Romance to the Rescue

This one falls right in the middle of Hallmark Channel movies. Nothing stands out to elevate it above the pack, and it's not so bad that it can be considered unwatchable, even for Hallmark standards. The story/plot/script is moribund (another single woman with a list of traits that make a perfect mate, and she'll settle for nothing less than a man who checks all the boxes), and it relies too much on the cuteness of the dog to carry the day. Throw in a co-worker who is openly hostile for no apparent reason and keeps calling her a name I can't understand (Keener?), and this one climbs onto the pile of movies not worth watching again. I had high hopes for this one, but they were dashed.

I really wanted to love this one. I truly enjoy both of the leads and was excited to see Andrea Brooks as the star - she's had so many 2nd leads and has handled all of them very competently. But. Her character was so hyper/ silly throughout over half the movie that it was hard to focus on the plot. Marcus Rosner was excellent, as always, even though there were times when his reactions and lack of emotion were off-putting. I have to say, what was the director thinking? A waste of good talent. The story itself was fun - even more enjoyable due to "Sam" the dog's presence. Nice supporting cast.

One sticking point for me was a lack of attention to detail,etc. I know these are low budget films , but they should at least be handled so as not to insult the viewers' intelligence. A vet at a dog rescue wearing heels? Inappropriate attire isn't really new, I guess. Nobody cared that a store employee is making and selling competing dog treats - when the store is sponsoring the competition? And where was the ending? Easy to see that this one wasn't a priority. And where was even an attempt at chemistry? There'd be a flicker of interest and then a dead end. These are both good actors, so maybe direction was an issue.

Kind of worth the watch but without high expectations. Just try to watch for the fun moments, enjoy the dog and the scenery and the few nice interactions between the stars and realize that the end is going to be abrupt, certainly leaving most of us to wish there'd been more of something.

Honestly the dog named Sam was the best part of this film...and that is no slight to the actors, the dog is just that charming.

Kyra has a pretty simple check list... get job at natural grocer, get employee of the month, become a buyer, promote her own product, find the perfect guy. Oh! And she has a list for the requirements of the perfect guy...including gluten-free, stable, etc. When she meets someone she thinks checks all the boxes, she discovers he is a dog person and between her and her friend they over sell that not only does kyra have a dog (which she doesn't) but that her dog is an agility trained "super pup".

This is how Kyra meets both Sam and Kevin, who is the owner of a shelter and becomes Kyra and Sam's private trainer.

If you are both a romantic and a dog lover...this is the movie for you. Both funny and fun loving, our heroine was not only goal driven, but able to make fun of herself.

'Romance to the Rescue' (2022)

Opening thoughts: Hallmark have done a lot of above average and more films and that has been obvious in their 2022 output. There have been quite a lot of misfires as well, again obvious in the 2022 output, but have never been one of those people who immediately judges something negatively. Have always seen a Hallmark film knowing what to expect while not expecting too much, but many have met and even exceeded expectations. Apart from those that didn't sound that appealing or interesting from the outset, like 'Romance to the Rescue'.

While not a complete waste of time, 'Romance to the Rescue' is not good on the whole. There are a few good things, but also a lot of major issues. Marcus Rosner is worth watching in enough of his films, but Andrea Brooks is rather take and leave, while a good representation of him it is a very bad one of her. When it comes to ranking Hallmark's 2022 output, 'Romance to the Rescue' is towards the bottom if not quite as bad as 'Cut, Color, Murder', 'Butlers in Love' and 'Road Trip Romance'.

Good things: There are a few things done well. Sam is absolutely adorable and has such an expressive nuanced face and eyes. Rosner is also very easy going, charming and likeable.

Also thought that the scenery is nice and well photographed.

Bad things: Brooks however overacts horribly and comes over as really annoying, with so many overdone and overused mannerisms. The supporting cast also try too hard to a cartoonish degree and only Sam and Rosner's character are interesting or likeable, too many dumb, vague and senseless behaviours for the other characters to be remotely endearing and development is next to nil. Rosner and Brooks are very lacking in their chemistry too, they don't look comfortable together and seem too distant.

Moreover, the script is horrendously stilted and one is cringing from all the cheese. That the story has no surprises and is very predictable was not too much of a problem, was expecting that. Was however not expecting it to be so dull and ridiculous and for sense to go out of the window completely. Especially at the truly cringe-worthy and laughable ending that didn't feel deserved, it wouldn't even pass for unintentional humour.

Concluding thoughts: Overall, very weak.

3/10.

I rated this movie 4. That's 2 for Marcus Rosner and 2 for the dog.

I have seen Marcus in many movies and he always delivers, good actor, good leading man.

As for Andrea Brooks, to my knowledge I have not seen her in anything. I found her character to be very annoying. Too perky and juvenile for words, giggle giggle. But she fits in with the rest of the cast, they act like they are in junior highschool, giggle giggle.

Lame script, lame acting, lame ending. Marcus was great, Nova the dog was great. But they could not carry the film alone. I look forward to seeing them in other movies.

I watched the whole painful minute of this film reluctantly.

But Hallmark is going to have to drastically improve their scripts to make up for the mass exodus, and this film is not going to help.

My advice: suitable family film, but don't insult your children's intelligence by making them watch this.

Give it a miss.