Just Add Romance

Hallmark has made plenty of cooking romances but I truly loved this one. A nice story and good played. I was happily surprised. You should watch it for an evening with your friend.

Yet another winner from Hallmark: loved it from beginning to end!

The best thing about Just Add Romance is that it's almost a satire of Food Network's show Chopped, even down to the other contestants being familiar archetypes: one is out of their depth, one is vivacious and positive, one is cynical and jaded, and one is arrogant and self-satisfied. It's a nice touch when the contestants all end up liking and respecting each other in spite of the competition.

Also different from other Hallmark movies is that the two protagonists realize they like each other almost from the beginning, rather than finally figuring it out at the very end. The plot revolves around their efforts to keep the romance going in spite of their different cooking styles and competing against each other.

Go Hallmark Go!

It's nice to see some fresh faces in a Hallmark film here, with Meghann Fahy in particular shining,

This film though is a bit let down by its own premise - we know that both the leads will make it through to the final of the cooking show otherwise there's no film. This robs it of drama a little.

I did think the leads had nice chemistry though, and that there were some nice moments.

Good overall.

Luke MacFarlane never disappoints, he always delivers a stellar performance, Meghan Fahy was new to me, but she did a marvelous job too. Great chemistry.

Very good movie. Worth multiple viewings.

My advice - watch this movie.

Kelly (Meghann Fahy) and Jason (Luke Macfarlane) compete on a famed cooking show for the chance to win their own restaurant, but can they find a balance between showing off their culinary skills and confronting their emerging affection for each-other?

'Just Add Romance' is perhaps not always the most exciting or fast paced of the Hallmark movies, the resolution at the end of the film is pretty easy to pick right from the start, and it even covers quite a lot of ground that all those real TV cooking shows already do! Also, frequent Hallmark junkies, you'll need to decide if you're happy with one of the regular 'no kissing before the finale' rules possibly being broken!

But even in its slowest moments, Luke Macfarlane is, of course, charming as always and really an old pro at this sort of thing now with so many HM films on his resume, and the newcoming lady Meghann Fahy (such exquisite eyes!) already shows a lovely screen presence, and she will likely get even warmer in these roles if she gets to make more HM flicks in the future.

Special mention should also go to Brittney Wilson, who plays the dorky blonde TV assistant with the glasses, as she deserves to get a lead role in her very own HM flick!

A nice film, completely held up at all times by the superior cast, and a very reliable option for those seeking an easy-going Hallmark love-fest.