A Safari Romance

A beautiful setting for a Hallmark movie, South Africa. You can't judge a hallmark movie the same way as a Hollywood movie. They are romantic movies with happy endings, not hoping for an Oscar. Andrew Walker is his handsome, fit, cute self. He spends a lot of screen time with his leading lady and while they are adorable together she seems a little uncomfortable, there is chemistry but not as much as usual. He's a guy from the city making a virtual experience for a theme park and she's a park ranger working for her PHD in "animal behavior". Both enjoy photography. There's a boss lady who took over the company he works for that comes to cause trouble but she's not successful. The scenery, animals and costumes are gorgeous. I almost felt like I was there. The exchange of the silver bracelets is sweet as they remind me of Clint Eastwood's in The Bridges of Madison County(he was a photographer for National Geographic). There's a second romance in the movie also. As always you can count on a happy ending from a Hallmark movie and sometimes that's just what we need on a bad day.

Yes, to an earlier review. I also am confused by the Hallmark listing of the female leads name first in the credits. So very wrong.. I watched this movie for Walker's.name on the project. A fan since "Steel Toes", have never been disappointed.

This is a travelogue, a film showing the beauty to be found in nature and it's marvelous creatures. Humans are of secondary interest.

But... this film left me with a question. Since it showed the beauty of an immersive creation, the question becomes: how much of that was used in the actual filming?

That thought occurred to me- as the credits and location shots rolled. Could you place an actor in a location even though he was actually thousands of miles away? This movie proves this could actually happen. The days of green screen filming has finally evolved. Many new and innovative methods are possible. Makes me wonder.

This cast was stellar. The two leads ,of course, are familiar and top notch, but the entire cast was superb as well, whether villain or supporting or stars. A kind, thoughtful and even educational storyline with such luscious, gorgeous scenery ( including the phenomenal shots of all the animal species we saw. Just one visual treat after another.)

Brittany Bristow is always enjoyable, no matter what role she plays but this story shows her skills as a no-nonsense professional with a will of iron (I wouldn't want to fly a drone in her park!). Her basically earnest and poised personality lends itself well to this movie.

I was definitely left feeling good about the time spent watching and would certainly watch this again..

Yet again Hallmark uses a foreign film location in an attempt to overcome a weak storyline. Andrew Walker and Brittnay Bristow are solid and have a great track record in past Hallmark movies. As actors, it is simply impossible to overcome a bad storyline or script. The accountabity for these issues are the of Hallmark Media's Executive Offices. In the last two years approximately 60% of their movie production has not been as good as the old Hallmark standards.

Sometimes doing things different does not mean they are better. Hallmark is now in the business of making Lifetime Movie Network gravity movies. There are already several networks that do that. Since Hallmark has left the family values / rom-com segment, they will be replaced by another network and become 'homeless'.

7.4 stars.

I was not fully immersed in the experience of 'A Safari Romance', however it is a good movie overall. There are a few things missing that are hard to pin down. Maybe it's the slight lack of chemistry between the leads? I'm not sure. They both seem to be trying to be into the romance, yet there is a feeling that something is not quite right. I still enjoyed myself as I watched them interact, they are both good actors and charismatic. He is a Hallmark regular, probably a heartthrob for most of the ladies, so you really can't go wrong there. She has mainly been placed in secondary roles, but this is one of her big shots at the big time and she didn't disappoint. The plot was ok, nothing to write home about. The scenery was amazing, the camera work was brilliant, the dialogue was ok, the plot was mundane. It was entertaining enough for me to award it a solid 7 stars.