Yellowstone Romance

7.6 stars.

I'm not sure this is actually Yellowstone. I think they said her friend was moving to Wyoming, so that would be the Yellowstone factor, however, the romance that supposedly happens in Yellowstone doesn't. In fact, it has nothing to do with Yellowstone. So why the false advertising? I think they were actually in Colorado, because the father says something about her not being from Denver, so that's a clue, but maybe I missed something. Now that's out of the way, here's my thoughts about the film. The lead female is despicable at first, indeed very easy to dislike, but as you will see, this changes ever so slowly over time. She does become somewhat endearing eventually. But she's not a daisy, she still retains some fire. She's an assertive and opinionated city girl, after all. But her true colors flash now and then and she's predominantly likable. Of course the lead male is to die for. If I had to choose the hottest, rugged men of Hallmark, he would be in the group along with Donovan, MacFarlane, Walker, Hynes, Polaha, Rosner and Paevey. I'm a dude and even I can tell who the ladies dig. The story is standard and there is nothing new, so we have to rely on whatever originality the actors give us. The city slicker mentality is awkward in a backwoods cowboy town, so that was nice and tense. Otherwise, it's just a simple love story between a blond bombshell and her very own cowboy. There is some competition with the female ranch hand, which added some drama, but not enough.

Whats not to love about this film? Ok it can be a bit cheesy or sappy at times but what rom-com hasn't? If you love westerns, Cowboy Hats, Horses, and a nice unplanned romance then this film ticks all the right boxes. Listen it's not "The Godfather" or "Serpico" and it's definitely not Lonesome Dove but what movie is? So if you're in the mood to have some popcorn and cuddle with your special someone while enjoying a good (not great) rom-com then this will punch your ticket. Besides guys it's about time you let her pick the movie, wait did I just say what I thought I said? Yep too lazy to erase what I wrote and write something meaningful for once lol.

There were several things I enjoyed in this movie. I am not familiar with most of the actors in it. Overall it felt a lot like a high school play. The only ones I recognized were Christopher Russell and the actor who played his father (sorry, I don't recall his name), but like him). Christopher Russell is always a pleasure to watch. He must have the patience of a monk to work with the city folk actors, hence my reference to watching a high school play. Two irksome points from a former country girl is the "bull" is a steer and the beautiful "Daisy", a gelding. It is a movie I will watch from time to time thanks to Christopher Russell.

From the poster, this looks like a great feel-good cowboy movie. The story is cliché but it's not meant to be groundbreaking so I don't mind.

What I do mind is the bitchy fake female lead character. She just seemed so superficial and know-it-all, it's really annoying. Christopher Russell is cut out for the cowboy role and really delivers but Stephanie Bennet is a trainwreck in this one. In this movie, she just comes across as the bitchy popular cheerleader who gets a kick out of embarrassing the nerd in front of the whole school. Either she was the wrong actress for the role or the scriptwriters just wrote a bad character.

The rest of the cast is great and have the right charm for the role but with such an underwhelming lead, the supporting cast, fun storyline, and beautiful scenery just can't salvage the movie. I'm quite alright with the shallow nature of these Hallmark-type tv romance movies, I find it easy to watch but this one is a major let down.

This movie was enough different from the formulas to be fun. Still no great highs or lows or surprises, but it made up for that with fun.

The NYC slickers made fun of the stereotype. Throw in some silly karaoke and dancing.

But there were less frivolous romantic moments too. Stephanie Bennet and Christopher Russell had some quiet chemistry.

Another effort to be a little off formula, that moment before the climax where you expect overhearing something which creates a misunderstanding wasn't exactly a misunderstanding. Nothing lame, but real.