A Greek Recipe for Romance

Last week I enjoyed, "Savoring Paris" and this week's movie in the series, "Passport to Love" was another enjoyable movie.

Although I haven't traveled yet to Greece, the scenery, the food, and the people reminded me of my favorite Greek restaurants over the years. The people are gracious hosts and the food is amazingly delicious. The movie captured the culture that we have experienced in Greek restaurants in the U. S. The leads in this movie were believable. I am thoroughly enjoying seeing the scenery in these Passport films. The conversations that the main characters have seem honest and believable.

Thank you, Hallmark for bringing differing world cultures to us in the U. S. I hope we can travel to Greece someday, but until then this movie has helped bring a bit of Greece to us.

I have always wanted to go to Greece & this gave me a beautiful, albeit brief, glance at the beautiful country, customs, & culture.

Unfortunately, that's about it. I could barely get past the actress who plays the mom's stiff acting (& how many times can you say, "YANNI"!?) or the fact that the makeup artist made the lead actress' face an entirely different color than her body. The ancillary characters were annoying as well, except for the mom's boyfriend who was fine & sweet.

The lead actor is beyond attractive & a decent performer, so I wouldn't mind seeing him again in some movies. The end.

I don't know what it is about Hallmark movies set in Greece that always fall short. This one was a fail. The storyline didn't kill it for me, though there were odd spots. The chemistry was off between the main characters. Their snark was too much. The scenery was lovely, but I couldn't handle the horrible acting. Not everyone but her mom and his friend were tough to watch. It felt quite a bit like everyone was reading from cards. It was stiff and not enjoyable to listen to. I will say, though, that the food looked delicious and made me hungry, and the scenery was the only positive for me.

It is not a rewatch.

The Passport to Love films this year have been very good - I always say that an on-location Hallmark is better than those where Canadian cities are standing in for more exotic locales - and "A Greek Recipe for Romance" is definitely not the exception to that rule.

Whilst the trope that propels this boy-meets-girl movie isn't exactly an original one, and you know exactly how it is going to end, the stunning Greek scenery and the sparkling performance by Danielle C. Ryan as American Abby, more than makes up for the bland storyline. If Ryan's effort here is anything to go by, Hallmark movies are in safe hands.

The Greek setting was lovely and more intimate than most. I enjoyed that they found Greek actors to play the roles and in particular I thought Rafael Kariotakis was well cast in the leading man role. He was handsome and engaging, exactly what you want in a romantic film.

The story is about Abby who visits her mom Jackie in Greece after being laid off from her big New York job. An opportunity arises for Abby, but she doesn't have any restaurant experience...until she is hooked up with the local Theo. Theo is has to reopen his diseased mother's restaurant in two weeks or loose his permits and location. The two initially clash, but then really start to come together for this joint cause. Unfortunately, Theo's father has other plans for him back in Athens and he isn't afraid to use a little sabotage.

I thought the leads we a lovely couple...I would have liked to feel more chemistry. I loved the more intimate Greek backdrop, and I loved the scene when Abby is walking home with the camera behind her along the cobblestones, it was lovely.

I love to armchair travel and I think fellow hallmark romantics will also enjoy it for that.