A Very Venice Romance

"Cooking should be like love, entered into with abandon."

Packaged meals to your home that are loaded with supplements is what the company Blossom sells and Amy is tasked with finding a new chef once theirs quits. Amy has her heart set on an Italian chef named Marcelo, only he hangs up on her when she calls. Not willing to take no for an answer, Amy flies all the way to Venice and signs up for Marcelo's Italian cooking class.

Raniero Monaco Di Lapio, who plays Marcello Barone, is super handsome and has wonderful chemistry with the female lead, played by Stephanie Leonidas. He and the gorgeous Italian backdrop are the big selling points of this film, but I really enjoyed the Italian soundtrack which had some lovely pop numbers in it.

More than just one setting the footage allows you to take a mini-armchair vacation, which as the weather turns for fall is not only needed but absolutely lovely. I highly recommend this to my fellow romantics out there who might like a sunset kiss under the Bridge of Sighs, where one can be blessed with eternal love.

If you are a lover or food and travel, this is the movie for you! The movie is mainly set in Venice and beautifully shot. It is easy to fall in love with the lead characters Amy and Marcello who have terrific chemistry. The strong ensemble cast puts the movie head and shoulders above the usual Hallmark romcom, and notably includes the highly acclaimed British actress, Francis Barber. The movie is like a warm hug on a cold day. It may not be action packed but it is nothing short of charming. The characters are genuine, likeable and compelling, and the acting is superb all round. The score is also unique in that it has orchestral soundscapes as sweeping as the drone shots - again not often seen in Hallmark movies of the week. Overall, this is a feel good movie worth the watch.

I've been to Venice so, I was really keen on watching this movie. As luck would have it, the show aired tonight. The scenery of Venice is stunning and I enjoyed the cooking romantic angle. It was fun to see the Bridge of Sighs and St. Mark's Square, and the Murano glass blowing, though I wish they would have shown the inside of the Doge's palace as the great hall is stunning yet intimidating with it's wall-size paintings by Titian. So I was really wanting this to be a great movie. Just like one of my other favorities: A Christmas in Rome with Lacey Chabert and Samuel Paige. But somehow I found the two leads Amy (Stephanie Leonidas) and Marcello (Raniero Monaco Di Lapio) lacking the chemistry. Their interaction seemed stiff and any conversation seemed scripted. I have to say though, I hope to see Raniero in more movies, as he is a top grade "A" hunk. Like I said, the story angle is all about cooking, and it was nice to see that whole cooking school top chef sort of thing, but Italian style. And - we even get to see the culinary creations after each lesson. I liked the effort that the production crew put in to making this part believable, though they really need to tone down the background music, which at times was a tad cheesy with its obvious nod to all things Italy, but also very loud, often drowning out the dialogue. Good music is essential but not when it becomes the "star" of the show. Of course there is always a bit of drama and the big misunderstanding (or in this case a career-driven Amy chooses her job in NY over Amore in Italia). Overall it was a nice trip down memory lane and everyone will enjoy the magic of Venice as the backdrop. I recommend it as a pretty good romantic escape.

The views of Venice make this movie. As for the plot, it's a typically predicable Hallmark movie plot about two people who clash a little and then find their mural attraction too much to resist. The woman works for a business that adds supplements to prepared meals. The main chef quits so she needs to hire a new chef and decides on a terrific Italian chef. When he wasn't positive to her advances over the phone, she decided that she has to fly to Venice to see him in person to make her pitch. Little things bother me and this one had the female star in NYC in the afternoon calling the man who is in Venice. She says to her father "I have to call now because it's morning in Venice". NOT. Venice is 6 hours ahead of Eastern time so afternoon in NYC is nighttime in Venice, not morning.

Once again, Hallmark takes us to a romantic location, in the intent to add flavor to an otherwise unoriginal love story. This time is wonderful Venice, and the production creates a better feeling of authenticity than that seen in other cultural salads recently proposed to their viewers. Amy enrolls in Venetian Chef Marcello Favero's, erroneously listed as Marcello Barone in these credits, culinary course, trying to obtain his collaboration in the production of a ready made health food line her company would produce. Their interaction generates reciprocal attraction, with predictable outcome. The movie provides a generally realistic feeling of every day life in Venice and offers ample views of the unique beauties of the city and the surrounding landscapes. The chemistry between the lead characters feels genuine and the overall romantic story is reasonably sweet. As an Italian born viewer, yet, I cannot help pointing out details that stray from a real Venetian experience and suggests, once more, that Hallmark productions do not spend enough efforts in understanding cultures and, one way or another, miss the veracity mark. As the movie was actually filmed in Venice, would it have been so difficult to avail of real Venetian consulting and or acting support?

For one, it is , at least, strange that a great Venetian Chef would include making pizza as one of the tasks in a short culinary course. Then, the accent of the Chef, purportedly of true Venetian descent, is markedly central-Italian, including his rendition of the English language, which is surprising, as the actor was, reportedly, raised in London. The few street or marked vendors seen in the movie do, also, speak Italian with a heavy southern accent. Nearly not a single person appearing in the movie shows any Venetian inflection. The background music seems the choice of an American with southern-Italian origins and would be more appropriate for a plot cast in, let's say, Naples.

I found particularly horrifying the scenes of an Italian Chef sampling long-cut pasta dishes by filling his mouth with huge forkfuls, sucking it up, Chinese-style, biting the edges off and spitting them in the plate. Any minimally educated Italian would pick a moderate quantity and roll it well on the fork, so it would easily fit in the mouth, and would consider any other way as bovine, bad manners.

These details aside, the film is fairly entertaining and the photography is attractive enough. The production is simple, with good sentiments and nothing objectionable, making it a suitable viewing for the entire family.