Romance to the Rescue

This one falls right in the middle of Hallmark Channel movies. Nothing stands out to elevate it above the pack, and it's not so bad that it can be considered unwatchable, even for Hallmark standards. The story/plot/script is moribund (another single woman with a list of traits that make a perfect mate, and she'll settle for nothing less than a man who checks all the boxes), and it relies too much on the cuteness of the dog to carry the day. Throw in a co-worker who is openly hostile for no apparent reason and keeps calling her a name I can't understand (Keener?), and this one climbs onto the pile of movies not worth watching again. I had high hopes for this one, but they were dashed.

We love dogs, have two rescue dogs and would have been delighted at a half-decent Hallmark film on this subject. We were so open to this movie being good. But it wasn't even close.

Andrea Brooks giggles constantly as the lead romantic female, substituting "giggle giggle giggle" for more nuanced acting. Neither my wife nor I could develop any affection or empathy for her empty=headed character as she cluelessly encounters the world of dogs and competitive agility training.

Everything is so wrong about this movie. The rescue center manager (the male romantic interest) shows up to inspect her house for suitability for a rescue dog AFTER the dog has been placed in her home -not before, as it is done in real life. He walks into her living room, which has been torn up by the newly adopted dog, and after giving her some basic coaching about owning a dog he announces that her place looks fine. What, no inspection to see whether her backyard has a fence ?-which is the primary thing that real-life rescue organizations look for when they inspect a home. Nope, he seemingly just wanted to see her pretty face.

The couple takes the dog to a veterinarian and has an out-of world experience. The vet comes outside the building to meet them, then takes the dog inside for examination. The couple remain outside on a park bench. The vet then walks outside the building to the park bench to discuss the results of the exam. The vet walks back inside the building, and then brings their dog out on a leash. Isn't that the way every vet visit is handled, LOL? Apparently, Hallmark needed to save money by not setting up any inside areas to look like a reception area or an examination room.

Anyone who does canine agility training in real life would be incensed at the way it is portrayed in the movie. A new owner, who doesn't know how to hold a leash when she walks the dog on a sidewalk is immediately walking the dog around a makeshift agility course -like once or twice -as training. Her boyfriend-to-be encourages the dog to go through a tunnel by crawling through it himself! Apparently that's all it takes -because they leave the dog with a friend and spend the next 10-12 hours walking around town eating ice cream, playing on the swings in the park and go to his house to watch a movie. Then suddenly it is time for the agility competition - and there, in front of an audience, is our giggly owner crawling through the plastic tunnel on the course to once-again encourage her dog! I mean, really?

The plot is filled with this kind of stupid nonsense in so many scenes. The rescue center doesn't keep their large dogs in crates or cages. They are kept behind 2-foot-high white picket fences that the dogs could jump over in a microsecond.

What is the point of having a dog-centric Hallmark movie if the script writers and director know less about owning dogs than 99% of their audience?

The reviewer who titles "Another One not worth watching" captures the essence of the story quite well. It is another story with no great highs or lows. But that's merely the story. By the way, the ending surprised me a little.

I watch these movies for the relationships especially when the story is more of the same old stuff. This one had two things going for it as far as the characters. Sam (not sure real name), the dog, was great and quite appealing. Sam was a perfect match for Andrea Brooks. They had similar personalities, for a canine and a human. Several reviewers commented how Andrea is in her first lead which I agree was long overdue. Her role as Kyra was charmingly upbeat and energetic Her chemistry with Marcus Rosner was good and they had a lot of screen time together.

The humor, especially in the early going was of the exaggerated or silly kind. Not usually my favorite, but I got a couple of laughs.

Another Hallmark semi-regular who I have yet to see get a lead is Lucie Guest. She always puts in a good performance.

I really wanted to love this one. I truly enjoy both of the leads and was excited to see Andrea Brooks as the star - she's had so many 2nd leads and has handled all of them very competently. But. Her character was so hyper/ silly throughout over half the movie that it was hard to focus on the plot. Marcus Rosner was excellent, as always, even though there were times when his reactions and lack of emotion were off-putting. I have to say, what was the director thinking? A waste of good talent. The story itself was fun - even more enjoyable due to "Sam" the dog's presence. Nice supporting cast.

One sticking point for me was a lack of attention to detail,etc. I know these are low budget films , but they should at least be handled so as not to insult the viewers' intelligence. A vet at a dog rescue wearing heels? Inappropriate attire isn't really new, I guess. Nobody cared that a store employee is making and selling competing dog treats - when the store is sponsoring the competition? And where was the ending? Easy to see that this one wasn't a priority. And where was even an attempt at chemistry? There'd be a flicker of interest and then a dead end. These are both good actors, so maybe direction was an issue.

Kind of worth the watch but without high expectations. Just try to watch for the fun moments, enjoy the dog and the scenery and the few nice interactions between the stars and realize that the end is going to be abrupt, certainly leaving most of us to wish there'd been more of something.

Marcus plays Kevin and Andrea plays Kyra. Kyra who is a type A person, tries to impress her soon-to-be boss by getting a dog (so wrong), Kevin is the owner of the shelter where Kyra adopts the adorable Sam.

So, not a very good start. Despite the awful plot, some things that don't make sense and the lame ending, I must admit I did enjoy it a bit.

This is by the book, classic Hallmark, people doing things for the wrong reasons, listening something they shouldn't, two white people with fancy lives despite having a job that isn't supposed to pay well (and maybe an adorable child, or in this case a dog) Now, some things that don't make sense: Kyra's house (she was supposed to be jobless), Kyra using heels in her house (really?), her mom, who looks like her sister and I could go on...

The ending was ridiculous, and hilarious (maybe not in a good way), kind of lame honestly. Speaking of ridiculous, the whole Kyra, Trevor and her colleague thing was stupid. Aren't they supposed to be adults? They seemed teenagers instead of grown-ups.

On the plus side, I thought Marcus and Andrea had chemistry and later I found out they are friends. Anyway, it was cute but I wouldn't watch it again.

PS: The dog playing Sam (I think it was Nova) was amazing, such a cute dog and quite a beautiful look as well.