Love in Zion National: A National Park Romance

6.7 stars.

Nothing stands out as this being a re-watchable Hallmark duplicate of a duplicate plot. I feel sorry for Busby who is cast in most of the Hallmark national park, state park, outdoorsy movie sets. I can't differentiate between them after a while. Was this already done in 'Marry Me in Yosemite', or 'Warming up to You', or 'Chasing Waterfalls', or 'Love in the Forecast'? Take your pick. Here is a quote from my review of 'Chasing Waterfalls': "Trust your instincts, because YES, you've seen this movie before..."

This is a movie about a single woman who works at a museum, and let's face it she aint getting any younger (Busby looks really good for her age, actually). She goes on a hunt for a Native American artifact to complete a set of four vases that a money grubbing man is trying to claim and sell on the market (if and when he discovers the secret). It's an interesting plot, but it's too generic and lacks adventure and mystery. It's basically just a couple of people walking in the hills talking about lore and stuff and some quasi native history that is not believable. The park ranger's grandmother looks about 50 years old, and he's like 30.

I don't know, there is a lot of lost potential here. The end was good, however it's about preservation of Native American vases from hundreds of years ago, which had a lot of missed potential (like I said), but the romance was lacking. However, the cinematography was brilliant and the ending was uplifting enough for a higher rating than originally planned.

There are several negative reviews here that smash the movie for its concept, using the Anasazi, an ancient tribe, as a modern day inhabitant of the Utah area in and near Zion. So I will not comment on that, just say it represents fiction and discuss the movie itself.

Cindy Busby is Lauren, the Denver museum curator, she has a long attachment to Zion National Park from childhood when she would visit with her now deceased mother. Now an older lady has died and willed her three ancient Anasazi pottery pieces to the museum. But her grand nephew shows up, announces he will contest the will. He doesn't care about the historical value, he thinks they are worth a lot of money.

So Lauren studies the designs and figures the set had originally been four, one was missing and she would find it in a remote section of Zion, somehow this would also prevent the set being taken away. There she meets a park guide assigned to help her, and keep her safe, David Gridley as native American, Adam Proudstar.

Things develop from there, my wife and I really enjoyed the scenery, we had been to Zion but were not able to explore it much. The movie itself, it is OK but not particularly good. It was decent diversion after our usual Saturday evening steak dinner with a bottle of red Bordeaux, nothing more.

Streaming on Peacock.

These writers frequently mention the Anasazi ... referring to them as a current Native American tribe. If you're going to pick the name of a Native American tribe out of the hat, don't you think it would be a good idea to spend at least three minutes in research?

If they HAD, they'd have discovered the Anasazi were an ancient tribe and they would not have called themselves the Anasazi. That was a name assigned to them by later tribes who settled the area and came across the relics of the Anasazi civilization.

The Anasazi themselves completely disappeared circa 1000 years ago. So the park ranger character here would NOT be a member of the Anasazi tribe. The so-called Anasazi "vases" (obviously actually urns) would not be the rightful property of such a tribe since they have not existed in 1000 years.

Even though it's theorized that the Hopi and Pueblo might be some sort of descendants of some elements of the Anasazi, even that is only conjecture with no direct evidence.

How do I know about this? I wrote a flash fiction about the Anasazi a couple of years ago, and even to write 650 words, I spent a considerable time doing MY homework so I wouldn't butcher the subject as this movie does.

Outside of that, the writers even blew the legal side of contesting a will, lots of dialogue is just off, and the female lead's acting was unconvincing to me. Perky is no substitute for professional. The male lead was a bit wooden.

I gave an extra star for the scenery, otherwise I consider this film an utter failure.

Other reviewers have pointed out the cultural and historical mistakes rightfully. But I would like to point out the modern ones. The main character stays in a spacious lodge for one. She leaves, including for a trip of a week, without turning off the lights, locking the door, or even putting out the unneeded fire in the fireplace.

She and the park ranger never wear a hat for protection against the sun. They have no canteens of water or are seen staying hydrated. If I were going out in the wilderness for a week, I would charge up my cellphone, spotty reception or not. She did use it to take pictures with.

She also told the ranger she was taking only a few power bars for food. It also might have seemed more authentic to have at least a few Native American cast members as extras.

The inside of the grandmother's house looked like a modern suburban house. Many Native Americans living in rural isolation have a jerry-built home or an old trailer house. These are just a few thoughts off the top of my head. The scenery was the bet part.

IN A NUTSHELL: The romance is directed by Sam Irvin. The writing credits go to Jacob Cooney and Bryar Freed.

Assistant curator, Lauren, is out to prove a set of ancient vases belong to the Pueblo Nation. While in Zion, she meets Adam, a native Puebloan park ranger, who helps her on her mission.

THINGS I LIKED: I had never seen any of the actors in anything before. They all did a fine job and include Cindy Busby, David Gridley, Raquel Gardner, Michelle, Murphy, Monique Filips, Bourke Floyd, and Liam Woodrum.

Zion means "sanctuary." If you're hoping this movie will include a lot of beautiful scenery of the famous national park, you're in for a real treat. The cinematography is gorgeous.

The movie shows a passion for nature.

I appreciate that some of the characters work very hard to ensure some ancient artifacts are protected and restored to their rightful owners.

We learn a little bit about Indian culture.

It made me laugh that Lauren talked about how she grew up hiking around Zion National Park and knew her way around the national park, but then got lost within minutes. Ha ha Fun fact: Zion National Park is 229 square miles of beautiful red rock landscapes and vistas. It's one of the most filmed national parks in the USA.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Sadly, the Anasazi disappeared about 1000 years ago, so the plot line of the story doesn't actually work. I live in Las Vegas near a street called Anasazi! A few years ago, I visited a museum on the UNLV campus that showcased a number of Anasazi artifacts. I wonder why the writers chose to feature the Anasazi Native Americans, rather than an actual tribe that had living descendants today.

It drove me nuts how Cindy Busby mispronounced the name of the park.

The leading lady's character is a bit cocky and unlikeable.

The difference between the leading couple distracted me. He looked way younger than her. He's actually 32, although he looks much younger. Cindy Busby is 40 years old.

Some of the dialogue is not very good.

It always annoys me when characters hide things from each other and don't just communicate.

There was no chemistry between the leading couple. The final kiss was super forced.

The Kachina doll looked like it was bought out of a souvenir shop rather than a handmade artifact passed down through generations like we were supposed to believe.

Are hikers allowed to actually light fires in Zions National Park? I'm thinking no. That didn't seem believable.

It just looked like not much thought went into the details. For example, the Ranger and museum curator took off for a week-long trek in the park with just a little backpack. Where were their water bottles, food, and supplies?

She was staying in a big room somewhere on site and didn't bother to put out the fire in the fireplace right before leaving for a week-long trek in the park. Stuff like that bugs me. How about you?

It was said that some judge was going to decide on the case any minute now. Without all of the facts or witnesses? That's not how the law works.

Shouldn't the Park Ranger prohibit bad guys from removing artifacts from the park? It's hard to believe he's the only Ranger in the entire park.

As an author coach, I have several clients who write fantastic romantic comedies. I wish Hallmark would tap into their talents rather than try to rush a script through and miss all of the details that make a story rich and enjoyable.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: The movie is definitely clean enough for family viewing.

There's nothing really controversial or offensive in the content.

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