My Sweet Austrian Holiday

6.3 stars.

I worked my way through this story with much patience and low expectations. It has fairly low ratings after all, not in the five zone, but just barely in the six. This indicates, generally speaking, a hit or miss scenario. In this case, it's a big miss for achieving average status and fits securely in the take-it-or-leave-it category, but at least it's better than the could-care-less movies that are actually rare (under 6.0).

So yes, this is below average for sure, it's about as cookie-cutter as can be, and it's about chocolate and about a real estate tycoon who is buying out a building and a person who is trying to save their business. It's probably the most used plot of Hallmark films.

I thought Will Kemp and Brittany Bristow had great chemistry as Charlotte and Henry who randomly meet at a charity. The two develop a friendship over chocolate. Charlotte is trying to save her grandmother's chocolate shop which she inherited. The problem, a development company has bought up the entire block...with Charlotte being the only hold out as she desperately tries to get her shop historical status. What Charlotte doesn't know is that it's Henry's company that is trying to buy her shop...oh! And she is trying to win a chocolate competition.

I was a little weirded out that Austria was filled with Brits and Canadians. Where were the Austrians? This did seem a little derivative, but I just like Will Kemp so much I enjoyed it anyway.

I used to really like Brittany Bristow in her earlier films. But for the last few years, it hasn't been the same. Will Kemp is OK, but no more than that for me. I thought he was very stiff and seemed uncomfortable with Brittany in this movie. And this is really too bad, because the plot was certainly one of the most oft repeated Hallmark templates ever. Sometimes, I can put up with that if the movie has some good dialogue or some amusing little additions, or some good acting or other charms. This was strictly by the book, including dumbness on the part of both the female and male leads. Although the foreign setting of "Austria" (Really Bulgaria) did add some interest. Will didn't tell the truth, the old lack of communication leading to the last 15 minute bust up, And Brittany taking way too long to figure out who he was and to find proof of her stores historical significance. It didn't offend me, just bored me, so a generous 5 out of 10.

I like Wil Kemp and Brittany Bristow. The storyline is like Kimberley Sustad and Paul Campbell - Starlight Cafe. That movie had some energy behind it. This movie had no flicker of chemistry between Kemp and Bristow at all. The surrounding characters had to tell us there was a spark. I do, I really do like Brittany Bristow but her romantic scenes leave alot to be desired in every movie I have watched. Kissing scenes she looks like she is throwing up a wall of defence, as if her husband was watching. Also the chocoalate tempering scene fails to be realistic. Not one of the better Bristow family projects.

The name of the movie implies that it's in Austria, and all the landscape shots are set in Austria. But someone had the dumb idea to edit the movie to be based in Quebec City in the Canadian version. All online reviews state that the main character moves from Cincinnati to Vienna to take over her grandparents chocolate shop. But in the version I watched here in Canada they changed it to she's from Vancouver and went to Quebec City, problem is that the outdoor scenes doesn't even come close to looking like Quebec City (except for the opening shot of chateau Frontenac). Even the overdubbed voices and the many mention of Quebec is said when that character has their back to the camera. If the Movie was supposed to be based in Quebec then why keep the Austrian name of the movie?