Coup de foudre aux Maldives

The story was kind of booooooring. The acting was meh. Jocelyn Hudon and her real life husband, Jake Manley. Had decent chemistry on-screen chemistry. Not sure I understand his frosted hair. It was a little over the top. The 80s is calling him.

DIVING: They go "diving" - she says she's scuba certified (and I assume he is too) ... and yet, they go "diving" with no oxygen tanks - only mask and snorkel. Now ... that would be snorkeling - not scuba diving. No - they are not tankless scuba diving - they had no tube connecting them to anything. They could be "free diving" - but I doubt that's what they want us to believe since it's never mentioned.

I do appreciate that they have an older single woman traveling alone. That was a nice touch. Gave a different perspective on traveling.

All-in-all - I watched it from start to finish. It was just OK - probably will not watch again. The scenery warrants my 5 rating ... the rest of the story/acting was a 1-2.

A travel reporter is challenged to find something new for her and sent to this resort to find it. As far as story, what follows is very common for this premise combined with the idea of an exotic tropical location. The conflict was exactly as I expected it and likewise common for this premise. Same thing for the conclusion. Strictly in the sense of predictability. The last part of the movie was disappointing and unsatisfying.

The scenery was beautiful. Throw in some sets that show an underwater bedroom (enclosed obviously) as well as an unwater dining and party area. Some of the water scenes show luminescence of both fish and algae. One flaw in the natural scenery is that Rae is repeatedly shown snorkeling in about 6 feet of water with a smooth bottom having little plant life or obstructions. One of these scenes shows her looking for interesting objects and finding one. This is not where experienced people go to snorkel.

Jocelyn Hudon is one of Hallmark's youngest regular leads and she is one of my favorites for the under 35 crowd and has a fairly extensive portfolio or resume of rom/coms. Hallmark and the other networks need more actors in her age bracket.

Hudon and Jake Manley have decent chemistry. The dialogue, like the story, is nothing special making this movie more appealing for nature and scenery than for script.

I am a travel writer and recently returned from the Maldives, so you can imagine how excited I was to watch this movie. It definitely did the Maldives justice, but the actors were just horrible. Why did they have to dye the male lead's hair blonde, circa The Backstreet Boys? And why was his acting so stilted in such a beautiful, relaxing environment? It's ridiculous that she is on assignment to find exactly what she discovered - peace, serenity, and relaxation - but they still found a way to include conflict over a sunken ship (5 minutes of the movie) and her editor suddenly wanted her old schtick and not what she was sent for in the first place. Hallmark has GOT to change up the formula and be okay with a different plot. We don't always need a contrived conflict and a quick resolution. Sometimes we just want romance in the Maldives.

If you're watching a hallmark movie for original content then you're going to be terribly disappointed. It's a well known joke that all the plots are pretty much the same. You can almost clock the pace of the story right down to the conflict with about 15 minutes to go. A conflict that could've been avoided with simple communication.

That said it is what it is. But I'm glad that they are branching out with the locations - we have enough snowy small towns, pumpkin patches, made up European countries with a Prince or Princess. And it's nice to see different faces and a wee bit more diversity with the supporting casts. As a long time watcher, it's been the same 10 actors for about a decade.

I'm chuckling at the comments about the frosted hair on the male lead. Seriously '90s boy bands called and want their look back.

What can I say. It's a hallmark movie. Enjoy the scenery.

This is a good example of when Hallmark gets it right. Granted, the plot has been used many times before - though rarely better, and most good Hallmark films these days rely on recycled plot devices - but that doesn't matter when you have two likeable leads. Jocelyn Hudon is gorgeous and spends plenty of time in a bikini, and her real-life husband Jake Manley. She is a journalist working on her latest piece about solo travelling and he is a charming local (with frosted blonde tips, which was an interesting one) who knows the ins and outs of the Maldives, where the film is set. As often as Hudon is in a bikini, he is shirtless, so it's equal-opportunity stuff.

The combination of Jocelyn Hudon and the spectacular turquoise water and white sand of the Maldives as the backdrop to this easy-to-watch - and dare I say cute - romance is an absolute winner for mine. And given the two leads are together in real life, there's no issues with chemistry, which is where it seems like one of every three or four Hallmark movies falls flat.

I loved Love in the Maldives.