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.

Honestly the dog named Sam was the best part of this film...and that is no slight to the actors, the dog is just that charming.

Kyra has a pretty simple check list... get job at natural grocer, get employee of the month, become a buyer, promote her own product, find the perfect guy. Oh! And she has a list for the requirements of the perfect guy...including gluten-free, stable, etc. When she meets someone she thinks checks all the boxes, she discovers he is a dog person and between her and her friend they over sell that not only does kyra have a dog (which she doesn't) but that her dog is an agility trained "super pup".

This is how Kyra meets both Sam and Kevin, who is the owner of a shelter and becomes Kyra and Sam's private trainer.

If you are both a romantic and a dog lover...this is the movie for you. Both funny and fun loving, our heroine was not only goal driven, but able to make fun of herself.

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.

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.

I rated this movie 4. That's 2 for Marcus Rosner and 2 for the dog.

I have seen Marcus in many movies and he always delivers, good actor, good leading man.

As for Andrea Brooks, to my knowledge I have not seen her in anything. I found her character to be very annoying. Too perky and juvenile for words, giggle giggle. But she fits in with the rest of the cast, they act like they are in junior highschool, giggle giggle.

Lame script, lame acting, lame ending. Marcus was great, Nova the dog was great. But they could not carry the film alone. I look forward to seeing them in other movies.

I watched the whole painful minute of this film reluctantly.

But Hallmark is going to have to drastically improve their scripts to make up for the mass exodus, and this film is not going to help.

My advice: suitable family film, but don't insult your children's intelligence by making them watch this.

Give it a miss.