Polar Opposites

Yes, not one of the typical Hallmark movies, girl fresh from break up, mad at world, swears off men, meets nice guy, treats him badly etc etc love at end. Boring. Or old boyfriend comes back, new boy disappointed sulks away, she realizes new boy her soulmate. Little bit better.

This movie is none of that. The scenery is fantastic and different. The polar plunge is a real thing. So the premise of stowaway, and work of the dad a bit loose on reality and detail but remember this is a movie of about 1 hr 45 min, it needs to move along. It is a feel good, appreciate the setting and the engineering feat movie. And you learn about penquins. She meets a person who will help her. He is an engineer, formal not a "player". Friendly chemistry between them. Fish and Tarasiuk are two of my favourite actors. Both matching the character's backgrounds perfectly. Neither character had that buddy "on the phone" to bounce thoughts off of. Each was independent and relied on each other which made the union grow. You should watch, you will enjoy, unless you are one of those who likes the formula Hallmark movies. Definitely worth enjoying Rhiannon Fish and Markian Tarasiuk.

7.7 stars.

Not necessarily a film I would recommend for multiple viewings, but definitely one you must see once every 5-10 years.

Personally, I really enjoyed it. I like both of the lead actors; they give us their usual quality, and it was entertaining. The adventure is fulfilling as well. The romance is a slow burn, but sometimes it will suffice, as it does in this instance. Would have preferred a bit more of the romantic fire, but there is enough to keep us afloat, so to speak.

The plot is about a woman who is a stowaway on a cruise ship on its way to Antarctica. She is headed there because she is under the impression that her father is in trouble, possibly in danger. He is a scientist who studies penguins.

She meets an engineer on the ship who helps keep her hidden. They have an adventure on the journey, evading the crew. She eventually helps her dad and some penguins.

This movie is the full package, but you must love the lead actors, else you may be disappointed. I love Miss Fish, never been disappointed with any of her performances. She single-handedly elevates everything she does. I feel this would be a 6.7 if not for her presence.

A story about researching penguins is important. They are the Canary and the coal mine for our generation. Their food sauce is rapidly declining. That's important to help people understand the importance of penguins. The main female character was way too ditzy and stupid. And she needed a strong male to get her out of trouble. Come on Hallmark! It's time to highlight brilliant female scientific researchers. This is important to show how female researches have played a minimal part and the male researchers get all the glory. Time to smarten up Hallmark. Help brilliant female researchers get their due.

Emma (Rhiannon Fish) gets a call from her father which gets cut off. He is doing penguin research in Antarctica. She is afraid that he's in trouble and desperate to find him. Antarctica requires an official permit which she does not have. She becomes a stowaway and Andy (Markian Tarasiuk) is the leader of the scientific team on the ship.

At least, they got to Argentina. I really wish that they actually went to Antarctica to get a few scenes with the penguins. That is probably asking for too much. They are using zoo penguins, special effects, and stock footage to do the animal scenes. Emma is a bit much. Maybe she should be a heart doctor which would make getting to her father more reasonable. It's a little silly that she's an illustrator. She has no qualification to do anything.

I wasn't feeling very hopeful about this film until they introduced the stranded penguin. The penguin's story and the beautiful scenery are what really makes this stand out. The plot itsself is quite pdestrian and follows the standard Hallmark formula. The main characters are likeable enough but the chemistry between them is OK. It's definitely not the kind of chemistry that would make one of them potentially sabotage their career in the process!

One minor thing that was annoying was the makeup! Subtlety is not a strength with whoever did the makeup - way too dark and harsh for the actors' features. It made them look very unnatural.