Sand Dollar Cove

Any Hallmark film that is said to take place in Connecticut (or anyplace) and is actually filmed there (as opposed to Vancouver) gets a few stars from me. Aly Michalka is also charming, and even seems to be a real estate developer. She has backbone. And having the female lead be something other than a baker or writer or some such is a plus. Nice job.

I hate that movies based on this premise start out with 15-20 minutes of the boss promising the lead negotiator a promotion and drilling into her how important the deal is. This movie opens with a scene of a storm destroying the pier which is the lynchpin of the plot and the next thing we see is the negotiator driving into town. We get to skip 19 minutes of boring threats mixed with promises. (Unfortunately there are still plenty of those spread out later.)

BUT. Then we get about 45-50 minutes (commercial run time) of business negotiations combined with some banter between the leads, but mostly negotiations. I think this is part of what turned so many reviewers off Aly Michalka, but it's not all of it. She's just too stiff throughout. If there's chemistry with Chad Michael Murray, it's hard to find. Meanwhile, Murray is too laid back.

Michalka lightens up a little with Lily Jane, as Milly, the kid.

The overall story is a common one. The Developer wants to destroy town history and nostalgia. As the business progresses, the negotiator takes part helping with the local Jamboree. And she enters a contest. There's an adorable kid. The story is thin.

Almost exactly 3/4 mark (commercial run time) something happens that I didn't expect because it was earlier than usual. After that the movie stalls until the moment of truth after which the story runs to the usual conclusion in the usual way. Actually, thinking about it, the whole movie drags. Usually, the relationship picks up the slack, but there wasn't enough spark between these leads.

Usually Hallmark movies have some great scenery. This one had nothing really spectacular. One thing about Michalka did stand out and that was her wardrobe.

It's nine months after a devastating storm in Sand Dollar Cove. Tourism is down and the beloved pier is closed. Real estate developer representative Elli (Aly Michalka) arrives to negotiate. Bait store owner Brody (Chad Michael Murray) is initially friendly until the new development threatens the pier. He happens to own land important to her.

Both Aly and CMM were big stars during their days. That's a step up for Hallmark which tends to only have one former star to lead their movies. What's surprising is that the couple doesn't have greater heat. The plot sets up the possibility but the dialogue does not deliver any heat. It's almost as if the two former stars are too cool for school. They are too leisurely which may fit the location but it's not what the movie needs. The location is great for clam bakes but everybody is too nice. They need to fight before they can make up. Even a Hallmark movie needs some heat or else it gets too flat.

I liked the lead female. She is beautiful and was chill, so that appealed to me. It's a light feel good movie to pass some time, was fine.

The movie was okay, the scenery was nice. The leads have decent chemistry but I did not save it to watch again.