Always Amore

This movie stars two actors, Autumn Reeser and Tyler Hynes, plus a longtime actress that I adore, Patty McCormack ("The Bad Seed").

Patty was a welcome sight, just from the standpoint of adding a well-established person to the cast. Autumn is gaining her experience every day with Hallmark, and she is also a joy to watch. Tyler is a standard, and therefore common Hallmark choice.

I don't know what this movie lacked for me. Maybe it was the very thin romance that didn't seem to do much for me, but I think a lot of it was the disingenuous accent use (Marrrrco) and also: check out Autumn's scene at the beginning when she has a chocolate to eat from her friend. She holds it for God-knows-how-long, then takes a literal micro-nibble, then it disappears. I understand the pressure on actresses to stay thin, but it would have been awesome to see her just eat the chocolate (even if she was eating a freaking chocolate marshmallow with no caloric value). I understand all the complexities of wanting to be cautious about weight; maybe it is possible there was no intention for her to avoid eating it, but everyone else in the scene did. For some people recovering from eating issues, it's so great to see people set a decent example on film.

I didn't love the food setting; this might be a reason the film is either hot or cold for reviewers. The food was boring to me as a plot device; I could easily watch a chef show, but this type of story line is just so tired. I wish they could have focused more on the grief/ loss, for example, as there are a million ways that people deal with it. Food and contests and restaurants are so linear to me.

Another aspect was the daughter, who was beautifully talented and did a fantastic job. Even more scenes with her or her school woes could have been more deep or interesting.

When they brought in the guest chef, who I'm sure is popular outside of this movie, I was thinking this is just a long version of a chef contest show.

I think AR is a great actress, but there is something that strikes me as artificial about her; Lacey Chabert is an amazing role model, someone that I've watched since she was a little one on Party of Five, and her depth has always been there. I don't want to hurt anyone reading these reviews, but I would like to see AR in a movie that isn't depicting her as a beautifully perfect woman. Her entire demeanor is glamorous, but she lacks the grit that makes her more believable. I don't think she needs to do anything drastic, but tone down the perfection a bit (perfect nails, perfect lipstick, perfect outfits, blah blah blah).

Tyler does not seem different in this movie than in most of his movies, but admittedly, I don't study his progress much.

The truffle scene was so funny to me. I kept thinking "I didn't know you could just walk around and find truffles." - glad I'm not insane.

Very enjoyable movie. Gee no sex no cursing and no violence. What a concept. Being Italian I enjoyed the heritage. Some very tasty looking food dishes presented. Maybe some upcoming actors and actresses. Giada did a great job.

Any film and television series etc centered around food immediately has me sold. The culinary/restaurant setting has been done to death before and has been a common setting since, but anybody that loves food and loves to cook and always finds themselves salivating at different dishes on cookery competitions may find that that doesn't matter. Whenever Hallmark do this setting, it does vary in quality. Particularly in the storytelling and whether the characters are any good.

2022's 'Always Amore' is one of the food-centered Hallmark films that works and up there with the best of them. Have seen some food-centered Hallmark and Lifetime films over the past few months, especially the Christmas films, that have really not worked for reasons other than setting, but this felt like a refreshment in comparison to those. It is a treat for anybody that loves food, culinary heritage and loves to cook and is not only a menu worth trying out but it is a tasty one. 'Always Amore' is one of the better 2022 Hallmark films and much better than the previous food-set Hallmark film 'Welcome to Mama's'.

It is not perfect, have yet to see a Hallmark film that's perfect (even the best ones). Did feel that the ending could have slowed down and was too neat.

Do agree that everything with still keeping the old menu, when revamping it would have decreased the bankruptcy risk, and the whole not trying out dishes not created by the owner didn't ring true.

Really liked everything else though. Autumn Reeser is endlessly engaging and has a lot of perky charm about her. Another (justifiable) Hallmark regular Tyler Hynes is very comfortable and easy going in his likeable role. Their chemistry is very genuine and never felt false or bland, it is a very understated one but there was chemistry in my view. It was great that it was not underused and didn't play fiddle to any conflict concerning the restaurant. The supporting cast are solid and the characters were ones worth engaging with.

The restaurant setting is portrayed in a very affectionate way and the passion for food was clear, it is really made the most of and what happens behind the scenes is realistic. Any conflict is unforced and has some uncertainty that makes one root for things to be okay. The script is a mix of amusingly light hearted and heart warming sentiment, without being juvenile or too sentimental. The story is not an original one, but it has a lively energy, doesn't take itself too seriously while not treating it as a joke and is cute. The characters are ones worth caring for and the film looks very nice and isn't over-scored.

Concluding, very tasty and fullfilling if not completely cooked all the way through. 7/10.

I usually pick apart a story like this for all the formula elements in it. This story has some, especially then climax and ending. It starts out with the usual struggling business about to go under owned by Elizabeth. Ben shows up to save the business. But none of those matters. The story is just a vehicle for Autumn Reeser and Tyler Hynes to connect. And they are so good. Both are good individually and together. Even though I was thinking during the climax how cliche it was, I had tears in my eyes over what was going on between Elizabeth and Ben.

This was another restaurant movie. It had potential, but lacked energy. Autumn Resser and Tyler Hynes are usually good bets for Hallmark. They do not set me aflutter, but are reliable in their assorted offerings. Not so this time. Ms. Reeser was more whiny than usual and dull. Her stubborn fixation with her dead husband was over done and Mr. Hynes seemed basically phoning in his part. There were some pleasant inner actions between the main characters, but not enough to carry this entry. Several new Hallmark Movies for 2022 have been less than stellar, this is definitely one of the outstanding ones.