After she inherits an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, manager Amy teams up with a blacklisted master chef looking for a second chance. They discover that the most important ingredient for an... Read allAfter she inherits an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, manager Amy teams up with a blacklisted master chef looking for a second chance. They discover that the most important ingredient for any recipe is always love.After she inherits an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, manager Amy teams up with a blacklisted master chef looking for a second chance. They discover that the most important ingredient for any recipe is always love.
- Awards
- 2 nominations total
Featured reviews
When ambition and tradition don't mix, the flavor of Mama's Ristorante is lost. But with the help of Mama's recipe for love, a partnership is born, and her legacy lives on.
I adore Lorraine Bracco but not in this environment. The back and forth between present and past was fine, but the main leads had zero chemistry. Their personalities clashed, and the story was stale. This one fell flat for me, definitely not a rewatch.
The commercials didn't seem very exciting and that should have warned me not to bother watching it. No chemistry, boring story, a lot of blah blah blah that went on and on and on. It didn't have a clear storyline. It's over saturated with flash backs and the main characters just didn't capture my attention. There wasn't much cooking, not that much food, a lot of very short overly dramatic problems that were resolved before you even understood the problem! Fine to play in the background while doing other things but not worth watching with your full attention.
The movie has its quirks and inconsistencies, as pointed out in previous reviews. As almost always, premises and elements of the plot are not original. Yet, they get a different, fresh spin and the story acquires a dignity of its own. The psychology of the lead characters, Amy and Frank, is more sound than it appears at first look. Here, we have two young people that, confronted with career disillusions and big life choices, react with stubborn attitudes and rush decisions. I do not believe this makes them unlikable or that they "have no chemistry". They are just human, hiding their insecurities, in need to learn from their mistakes.
I find it credible that their initial reciprocal attraction helps them, through necessary skirmishes, find how much they have in common and to like each other. Actually, this makes the story sweet.
The acting is simple, no hamming, no frills. The frequent flash-backs to Mama and Papa life, are, perhaps overused, but do add to understanding the theme of the story and to the content of the movie, rich in values of hard work, tenacity, family and friendship.
One special tribute is owed to the producers for a diligent effort to maintain authenticity. After myriads of movies where the actors totally butcher the pronunciation of the Italian language or substitute it with "Italican"or Spanish, here, finally they have cast actors, Scrofano, Di Tomasso, Babis, and Montesi, who speak the language naturally and correctly.
Overall, a charming movie and a better production than many Hallmark films of late.
I find it credible that their initial reciprocal attraction helps them, through necessary skirmishes, find how much they have in common and to like each other. Actually, this makes the story sweet.
The acting is simple, no hamming, no frills. The frequent flash-backs to Mama and Papa life, are, perhaps overused, but do add to understanding the theme of the story and to the content of the movie, rich in values of hard work, tenacity, family and friendship.
One special tribute is owed to the producers for a diligent effort to maintain authenticity. After myriads of movies where the actors totally butcher the pronunciation of the Italian language or substitute it with "Italican"or Spanish, here, finally they have cast actors, Scrofano, Di Tomasso, Babis, and Montesi, who speak the language naturally and correctly.
Overall, a charming movie and a better production than many Hallmark films of late.
A bad script, too much nostalgia for "Mama", her recipes and her way of doing things. Too many flashbacks. Leads that don't have chemistry and the rest of the cast didn't seem to click. It didn't hold my attention, there are other better things on TV.
Did you know
- TriviaAired as the last of three original films in The Hallmark Channel's 2022 "Loveuary" lineup.
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- 愛情小館
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