Hometown Hero

Jake portrayed an adult on the "autism spectrum " with great accuracy and understanding. The dialogue written for Harrison Curry(Jake)gave many clues as to why there wasn't the usual chemistry between lead male and female actors. He mentions:"I like people who are straightforward, I don't pick up on emotional clues, I relate better to animals",etc. Kelsey(Brooke)comes along with cute Daisy dog and Harrison finds a person he can relate because of the common bond of a dog. Brooke has her own issues,work and personal and they are interconnected because of Daisy. She is willing to accept not only the help Harrison offers but his quirky manner as well. The film encompasses acceptance of human differences, the unconditional love of dogs, the success of therapy dogs in today's world and a very sweet romance. I found the film charming.

Have never had any bias for or against Hallmark, and have always watched their films since starting my quest in the latter half of 2019 with an open mind and with a real effort with knowing what to expect. They have done some good, some bad or worse and plenty that is in between those extremes, so as has been said in other reviews for some of their previously seen output their filmography is pretty variable. While not being overly enamoured by the premise, there was potential for it to be charming.

To me, 'Hometown Hero' was not terrible. It was also not great, or particularly good. It was merely okay that left me rather conflicted. There are good things here, such as a couple of good performances. There are also some major debits that really spoil things, much of it story-related. If asked whether 'Hometown Hero' is recommended, my answer is that it is worth a one time watch but there is not enough to it to make it much more than that.

As said, a couple of good performances can be seen here. Brooke Nevin is on the most part controlled and at ease in her part, and makes an effort in not making her too perfect or exaggerating the flaws (apart from initially trying too hard with the cynicism). Megyn Price plays one of the most relatable and better developed characters with heart and charm. The best thing about 'Hometown Hero' is the dog, who is absolutely adorable with a lot of personality.

Furthermore, Rhonda's subplot is heartfelt and warm-hearted. It is the only one of the subplots that comes over near flawlessly, faltering only with ending on an incomplete note. It's a nice looking film.

Really do have to agree with the criticisms regarding Jake Sandvig, who comes over as stiff and never comes over as comfortable or involved. He and Nevin don't have much chemistry, where the communication is a mix of awkward and barely existent and the relationship itself is too abruptly and out of the blue introduced with no prior development. The characters are not developed enough, with only Rhonda and the dog coming over as real people.

Script on the whole is mundane and lacks spark, it never sounds natural as well. The story does try to cram in too many subplots that don't ever properly connect together and feel like more than one film in one, giving it a very disjointed feel. Also agree with the music being too constant and over-bearing, plus it sounded like the composer had written the music with no idea of what genre the film was (that's how ill-fitting it was). The direction has no character and really struggles to sustain momentum or stop the story from sprawling.

In conclusion, merely okay. 5/10.

Not an unpleasant film, but nothing interesting about it either. Agree with others that there's definitely no chemistry whatsoever between the 2 leads and the "love" between them at the end came out of nowhere. Jake also has a slight speech impediment, where his upper lip sticks out as he speaks and the words sound almost like a lisp. Distracting at first. Very funny at the end with a newspaper article with an HD photo in place of what should have been a newspaper photo. Looked ridiculous. I guess there was no money to print the newspaper. The dog Daisy was definitely the best part. I liked the mother also. The secondary plot was okay. There are always several character stories in Larry Levinson films. This was not one of his best.

This story starts out with two slightly overused plot devices to set up the premise. Save the clinic meets Up for partner. Up for partner has a slight twist as Kelsey gets threatened basically that she take the dog if she wants to become partner. I never really understood why Mrs. Ballentine needed someone to take the dog and why did it have to be one of the attorneys? In fact, I was slightly insulted that the good ol' boys of the firm selected the female attorney to do the dog work (pun intended). After the set up, things proceed about like you'd expect when Kelsey meets the handsome (?) vet and the rest is (predictable) history.

I wasn't impressed with Jake Sandvig. It was hard to tell how much the actor contributed since his role was a relatively typical withdrawn personality with trouble expressing his feelings. Either way, I really didn't feel any chemistry between he and Nevin. Otherwise Nevin plays a fairly smooth role as the attorney stuck with the dog. I'm not a fan of attorneys so I thought perhaps she was even a little more likeable and generous than one would expect from that part. Kelsey was almost always agreeable to everyone and accepted pretty much what was asked of her, even if it was a little unreasonable. True, given her menial position she didn't have much choice at least with the firm, but her cheerfulness belied any animosity over the demands. Kelsey had a sweet relationship with her mom, which was nice to see. Antonio Sabato Jr. was supposed to be a mean boss, but while he was certainly very inconsiderate and demanding, I thought he was more lame.

I thought it was inconsistent that Harrison made it a point that his clients weren't wealthy enough to help support the clinic, but that's the first place Kelsey turned. Likewise she completely ignored the obvious choice and as soon as you saw the video starring Daisy, the clues are overwhelming as to what is about to happen on two fronts. Did I mention predictable?

The dog was cute, but didn't save the movie. I say "save" even though I found it right on the bubble as to needing to be saved versus just meh. I found Brooke Nevin to be the biggest reason for what enjoyment I got from the movie.

Not a movie I'll ever watch again. It wasn't terrible, just blah. No chemistry whatsoever between the two leads. And since when do vet clinics run on grants? That made no sense. And why would one of the mediator take the dig? Daisy was the best part of the movie. Why isn't she credited on IMDB?! I liked the mom but her storyline just disappeared. It was just disjointed, illogical, just plain dumb.