Savoring Paris

Ella escapes to Paris for a 10 day vacation away from a soul, sucking job. She fascinates about her last trip there, when she discovered the best cheese she's ever tasted.

Clotilde, her host at her, Airbnb becomes her new best friend; the cousin, Gaston, of the hostess becomes a potential Mon amoureux, and then there is Serge the grumpy proprietor of the local fromagerie ( cheese store).

One of the neat things to watch is just outside her apartment is the on- going development of a large wall mural as her days pass in Paris.

Ella is falling for "The Cad" (Gaston) but is it real?

In the meantime she is falling for the grumpy cheese store proprietor Serge.

They share a real love for cheese!

Ella grows up during her time in Paris.

No spoilers, but it is a Hallmark movie.

I absolutely adored this film.

Paris. Cheese. Bethany Joy Lenz.

Sign me up.

Oh, and her wardrobe?! I want!

She is one of my favorite actresses; this film didn't disappoint. I understand the desire to start over and figure out who the heck you are; I went through something similar. We should live our lives how we want, with happiness, and that is what her character Ella. And I am all about the cheese too. Fontina and Havarti are my top ones.

I loved the banter between Ella and Surge. Fantastic chemistry.

Her roommate-turned-friend is a hoot, and I want to know her.

My husband even enjoyed the movie.

It's definitely a rewatch.

This is a deligtful movie on all levels. The wardrobe for Bethany is just so lovely and brings life to the movie. The colours, the styles, the hair accessories all so flattering. Even the blue skirt in the closing scene in front of the stores attractive. As a rom-com, hit the mark, a mature woman seeking adventure and change, no squeaky woe is me sappy female. The male lead is business yet to ready for change. The only weird instance was the kissing scene after je t'aime, between E & S the segments of the scene seem edited out of order. I like the actress playing the mother, a change from the usual standard ones. Whomever the writing on the cheese idea come from is brilliant - like a tree carving of Ella + Serge. Watch this one. Bethany excellent as always.

Who would I be with if you don't know who you are?

Ella up and leaves her job for a three week vacation in Paris. Her plan is to recreate a beautiful experience she had in her youth eating a particularly heavenly cheese along the Seine. She also is hoping to find herself. She ends up renting a room from a woman named Clotilde, who has never worked because she has "family money". After visiting a grumpy cheese vender, Ella has her picnic along the Seine where she meets the young, handsome and flirty food critic Gaston who ends up being Clotilde's cousin. In a short period of time Clotilde convinces Ella to quit her job back home and stay for the summer...

Living off her savings Ella buys a whole new amazing French wardrobe and "interns" in the grumpy cheese-man's shop selling cheese.

If you don't take this Hallmark romance too seriously, it is a cute romance with cheese, great clothes and Paris. Things I liked about the film...the music, the clothing, Manon Azem (Clotilde), Ben Wiggins (Gaston), and Bethany Joy Lenz (Ella). Ella's attitude was fun and infectious and in the end I really enjoyed the relationship she built with Serge. The thing I didn't care for was the perpetuation of this idea that you can just quit your job and everything will work out. I think that is really shortsighted and sends poor message to our youth.

Indulge, be bold and savor...Ella.

The end made this film worth watching as a romantic, so I would recommend it to my fellow romantics particularly those fond of Hallmark films.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: "One Tree Hill" alum (and, apparently, ex-cult member!) Bethany Joy Lenz is a natural Hallmark star, with her bubbly, bright and effervescent personality. She always does a good job in these movies, and "Savoring Paris" is no exception. There's something about her character in a movie set in the City of Light that just works so perfectly.

An original-ish - I mean, this is Hallmark, so we're not going too far from the comfort zone of these sorts of movies - plot and plenty of Parisian flavour. A few cliched characters, but you take the good with the bad. If you like cheese, you're in luck.

Another winner from the ranks of Hallmark's on-location movies, which I think are some of the best that the Crown network does.