Sweeter Than Chocolate

8.3 stars.

If you wish to enjoy a character study of a female chocolatier that owns a small shop somewhere in the states, this is the film to watch. Here is an in depth analysis of a woman who claims to be a realist, but is a cynic at the far end of the spectrum when it comes to believing in true love. She believes in the power of chocolate maybe too much. She makes cupid chocolate that when people eat it they quickly fall in love. There are many secrets to this chocolate that you will discover if you choose to see it. I suggest that you do.

What I really treasure about "Sweeter Than Chocolate" is that it portrays the depth of love that many hopeless romantics exhibit in spite of living in a cruel and painful world. Lucy is very hesitant to experience true love because for years after her father died, she and her mother were devastated beyond measure. It is a wonder either one recovered from the fallout of their unutterable loss. It's obvious from their level of pain that he was a most wonderful and beloved man. Lucy claims that that it was her mother who was desolate and damaged with the loss, but you will come to recognize that Lucy was equally as broken, if not more.

Dean is a reporter doing a story about her chocolate shop and the famous cupid magic love chocolate. He is blindsided by more than this completely audacious farce of a fairy tale chocolate as he gets to know Lucy and her history. In the meantime, he has aspirations to do bigger and better stories, but for now he is stuck trudging his way through this story in order to get to the big time. What he didn't expect was to meet this charming and wonderful chocolate maker named Lucy.

This is the tale of their magical love story, about his desire to be an anchorman and the permanent imprint that she leaves on him. His choices are inevitably altered as he is swept up by her irresistible charm. You too will be swept up by the magic of Lucy and Dean's romantic adventure, and then realize it is indeed "Sweeter Than Chocolate".

"Sweeter Than Chocolate" reminds us that we must be willing to love, because it's infinitely worth it. You've heard the famous quote "better to have loved and lost..." So true, but said in a different way, in spite of the anguish of losing your true love, the experience of love itself is worth it. Is love worth the grief? What is love without grief? What is happiness without pain? What is light without darkness? You get the point. This movie reminds of that point, and it's exactly what I needed.

This Hallmark romance, like many, is formulaic, which is okay. We expect some of that from their homey homilies on hometown hegemony over metropolitan mores.

In this one, you can expect: A bakery. Check. A smalltown girl. Check. Her initial resistance to his charms. Check. Her gradual softening. Check. A legend about an item bringing true love. Check. Someone longing for a big promotion. Check.

The bakery is run by Lucy Sweet (Eloise Mumford). At the beginning of the story, she is rather sour, despite her name. And her recalcitrance when it comes to love lasts longer than most Hallmark heroines, but the film does have a satisfying ending. Hang in there for the emotional payoff.

One of the other reviewers called it depressing. I call it hopeful. It's about healing from grief, and overcoming one's fears to take that leap of faith. Eloise Mumford is an excellent actress. She was also great in "The Presence of Love."

I really like that the late conflict of the movie wasn't some forced misunderstanding between the leads, or really any problem between them. It was about her needing to overcome her fear, and him needing to decide what he wants.

The middle of the movie features a lot of couples talking about love. This is a heads-up that two of the couples are gay, and one of them kisses.

This was a romantic addition to the Hallmark film vault and perfectly timed for Valentine's Day. The general story is about a family run chocolate shop that is going to have difficulty making the 40% rent increase and a local reporter who wants to be an on air anchor but has only done gotcha exposé pieces.

The two end up working together for a mutually beneficial project that gives Lucy Sweet much needed exposure for her Sweet Chocolate Shop and Dean Chase gets to show off a softer side as they interview couple for the sweet shop's wall of love. You see Lucy Sweet's grandfather has a special chocolate called the Cupid, that was not for sale but only for friends and family. When Lucy took over the family business and she found her grandfather's secret recipe, her mom talked her in to selling the Cupids for Valentine's Day. The Cupid chocolates seem to have a magical way of bringing couples together...queue the special interest piece on couples brought together by the Cupid.

This was such a sweet and romantic film that didn't discriminate on the type of love represented on the wall...second chance romances, heterosexual, homosexual...everyone's story is told. Meanwhile our two stars seem to be hitting it off with some amazing chemistry and chocolate making!

These two were romantic gold, Eloise Mumford and Dan Jeannotte.

I highly recommend this film to fellow romantics and chocolate lovers. This is an excellent Valentine's Day film. The romance touch m so much I cried!

Lucy Sweet (Eloise Mumford) and her mother Helen Sweet (Brenda Strong) run a chocolate store, but their rent is suddenly skyrocketing. Their chocolate called Cupid is rumored to be a path to true love. Their new employee posts on the internet and it becomes an overnight hit. Dean Chase (Dan Jeannotte) is a cynical investigative TV reporter. He does mostly hit pieces, but his boss wants him to do a sweet happy fluff piece on Cupid.

This is a perfectly sweet predictable Hallmark movie. Eloise is a pretty good lead and Dan fits his role very well. I'm more here for Brenda Strong, but she seems to be only working for a few days in this movie. That may be the extent of their budget. The trouble with chocolate is that one really needs to taste it to appreciate it. This is fine.