Two Tickets to Paradise

Say "Hallmark movie" and you almost immediately can guess the progression of the plot. That's not a criticism as it's always in the execution. And this particular show executes well with a man and a woman who meet after being jilted on their wedding day and end up at the same honeymoon hotel in Hawaii. Yeah, you can guess what happens. But Ashley Williams is so FUNNY and delightful that you almost forget this is a Hallmark movie. Whether it's weeping uncontrollably in a bathroom, freaking out at a Haunted Hawaii tour or estimating the risks associated with jumping off a waterfall (she's an actuary) Ashley is a lot of fun. Paevy has an easygoing charm as her romantic foil and, for those who may be interested, actually takes off his shirt a couple of times.

Although I really like both these actors, I was worried that the two wouldn't be good together. But, they played off each other well. The movie was quite funny. We laughed a lot. The overall story was different than normal Hallmark, but really well done. Scenery was beautiful. For all the women out there, seeing Ryan Paevy with no shirt was a definite added benie.

Hannah Holt (Ashley Williams) and Josh Wyatt (Ryan Paevey) are both dumped on their wedding days. They happen to meet soon after and are thrust together by coincidences time and again until they coincidentally find themselves staying at the same Hawaiian hotel. Having shared the same fate, they commiserate. The chemistry between these two is good, and individually the two characters are very likable.

Since this is a Hallmark romance, the eventual ending is no surprise, but the journey getting there is filled with spectacular Hawaiian scenery and lighthearted fun.

Watch for Kimee Balmilero who plays the part of the spunky hotel employee, Kailani, adding energy to her scenes and serving as an unofficial Hawaiian ambassador. The island of Oahu looks so inviting. Anyone for shave ice?

Fun Summer Nights movie with a great cast dynamic -definitely thought Ashley and Ryan had a fun and enjoyable chemistry. I wouldn't mind seeing both of them together again in future Hallmark movies.

I looked forward to this movie. Ashley Williams always brings something special to the screen in energy and joy. Ryan Paevey is also always a sure thing. The premise of both-stood-up and go-on-the-honeymoon-anyway sounded like a good one. Even a little unusual. And for the most part, my expectations were met with a but.

Near the end someone says something like "I'm not sure what I think about that." Well that's how I feel about the messages the characters were saying toward the end of the movie. These Hallmark movies and their clones have messages. They may not always be deeply profound, but there are messages. In this movie, I think they were confused and possibly even contradictory.

There was chemistry between Williams and Paevey. But there were some little disconnects also, intentional ones. There were a lot of funny lines and situations. There was a lot of breathtaking scenery.

I Tweeted during the movie: Dear Hallmarkchannel, please make text messages bigger, at least twice as big. Hannah was laughing at a series of them and I never got the joke because even with rewind and pause, I couldn't read them all. That is so frustrating.

Perhaps next time I watch this in a year or so, it will make more sense, but despite some good fun, the feeling I was left with was confusion.