Sous le soleil de Pecan Hill

Most of the 2021 Hallmark Summer Nights films didn't do much for me, and most of them for reasons that are quite similar. Of course, not all of them were average or less, 'The 27 Hour Day' for example had a lot of good things and 'Her Pen Pal' also had much to recommend. A few had some standout performances in a bad way, like the female lead in 'Sand Dollar Cove'. 'Sweet Pecan Summer' was not seen with high expectations, but was still seen because of liking Wes Brown's acting regardless of his filmography.

'Sweet Pecan Summer' is sadly yet another 2021 Summer Nights film that doesn't hit the mark. To me it is actually one of the worst of the seasonal block. It isn't terrible and Hallmark did do worse that year, but it also could have been much better and one of Hallmark's best and most consistent regular actors deserved much better than this. There were actually quite a lot of surprisingly good and even good films from Hallmark in 2021, especially in the latter parts of the year, but 'Sweet Pecan Summer' isn't one those.

There are things that come over well. The best thing about it is Brown, who has a very easy going charm and subtle charisma that has been present in all his performances without coming over as over-typecast. Am less familiar with Christine Ko, but thought that she also excelled in being likeable and warm hearted without overacting or trying too hard in bringing emotion.

Did also thought the film looked good, some lovely scenery here and the photography complements it well. Some pleasant moments in the music.

For me though, the supporting cast did not work. Lauren Tom fails in particular, she both mugs and is robotic and it made her character very annoying. Actually did find the supporting characters on the annoying side and while the lead characters are more interesting and likeable, the chemistry between them is not there. Too cautious and underdeveloped for it to make much impact. The direction never rises above routine.

Moreover, the script is too cheesy and schmaltzy (even for the setting, the writing felt too sweet) and also very awkward. The story is very predictable and is slow moving and too flimsy, also with a contrived final act that finishes on a too tidy note. While Ko and Brown are fine individually, the relationship between their characters is too underwritten for their relationship to be interesting or investable, the spark is never there.

Concluding, lacklustre. 4/10.

The best chemistry was between Wes Brown and Chase Ramsey. It was nice to see some humor for a change. Looking forward to a Wes/Chase buddy film next!!

This one was confusing. I always enjoy Wes Brown, and I have no complaints about new-to-me Christine Ko, but even though they were believable and pleasant in their roles, there was no real spark or chemistry. I remember Lauren Tom as Julie on Friends as cute and natural. Here, as Carol, she was jolting and forced, with awkward grimaces and unnatural line deliveries. The whole movie was a massive flip-flop between scenes that were pleasant and enjoyable and others that were forced, strained, and over-the-top in trying to be cute and funny. We always laughingly comment on whether Hallmark movies seem to fly by (the good ones) or drag along (this one). Can't really recommend this one.

This movie was extremely close to another Hallmark movie from 2015. I won't even say which one because naming it will give the ending away. Not that you couldn't see it coming from about half way through. There were many other common tropes. There were no great highs or lows or any surprises whatsoever. As is all to common in these movies, the conflict was a manufactured mountain out of a molehill.

This was a nice Hallmark debut for Christine Ko. I'd be happy to watch her again. She had good chemistry with Wes Brown who is pretty reliable in this type of movie. Their relationship was the one positive for this movie.

I didn't care for the characters of Carol and Chris. They were a bit overdone, but that was obviously an effort toward humor.

I've noticed some epic fails at times with Hallmark makeup in the past few years. Christine Ko's cheeks were way to pink several times - if it was intentional, then I guess I'm to far out today's fashions, but it seemed unusual compared to dozens of other similar movies. But worse than that was one of the early scenes with Wes Brown's cheeks that looked like they were recovering from too much sun, and not flattering.

CHEERS to Hallmark for finally diversifying their lead characters. It was nice to see Asian actors up front versus always in support roles. It's a good start for th company. As with all Hallmark films, it's predictable but that's why I watch them. Hopefully there will be more coming down the pipeline for Hallmark. It's nice that they finally realize that the viewership demographics are a little more diverse then they probably realized. Wes Brown is always so likable and charming and Christine Ko was cute. It was awesome to see Lauren Tom in a non comedy role where she's usually relegated to doing stereotypical behaviors and voices!