All Summer Long

This movie was so much fun! It looked great -- the production values were first rate. The cast had wonderful chemistry and the writing was witty. I think the cast and crew hit it out of the park with this one. It's the best Hallmark film I've seen in a while!

This lame effort is saved by the appeal and the talents of the two stars, Autumn Reeser and Brennan Elliot. As always, their superior acting skills saved the day. They are very engaging with whomever they are paired with and it's about time they were paired together. I was not disappointed. i just wish they had been given a better vehicle worthy of their talents. And I got to say that "Admiral" character gave me the creeps for some reason. Also, a shout out to Christopher Russell, who played the romantic rival for Autumn's affection. He was her leading man in one of my very favorite Hallmark Romances, Midnight Masquerade.

Trivia comments mention Mariners tickets and the film being in San Francisco, CA where the baseball team would be the Giants. Tia and her dad live in Seattle, WA based on the wide shot of The Space Needle just before she speaks to him about a leave of absence. When she was speaking with her Uncle Roland she mentioned flying down to see him, in San Francisco, based on those wide shots. Hence, Mariners season tickets for her dad in Seattle.

Good movie, good plot. Although typical Hallmark, but that's not a bad thing.

One thing I kept bumping into, Autumn Reeser looked ridiculous strutting around in the captain's uniform, no realism in her role as captain, there are some actresses who could pull off portraying a woman in a man's role, but it's not Autumn. Also there was no chemistry between Reeser and Elliottt.

In spite of the problems I noted above, great job was done by all. They managed to overcome the issues and were able to created a very watchable movie.

My advice: watch the movie, it's good family film,

Considering the elements of a great cast and the theme of boating... what could go wrong? Simple, Hallmark once again has no eye for detail.

Hallmark has a way of messing up some obvious details to the point where it can spoil watching it. Note Hallmark people... when you mess up things like this, it pulls the viewer out of the movie and can just be frustrating.

Some examples:

• There really is a difference between sailing and managing a large motor yacht. Having the lead female suddenly become captain of a large and antique motor boat simply because she has a lot of experience sailing just would never work in the real world. These are totally different skills sets.

• The boat never went out for a shakedown cruise. It didn't appear to leave the dock until it was fully loaded with paying guests. This would never happen in real life. Note Hallmark... check with an experienced person now and then. My wife and thought that it was totally ridiculous to have the boat not go though numerous trial runs before launching for business.

• Location: You goofed up again and the fix would have been totally simple. Theoretically the boat was based around San Francisco... but nothing in the area being filmed looked remotely like the SF Bay. You had the lead character travel from Seattle down to SF to manage the boat, instead, had you reversed this, it would have worked. Having a location which looks like where it is filmed matters.

• They are starting a new business yet the lead characters keep going off for picnics and other social outings. Really? If I had owned this boat, I would have fired the lead two people and picked employees who are serious about work.

Hallmark makes enjoyable escapist fare, but these continual goofs keep harming the viewing experience.