breath of fresh air which Loves Strikes Twice was (the movie that aired the week before), this was right back to the formulaic rubbish that Hallmark has been turning out since Larry Levinson's departure. Boring story, lackluster performances, and a lame attempt to widen the demographic audience.

Hallmark seriously needs to look at their product. They could start by reading the IMDb reviews of Love Strikes Twice, and see what people really want.

Taylor Cole is one of my favorite Hallmark actresses and William Levy is muy caliente but this movie is a no for me. The lighting was HORRIBLE - like it literally hurt my eyes. And the guitar music was tinny. This should have been sultry and steamy but felt cold and glaring. Oh well.

Sara and Tony are both chefs. He works in a fancy restaurant in NYC and she has her own thing back home in Florida. Their nieces are having their 15th birthday ad they both cooking for them. At the same time, they are competing to win a cover in a magazine that is featuring foods in parties.

I liked it. I enjoy watching Taylor Cole. I wasn't sure about Levy's acting at first but I thought he and Cole had chemistry and the pair was enough for me. It's true though that it was hard to understand him, he barely opened his mouth. Even for me, that I speak both English and Spanish, it was hard to get my ear used to his accent.

One thing I liked how they portraited: the mothers going crazy at their daughters celebration. Thinking mostly about anything other than them.

One thing I didn't like: the nieces. They were supposed to be 15 years old but, to me they looked like they had 15 years of experience in the business.

I liked the "pre-ending problem" I understood why he felt like he needed to help her, and I understood why she refused his help. It felt realistic.

Anyway, average Hallmark movie.