Groundswell

When the most suspenseful aspect of the movie is when Lacey is going to put on a swimsuit, you know you're in trouble. I mean there's Hawaii, and a beach, and an ocean. There is a very fit guy as a love interest with many abs and everything. So of course he's in a swimsuit. He's giving her surfing lessons. They are in the ocean together throughout the movie. But I guess if Lacey Chabert doesn't want to wear a swimsuit (not expecting a bikini here) she doesn't wear a swimsuit! You can tell it was an issue because it looks so odd that they have to make a joke about it at the beginning.

Other than Lacey's strange swimwear, and the nice scenery there is not much to see here. She dumps her "boyfriend" because he is a user and disrespects her and flees to Hawaii to be with her Aunt June. And I don't blame her! Aunt June has a house right on the beach and must have cost a billion dollars. By the end, she gets the hot guy, learns to surf, wins a contest, and gets her own restaurant. But (spoiler alert) she never puts on a swimsuit.

Chef breaks up with her boyfriend/boss who has basically been using her and gives her no respect. Very familiar. She retreats to visit family, in Hawaii. Even more familiar. One slight difference is that her ex shows up as formal advisor at the cooking contest she enters.

Meanwhile she is trying to learn to surf. A fair amount of time is spent on this thread and it allows her to interact with her romantic interest. Lacey Chabert and Ektor Rivera have some chemistry but not a lot. The acting is decent enough. It is a very common theme in these movies that each lead inspires the other to get out of their individual rut in life. Nothing surprising here and it leads to a predictable conclusion.

Overall this movie is pretty much the same old thing which puts the pressure on the relationships and actors. As I mentioned, I didn't find anything exceptional here.

It's a beginning. First HM movie filmed in Hawaii that featured snippets of the real Hawaii, not just beautiful scenery, but especially with contemporary music, clothing, jewelry and yes, the food. We all came to Hawaii from distant lands, my ancestors included, and it was nice to see the Puerto Ricans honored. Lacey Chabert and Ector Rivera were convincing in their roles as rejected chef/girlfriend and surfer who lost his wife. Singer Anuhea and chef Lee Ann Wong were a real treat, as well as Katie Lee who authored the book, Groundswell. And just for the record, most female surfers don't wear just swimsuits for surfing! Maybe we'll hear pidgin English in the next one. I'm watching this again, as one can miss so much with only one viewing.

Lots of food eye candy and flavor combinations in this tropical Hallmark romance between a chef and a professional surfer.

Lacey Chabert plays Emma, a professional chef whose famous "bachelor" chef boyfriend keeps taking credit for her work. Emma quits from his restaurant and his life and goes to visit her aunt in Hawaii to regroup and figure out what she wants to do next. There she meets Ben a professional surfer who after the loss of his wife has stopped doing things that bring him joy (like surfing) and his brother a restaurant owner and professional chef specializing in Puerto Rican cuisine. Emma getting surf lessons from Ben and entering an island cooking contest with his brother. Surprise! Her ex-boyfriend shows up as the celebrity chef consultant for the cooking contest.

This romance was a little predictable, but it was set in a lush local and did give a little history lesson on the Puerto Rican population in Hawaii. My favorite part was Ben's backstory with his wife being his pen pal first and that after they married they still wrote letters and hid them for one another to find. (Sweet, romantic and really a lost art!)

I didn't hate it and if you are looking for a "find yourself" romance Hallmark style...this could be the film for you.

The movie has a typical Hallmark plot about a woman whose boyfriend takes her for granted with the added complication that he also takes credit for her work. They've used this plot device on an almost yearly basis. But I was interested in watching it because of the setting in Hawaii. I really wanted to love this movie but it was somewhat of a miss. I always enjoy Lacey Chabert but, as attractive as they are individually, the two leads had no chemistry. Her ex boyfriend looked old enough to be her father. The dishes she prepared with the other chef didn't look or sound appetizing at all and they didn't have a plausible explanation for the ex-boyfriends presence at a contest that he's not judging. He just stood around with mostly nothing to do. I kept wishing it was another episode of Hawaii Five-0 because that cast had real chemistry. The settings were gorgeous and I really enjoyed the aunts character but it's just not enough to watch a second time.