Marry Me in Yosemite

This movie was pretty good. The plot is a professional city girl needs a seasoned/ rugged tour guide for a book project with a deadline. This story was pretty basic and somewhat predictable but both of the lead actors (Cindy Busby and Tyler Harlow) were both really good. They do a lot of outdoor activities together while researching for a book about Yosemite. She does the pictures/photographs and he is the expert for the story. There were a few hiccups that the characters had to work on and get thru, but they seemed to have fun with the plot/script. The scenery was very beautiful. The film looked great and the outdoor movies are always like another character in the film.

Didn't Cindy Busby just do this? Photojournalist. Wilderness. Personal guide.

A lot of Hallmark movies have breathtaking scenery. This one ranks right up there. The climbers on the cliff face add an awesome touch.

Conservation of nature and some tragic history of Native Americans is a big part of the movie. There's also a lot of talk about stories. Unfortunately, the overall story of this movie is overwhelmed by the scenery and quest for the perfect photo. There aren't a lot of story highs or lows and almost no tension.

The conflict came out of nowhere and seemed contrived as did the ending even though the overall outcome couldn't be anything other than what it was.

I haven't noticed Cindy Busby with so much emphatic gesturing in what I've seen of her in the past. She is exuberant too. This is a good role for her. She connected with Tyler Harlow but not with much spark.

As a professional photographer this movie is very flawed. Middle of the day glare is not what pro photographers strive for. Backpacking and sleeping in a tent lead to capturing the greatest exposures at sunrise, not in the harsh light portrayed. A coffee table book is made with multiple exposures over time, not just one click and you have it. This could have been so much better with even slight adjustments and thoughts to these details. Cindy's character would have come off so much more mature, and more in keeping with the groundedness of someone who lives in nature. Also, when holding a camera it should not be slightly tilted when creating a landscape image. And don't crop off the top of a mountain!

6.4 stars.

My best description of "Marry Me in Yosemite" is a dramatization of two people that got caught in the middle of a documentary as part of a campaign to preserve a national park. I could use a bunch of political terms like climate change and going green, and all that good stuff, but let's not forget there is a cheesy Hallmark romance intertwined in this save the planet promo which has been communicated to us by a random assortment of park ranger who is granddaughter to native American sports and camping gear shop owner at Yosemite National Park, and his great, great grandfather was one of the original natives who lived in the park and was acquainted with John Muir who wrote famous books about the park and other natural wonders in America and this and that. Enter this gorgeous female stranger to the park, from the big city who wants to be like Ansel Adams and take great pics and publish it all in a coffee table book, and she meets a guy who lives alone in the woods in a small house near the park, a hermit type, and he takes the role as her guide so they can create the perfect story for her book. Only problem is he is a fanatical scientific save the earth sort of guy and she is an artistic writer. They don't mesh.

This film is about nature and mountains and Yosemite National park. The romance and the people are secondary. Like it's said more than once in this film: this is the animals' home, we are the visitors. Blah, blah, blah. I love animals, I believe we should save them, but don't try to masquerade a Hallmark movie behind the agenda. My response is: ok, but we are also visiting this movie, and nobody is home.

Cindy Busby has done this movie before. I found her character both clueless and selfish. The conflicts they tried to set up were resolved within the same scene repeatedly. Can she find the reclusive guide (haven't seen him in weeks. But hey, complete stranger, here's directions to his house.) (No I will not help you. Ten seconds later: Okay sure I'll help, but I can't start until next week. Okay I'll start tomorrow.) The script was sorely lacking. There was no palpable chemistry between the leads. If my son hadn't visited Yosemite this summer (we asked him many times, did you see this?) the movie wouldn't have been worth watching. But the scenery was great.