Coup de foudre en terre inconnue

'You Had Me at Aloha', seen as part of a newly started project of watching more non-Christmas Hallmark films, is another one of the Hallmark films where expectations were mixed. Hallmark have done many misses but also many surprising hits, so there is absolutely no bias for or against them. Hawaii is a stunning place. The two leads have been at least watchable in other things. The story did not sound great though and had heard and seen comments from trusted reviewers about it being bad.

Watching it, 'You Had Me at Aloha' (one of Hallmark's Summer Nights films) didn't strike me as anywhere near as bad as has been said, and not the awful film that was to be increasingly honest expected. Some things are done very well and considering the circumstances it could have been worse. There are a lot of major and distracting however and the film overall is also not particularly good and is instead on the whole very, very average.

Starting with the good, 'You Had Me at Aloha' looks beautiful. Hallmark was no stranger to beautiful scenery and Hawaii is as stunning a locale as one can get, captured photogenically by the photography. The music is pleasant and nostalgic, as well as more authentic than most Hallmark soundtracks (an aspect that was always variable to problematic with them). There are some cute and entertaining moments thanks to the delivery of the two leads.

Pascale Hutton and Kavan Smith are immensely appealing leads and their chemistry to me was natural and warm. The supporting cast are also more than able, considering what they were given.

However, 'You Had Me at Aloha' had a lot wrong with it that stopped me from engaging with it. The story is very messy, with a choppy and rushed first act, a sometimes charming and fun middle act despite realism going out of the window and a contrived and truly ridiculous final act. Actually got the sense that the writers had little idea how to end the film. The script has too much cheese and awkwardness and is also far too talky and over-explanatory.

The pacing could have been a lot tighter as well, as it does suffer from the story furthermore being as thin as a wafer and being excessively predictable due to rehashing well worn ideas. Meaning that it feels pedestrian too much. The direction tends to be too routine and for all the cast's best efforts the characters are underdeveloped and don't come over as real enough. More could have been done with the Hawaiian culture, not much of it to the extent that the setting could have passed for anywhere.

Overall, not that bad but not particularly good at the same time. 5/10.

Paige is a producer, and ex host, of a travel show. The show is looking for a brand new host so they turn to Ben, also an ex host of said show, to come back and do a season. Little do our leads know that after being filmed accidentally, the network wants both of them to do it after watching them bicker.

Let's be honest, shall we? This movie was made so that Pascale and Kavan could work together and travel at the same time. The fact that the main plot is based on the back and forth between the characters (based on the real one by the actors) is hilarious. It definitely looked like they were having fun. (how dare you that they are a "poor match of a couple"?)

We have have watched Pascale and Kavan have fun and bicker, we have also watched them as Lee and Rosemary and as Molly and Nick on "The Perfect Bride" and honestly, I do not get tired. As much as I love this duo, I don't think this was as funny as other projects of theirs, but I still enjoyed it.

Onto the movie. I liked it. It's definitely not Hallmark's greatest and it's far from it. The true stars were the leads and definitely Hawaii. I just wished we could have seen more but in these COVID times I don't know how restricted it is, so I will appreaciate what was given to us.

I liked that the characters got to spend time together and that the relationship developed naturally. I was surprised by the "pre-ending" trouble, as I liked to call it. While I didn't see it coming, I thought it could have been resolved better.

I literally didn't care about any of the other characters. In fact, there is no secondary couple nor plot.

NOW LET'S GET TECHNICAL.

Maybe some other reviewer can answer this, but isn't Kavan looking straight at the camera around the 59 minute mark?

Now, the worst part of the movie. We see Paige buying a ticket and when she gets to the gate the flight already took off. That's just UNREALISTIC. Why would airlines sell tickets if the flight is boarding or about to board? It is literally looking for trouble and lawsuits. Airlines close check-in before boarding because there are many things going behind the scenes that passengers don't see. ANYWAY, that had me screaming at the screen, I know it's supposed to add drama to the movie but it didn't work for me. I didn't buy it.

In conclusion, you either hate this or love it. I'm just glad I could see these two together again.

Love these two together. Fun story. Great scenery.

Awful, not worth my reviewing.... Poor match of a couple...

Could not finish watching,, so boring!

First things first: This production deserves credit for navigating the COVID crisis, especially under the very restrictive mandates in Honolulu. Attentive viewers will notice the preponderance of outdoor shots--which is perfect for a film that wants to capitalize on the beauty of Hawaii---and the emphasis on spacing and small groups.

Pascale Hutton and Kavan Smith are a staple on Hallmark. Here they play Paige and Ben, co-hosts of a destination travel show, who come to Oahu to create an episode. Like oil and vinegar at first, they grapple with the incompatibility of their styles. Paige likes things scripted and under control; Ben prefers the ad lib and impromptu adventures.

As a travelogue for Oahu, the film does a satisfactory job. As a romance, it successfully leans on the comedic chops of its stars, who have a practiced and warm congeniality. They were heavily involved in the design and production of this film.

As other viewers have commented, some haircuts are noticeably patchy, but that minor detail is more than compensated for by the aforementioned extra effort required to make this film during civil restrictions and travel limitations.