Romance sous les tropiques

The setting in Mexico was beautiful, loved looking at the beach scenery. Unfortunately, there was no chemistry between the main female and either man. It was good background noise while I was working.

I came into the movie being a big fan of Tricia and Paul's previous collaborative work on Battlestar Galactica, around 10 years prior. Although Paul didn't stay the whole series, it really showcased Tricia's acting expertise. It's also said by many who worked on it that it was an incredibly collaborative set, and most of them are still great friends today.

Hallmark movies are incredibly cheesy and the quality of production is always left to be desired, so you have to cling to what you enjoy of them to be able to ignore what's not so great.

With all that in mind, I've really enjoyed seeing Tricia and Paul work together again. Their friendship from Battlestar gave them great chemistry to work with. Their laughs, banter, and care for each other felt sincere. So many weak lines or situations could've been stumbled if it wasn't for their strong acting experience.

I also love that they got to play silly, which I feel is not given to every actors who get their breaks in dramatic roles. I genuinely felt happy for the actors (and there are way worse places to shoot a movie than the beaches of Mexico)!

So in short, I actively ignored or poked fun at the Hallmark recipe to make space for what I came to see : Tricia and Paul's return to the screen together. If you're a fan of either or both, I think it's worth seeing how they can light up an otherwise very generic formula.

Tricia Helfer is always worth watching, have not liked every film of hers but have seldom had a problem with her. Have also found Paul Campbell watchable in other things, though he is less consistent in performances and filmography. The premise did sound very nice and charming and had potential to work. Was a little worried though reading the reviews and also because most of the previous 2017 Summer Nights films doing little for me.

'Sun, Sand and Romance' unfortunately is another 2017 Summer Nights film to do little for me. Not as bad as the previous film 'At Home in Mitford' (one of the worst Hallmark films that year and this is including on its own terms, not just because of it being a very poor adaptation), but it's on par with the mediocre 'Eat, Play, Love' and for reasons fairly similar to that film. Helfer comes off very well and saves the film from disaster, but it must not have been easy carrying a film pretty much by herself.

As said, Helfer is the best thing about 'Sun, Sand and Romance' in a performance full of energetic spirit and charm and she wholly succeeds in making her character likeable and easy to connect with. Very, very close behind is the setting, which is nothing short of ravishing and shot beautifully. It really is one of Hallmark's best looking films from that year that is unfortunately not matched by some of the worst casting up to this point of the output.

Did think too that some of the music was quite nice and the female supporting cast performed reasonably well albeit with so little.

Campbell however is a disaster in the male lead role, a complete blank and very wooden. Expressions are very limited and none are done convincingly. His character is as bland in personality and development as one can get and has no life. The rest of the cast don't register in flat roles. There is no chemistry between Helfer and Campbell, she really does try to give spark but he is practically fighting her every step of the way by looking as though he had given up. The relationship is not very well developed either, not going anywhere and then gets somewhere later on in a hasty manner.

The script is very cheesy and awkward, especially in the contrived final act that culminates in the obligatory too tidy but also slightly anti-climactic ending. The story also doesn't match Helfer's verve or the setting's beauty, it's too thin, very run of the mill from throwing in and recycling most Hallmark cliches, is dully paced from over stretching and has very little to it emotionally. The direction is routine.

In summary, very lacklustre with two main redeeming qualities and one aspect in particular that brought it down significantly. 4/10.

As a regular viewer of Hallmark movies, and someone clearly familiar with their style, patterns, and expected formulae, this movie had me interested and ready to enjoy. Sadly, the actors were so wooden in their performances, the movie turned into a major letdown. Credit, first, to the beautiful setting ..RIviera Maya is hard to beat..the beautiful foliage, blue-green waters, colorful resort all served to bring a romantic anticipation to the movie. However..despite Tricia Helfer's stunning beauty and skillful, energetic acting, she was cast alongside Paul Campbell, whose face never changes expression..whose acting is so wooden..that one wondered if he even read the description of his character. He was cast as the loving, romantic alternative choice Helfer makes..when realizing her current partner is lacking in commitment to their relationship. But Campbell has no expression on his face, often staring straight ahead as though he is reading his lines from a cue card, and he exudes absolutely no romantic vibes at all. Even his smiles are forced and constricted. The casting of this actor as a romantic leading man was a poor decision..No one would believe that the intelligent, beautiful, emotional leading lady would choose him over anyone..This film would have been a big success had the producers found a leading man with a more varied range of facial expressions..Sorry..a good movie gone bad because of Campbell's sheer inability to convey emotion and romance.

6.8 stars.

Helfer and Campbell have what I like to call forced attraction and it's obvious they are trying to be sincere. I enjoy both actors a lot, and I think they are very well developed as likable personalities in this movie, but the romance is too forced and then later it's too nonchalant.

I felt some tension at the beginning of the film but as time passed the x-ractor went right out the door. Hard to explain, just that down the line something went awry. I think it had to do with potential kisses that were awkwardly stopped short, but for no reason. It almost felt as if there was actually no attraction, a big no-no. That's ok, the sun, sand and entertainment were enough to keep me watching until the end.

The other guy is a very handsome driven man who is trying to secure her as his trophy wife, mainly for business reasons. She takes a bit too long to realize this, but I think that's part of the story. All said and done it's probably bad directing that led to 'Sun, Sand & Romance' only achieving average status.