A Taste of Romance

These past few days i have watched a lot of hallmark movies and i have to say this one is by far the best one yet.If you liked No Reservations and the like then you will definitely like this one!

The storyline may not be all that original but its redone very well with its own unique spin. The performances are amazing, the characters very real and so are the stories they tell. Hats off to Bailee Madison. Of course as said before the main and other supporting actors did a good job as well. The entire movie seemed very realistic, not over the top and doesn't try too hard to create a romance or a situation that influences romance; thats why I recommend it. a good heartwarming, funny and light and realistic movie. The best in the series of Hallmark movies i have watched this week!

Really this was a romance coinoisseurs delight with just the right amount of sugar and spice (excuse the pun) and dealing with some heavy issues like grief and loss but without getting dark or heavy.

But a special treat was seeing a young Bailee Madison. I can now see clearly why she was selected for an ongoing role in 'Good Witch' and has gone on to be a highly respected young actor.

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.

2012's 'A Taste of Romance' is one of the food-related Hallmark films to handle both well on the whole. 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, mixes of food and romance and loves to cook and is not only a romance worth seeing unfold but it is a tasty one.

It is not perfect. The music is too loud and constant for my taste and it occasionally affect dialogue clarity and is better suited for melodramas. It's also not particularly good on its own, with it feeling drab and pedestrian. It also took a while for me to warm to James Patrick Stuart's character, did find him too selfish and lacking in self-awareness.

Personally did find the ending too pat and it is the kind of ending that never comes over realistically in Hallmark films when it goes against everything that came before it. It did have emotion definitely, but it didn't quite work for me.

So much is good however. It is very well acted, with Teri Polo giving a deeply felt but also good natured performance that shows that she does have a lighter side instead of playing it constantly seriously. Stuart does do a good job also, didn't like his character to begin with but he becomes a lot more charming as he softens. Bailee Madison shows why she was one of the best child actresses at that time, she brings a lot of warmth and charm to her role of the daughter. Mostly the characters are written well, Polo's being written the most consistently, and she and Stuart have a sweet, genuine chemistry that was just about right.

The production values are pleasing, never cheap while not overblown. The script is good natured and heartfelt, with the two leads' back and forth being entertaining. Any hostility did not come over as too overdone and nothing felt juvenile or over-sentimental. The story is not an original one, but it has a nice energy even when quite gentle in pace, doesn't take itself too seriously while not treating it as a joke and is cute.

Overall, nicely done and tasty. 7/10.

I don't know why it is, but I have a not-so-secret appetite for movies where romance is served along-side the roulade and love is layered into the lasagna.

"A Taste of Romance" is a pleasant little rom-com, somewhat pedestrian but served with heart and comfortingly familiar to the palate. The place-setting is overly formal, too clean (if such a thing is possible) and neat. The restaurants, the market, the apartments are all too obviously set-pieces. The required formulaic characters are all there, and you know exactly what's going to happen, but that is what comfort food is all about. Don't be mistaken; this movie is just that, comfort food, there are no exotic ingredients here, only familiar heart-warming fair served in the proper proportions,

The casting follows the same recipe, charming and familiar. Well prepared, but nothing outstanding. Except possibly Bailee Madison who plays the daughter. At eighteen-years-old (twelve at the time this movie was shot) she has, in the dozen years of her career, racked up an impressive 50 acting credits, ten nominations, and five awards.

A Taste of Romance is one of the better made and more enjoyable Hallmark films.

Sarah Westbrook (Teri Polo) and Gill Callahan (Jame Patrick Stuart) are complete opposites who own and run neighboring restaurants with polar-opposite strengths. Both characters initially seem unlikeable as they clash with each other, but we (the audience) start to genuinely like them as they first slowly learn to co-exist, and then become attracted to each other. The catalyst for their budding romance is Gill's young daughter, Hannah -who is beautifully acted by Bailee Madison.

Indeed, a great strength of this movie is that it is well-acted and has characters you can believe in. Teri Polo does a fine job of portraying a complicated woman whose passions and hangups are a significant barrier to new romance. James Patrick Stuart manages to bring warmth and likability to the male romantic lead role. And Bailee Madison delivers one of the best and most believable depictions of a young child that I have seen in a Hallmark TV movie.

I do wish there had been a bit more chemistry between the romantic leads - perhaps, a few more lingering looks, a few more tears when setbacks occur. But the feel-good ending is emotionally satisfying and delivers what the Hallmark audience wants. And the story that brings us to that ending never makes us roll our eyes in disbelief nor does it fail to hold our interest. A well-done movie!

Recommended.