Une idylle d'été

In this sequel to "Autumn in the Vineyard" there is relatively little romance. Most of the story is about the logistics of hosting a large festival and dinner. Fortunately the last portion of the film is more entertaining, and the story wraps up nicely.

The characters are enjoyable, as in the first film, but their relationship is plagued by communication issues that prove to be a plot point. Perhaps there will be a third installment, allowing the characters to indulge their romantic inclinations more. The valley setting is a beautiful place in which to situate a romance.

I didn't think it was as good as the first one. There were some inconsistencies with casting and locations. They recast the dad, the best friend was gone as was the other DeLuca brother. There were way too many subplots happening: the wine not being good, hosting the summer festival, the fertilizer incident, Frankie's cousin and Marco dating, etc. It was just very disorganized and not as thoughtful as the first movie. The couple has way too much conflict.

I think the biggest problem with this sequel is that it tried to do too much, but maybe the acting and direction weighed it down as well.

If I heard one more "The wine isn't ready yet" after Frankie tasted it, I was going to scream.

This sequel adds a romance between Nate's brother, Marco, and Frankie's cousin, Lexy. It's a nice enough side story with some good chemistry. This might have been the best part of the movie, or at least the easiest for the viewer to identify with.

For most of the movie, Frankie and Nate just weren't clicking. Even when they did click, it seemed strained when they definitely should have been nothing but happy.

The fate of Sorrento Vineyard seemed to rock back and forth as more issues were added to the mix that affected their financial future. I think it was too much for the movie to handle. They seemed to bounce from one issue to another without really giving the viewer time to absorb any of them.

As much as I liked Frankie and Nate in the first movie, I just couldn't get invested in their relationship in the sequel.

The movie was nice and insightful. It showed the ups and downs in a relationship as well as negativity when couples or even friends for that matter do not communicate with each other. It showed that communication is one of the pillars for a successful relationship.

I enjoyed both movies and I truly hope more will be made. For some reason I like those two actors together.