Deux billets pour le paradis

I looked forward to this movie. Ashley Williams always brings something special to the screen in energy and joy. Ryan Paevey is also always a sure thing. The premise of both-stood-up and go-on-the-honeymoon-anyway sounded like a good one. Even a little unusual. And for the most part, my expectations were met with a but.

Near the end someone says something like "I'm not sure what I think about that." Well that's how I feel about the messages the characters were saying toward the end of the movie. These Hallmark movies and their clones have messages. They may not always be deeply profound, but there are messages. In this movie, I think they were confused and possibly even contradictory.

There was chemistry between Williams and Paevey. But there were some little disconnects also, intentional ones. There were a lot of funny lines and situations. There was a lot of breathtaking scenery.

I Tweeted during the movie: Dear Hallmarkchannel, please make text messages bigger, at least twice as big. Hannah was laughing at a series of them and I never got the joke because even with rewind and pause, I couldn't read them all. That is so frustrating.

Perhaps next time I watch this in a year or so, it will make more sense, but despite some good fun, the feeling I was left with was confusion.

Say "Hallmark movie" and you almost immediately can guess the progression of the plot. That's not a criticism as it's always in the execution. And this particular show executes well with a man and a woman who meet after being jilted on their wedding day and end up at the same honeymoon hotel in Hawaii. Yeah, you can guess what happens. But Ashley Williams is so FUNNY and delightful that you almost forget this is a Hallmark movie. Whether it's weeping uncontrollably in a bathroom, freaking out at a Haunted Hawaii tour or estimating the risks associated with jumping off a waterfall (she's an actuary) Ashley is a lot of fun. Paevy has an easygoing charm as her romantic foil and, for those who may be interested, actually takes off his shirt a couple of times.

Although I really like both these actors, I was worried that the two wouldn't be good together. But, they played off each other well. The movie was quite funny. We laughed a lot. The overall story was different than normal Hallmark, but really well done. Scenery was beautiful. For all the women out there, seeing Ryan Paevy with no shirt was a definite added benie.

It's kinda funny, but sad too, that we're so polarized these days, and that people will waste their time review-bombing a tv-movie because they're so afraid of reality.

They're mad that after years, even decades of bland, by-the-numbers, dated storylines, Hallmark is finally embracing reality and including gay characters in their movies.

And what's so funny -- and ironic -- is these terrified folks have no idea how many of Hallmark's (and any other soap opera-type channel's) LEADING MEN are in fact gay, including some of their most popular. On top of that, some are publicly out -- like Peter Porte, Luke MacFarlane and Jonathan Bennett -- and not ashamed or afraid of what anyone thinks of their orientation.

Having said that, it's indeed sad that there are still people out there who have been taught to condemn, shame, and even disown their own children, simply for loving someone of their own sex. They didn't choose to be gay, it's not a "lifestyle choice"...yet they're cast out because they're different. But that too is changing big time. Fewer and fewer people every year are going to these evangelical churches and believing all the bigotry and hate.

So go ahead, downvote all you like. That won't change the FACT that the overwhelming majority of the public is not only not afraid of gay people, they have gay friends and acquaintences they love -- and enjoy movies like this one where Hallmark is starting to embrace what has always been a small percentage of the population.

Thank you Hallmark for making an effort with movies like this, to include characters that represent everyone. And also for hiring gay actors who aren't ashamed of their orientation. This movie was pretty damn good, especially compared to all the cheesy Christmas fluff.

I enjoyed this movie. Ryan Paevey and Ashley Williams did a nice job with this Hallmark show.

They really didn't sizzle together, but were still fun.

There were a couple of miscast characters. Becca was decidedly boring and Hanna's mother looked younger than Ashley Williams.

Ryan Paevey was mighty easy on the eyes and was a shirtless treat. The story was a pleasant departure from the usual Romcom fare. Thank you Hallmark.