Romance with a Twist

The leading lady looks and sounds like Geena Davis! They have to be related. If not they should be. Talent and strong women. The man was perfect for this movie as well.

Hallmark is always great for giving a good movie but just wish they weren't SO predictable.

Why so many words for a review? Seems a bit much but I want my point made about Geena Davis. This girl should have been cast in the new Beetlejuice movie.

Like Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson look so much alike it's uncanny.

Amazing artistry in this movie so win win all around.

On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being highest I'd give it a 7.5 😉.

Jocelyn Hudon is gorgeous. There, got that out of the way. Truth be told, her presence in this film that is basically about dancing is the only reason I watched it. And I'm actually glad that I did, because Hudon, as Luna, lights up the screen whenever she is on it.

Non-spoiler alert - the plot is Hallmark standard: two people who don't meet and start off by butting heads as they come together to achieve something - in this case it's an artistic dance routine at an arts festival - and end up falling in love with each other. Familiar trope, new setting.

Hudon and Oliver Renaud as Bennett have pretty good chemistry, once the initial scripted standoffishness is a thing of the past.

This was a very well done movie and I am glad I watched it. The leading actors were solid in their performances. This was for me, somewhat of a departure from the usual Hallmark movies in that it was breaking new ground as two wounded souls worked together through turmoil and turbulence to prepare and then put on a performance. Being a team of just two pushed boundaries for both of them. It was interesting to watch the struggle each had. The support cast was strong but I think they could have been better introduced and strengthened. As an example, it took me more than a few minutes to figure out who was who, especially the individuals surrounding the lead female actor. There could have been more visible warmth between them not just words.

I didn't know what to expect but it turned out to be a really good movie. Jocelyn Hudon absolutely steals the movie as she does all her own dancing and stunts. Hallmark should sign her to a long time contract as she is different than the other Hallmark actresses. Instead of a formula where everyone is happy and always polite, they went in a different direction with this movie. Hallmark did a wonderful job showing Jocelyn Hudon's dancing abilities as she was trained in classical dance and they allow her to really show off her gorgeous moves. I am not sure there are any other actresses on the planet who could have pulled this movie off. I really liked it.

So good I'm giving this 7 stars, which I'm not sure I've ever done for a Hallmark romance.

Accept for one small thing, this movie was perfect. It was mission driven "gotta learn this aerial routine in six weeks because the annual small town festival DEPENDS on it." And then there was a beautiful performance at the end. I rewound the final performance no less than five or six times and put the song Catch Me by Thomas Bergersen on my YouTube playlist.

The hero and heroine looked beautiful together. The banter was funny. Nobody was annoying. The small town didn't have any of those "cute" quirks, which I usually can do without. ( I grew up in a small town and it was *nothing* like they show in these Hallmark movies.) This movie showcased a realistic small town atmosphere.

There was some tension and drama with the question of whether Luna could transition from dance to aerial silks. Whether she would stay in the construction business, whether the hero would leave town and continue to tour, etc. So I guess this was also a Work vs Love romance

There was a stepfather in this movie, which was a refreshing change from the widowed parent, which is the norm for a Hallmark romance.

I mean there was *nothing* annoying and everything to like about this movie.

There was just one little tiny thing, the sound was off during the performance of Give My Regards to Broadway so it looked like a bad lip sync performance. But otherwise I really enjoyed this romance.