A Scottish Love Scheme

7.3 stars.

Scoping out my thoughts, looking in from the outside, honestly I'm not in love with 'A Scottish Love Scheme'. The love factor is very minor, it's more like this should be named 'Girls trek to Scotland'. The girls are a mom and daughter combo, traveling to Scotland to see mom's old friend and family. Mom grew up in Scotland, has a full blown accent, there is no question about that aspect. Daughter (Durant) tags along, meets the old best friend lady and her family, falls in love with one of her three sons. What's not to love about this movie? I don't know, it's a bit too slow and maybe a mite depressing, if I'm being honest. The love portion is too clunky, maybe the leads lack attraction for each other, it's just not very believable.

I've seen tons of Hallmark movies. Maybe almost all of them. I'm not a critic or reviewer. I watch Hallmark movies to feel better and enhance my life. In my view this is one of the best written, casted, and acted ones ever. Kudos. Meaningful. Believable. If you choose to watch it I hope you enjoy. The photography/cinematography is also great. Dialog is spot on. The acting is excellent. The characters are believable and well played. Feelings are well portrayed. Hard to beat the scenery. Erica Durance, Jordan Young, and the entire cast is wonderful. Believable. Pretty muck the same Hallmark movie equation, but refreshing and not totally predictable.

I felt the energy/chemistry was fine between Erica Durance (LILY) and Jordan Young (LOGAN). Since Lily just had her life upended by a divorce and Logan was still grieving the loss of his wife I wouldn't have expected sparks to be flying. Especially given logan has a son to protect and and Lily's going to Spain for six months they aren't looking for a relationship. Both admit that they are cautious about taking their friendship anyplace given where they are in life. I would expect given that they're middle-aged that they are sensible enough not to jump into a relationship but take relationships seriously. I felt the casting was great and especially loved the moms: Jo Cameron Brown and Juliet Cadzo.

I enjoyed this sweet story, and it was nice that is wasn't the same cookie-cutter Hallmark movie. The scenery was lovely and made me want to visit Scotland. Unfortunately I was not a fan of the main character Lily, who came across as emotionless to me. That may have been because her entire face was immobilized by Botox, and she had literally the same expression when showing surprise, laughter, and sorrow. It was very off-putting and I found it hard to concentrate on what she was saying. I enjoyed the sincerity of the male lead and his son, and there was a lot of chemistry with most of the cast.

Lily (Erica Durance) leaves her job at a brewery with the intention of becoming a professional photographer. But first she travels with her mother to Haddington, Scotland for some time with the Campbell family, who run a whisky distillery there. Her mother has ulterior motives for the visit that Lily is unaware of.

Haddington is a beautiful, small town that offers small shops surrounded by plenty of greenery, stone bridges, friendly pubs, and an aged charm. Lily reacquaints herself with her camera, snapping many shots of family and friends in and around Haddington.

Logan Campbell (Jordan Young), who heads the family distillery, spends time with Lily while attempting to alleviate the company's financial problems. Lily offers her marketing expertise, so they develop feelings for each other.

Besides the beautiful scenery, this Hallmark romance includes some wonderful, atmospheric music. If you cannot visit Scotland, this is one way to enjoy its culture and beauty.