Loving Evangeline

Okay, I admit it, I approached this from the perspective of a Nick Mancuso fan. I'd never read any book at all by Howard, let alone this one, so I have to take the movie at face value. Beautiful scenery, appealing heroine Rowan, nice moments between her and Nick. I took the movie more as a study of how he changes throughout -- he starts out so stiff and rigid (Ultra Businessman) and ends up relaxed and charming, particularly in their dessert scene. Was it a cinematic masterpiece? No. Was he meant to be a dashing hero? Um, no; he got knocked out cold the first time up to bat with the bad guy, and in the end the police did all the hard work. Bad guy (creepy and menacing up to that point) gave up too easily; Shari Belafonte was oddly stiff -- and there were a lot of things left unclear, like how Cannon's brother figured out what was up in the first place. It was lightweight, yes, but it was hardly hate-worthy. I did get pretty tired of Nick pushing up his glasses, but on the other hand, was highly intrigued by the Mars Bar dessert. Hey. Take what you can get. And Nicky, well, he's still got it. So if you've never read the book (I still haven't) and you like Nick... g'wan. Try it. Hardly hurts at all.

The first thing I must say is that I have not read the book so I can only go by what I saw on the small screen and at this point a further introduction is necessary. Loving Evangeline appears to be one of twelve Mills and Boon/Shilloute romance novels that have been brought to the small screen. I have seen 10 and these are:- Another Woman, A change of place, The awakening, Broken Lullaby, Hard to forget, The Waiting game, This matter of marriage, Diamond Girl,Recipe for revenge and Loving Evangeline. So to get the best out of these movies or to see the worst you must view them in the context of this being a romance novel brought to the screen. It is a pity if these movies do not follow the course of the original book but still view it as a mills and boon brought to film nonetheless. So how does loving Evangeline rate? Well I liked it! Out of the ten that I have watched I would put it at position 5 and to explain this I will run down what is needed to bring a mills and boon/shilloutte romance to film. First of all the couple must look the part the man must be strong and handsome and the woman beautiful and their must be the chemistry! The background story must not overshadow the romance so to overcome this our couple should be seen together in 70% of the film. The Mills and Boon man must have integrity. For example in Broken Lullaby there was a seen where our heroine was shot at now she was understandably upset and as a result got close to our Mills and Boon man and one thing led to another if you get my drift. The Mills and Boon man should have checked with the lady and made sure it was okay to proceed but in this case he just got down to business. Points lost. Another thing that is essential for a Mills and Boon man is that if he is going to get into a fight he should win. In broken Lullaby and Loving Evangeline both mills and boon men got into fights and lost!! Finally there must be a marriage resolution at the end of the film. Loving Evangeline did not have the marriage resolution and I would not have pegged our hero as a typical Mills and boon man but the film did keep me going because of the competency of the actors and a none too taxing storyline so I did like it!! Now if you are wondering what my top five films are I shall tell you. 5th Loving Evangeline. 4th Recipe for Revenge. 3rd Another woman. 2nd The Awakening and my number one Mills and Boon film is DIAMOND GIRL. I managed to get nine of these films via ebay at extremely good bargain basement prices so you could check out all ten and even get the ones that I have not seen yet and these are Treacherous Beauties and At the Midnight Hour.

Sorry it wasn't like the book, but by not having read the book, I wasn't restricted by what to expect or compare. It had a little of everything (scenery, plot, dessert scene) to keep a guy sticking around past a zillion commercials on WE to find out what happens in the end. "Why did you move from California to - here?" is a question only found in a typical Canadian TV production like this. But hey, less crying than most Lifetime movies offer. Also, when you consider what is out there in the theaters these days at $10 dollars a head (plus, all the other "necessary" expenses - food, soda, etc.) this is inexpensive fare for the eyes and the brain. The popcorn at home was fine. The author should have sued anyway.

This middling mystery set in a boating marina has a few twists and turns as a man investigates the death of his Brother. He meets a lady marina owner. Kelly Rowan is lovely as always but Nick Mancuso is too old to play her love interest. They have no chemistry and argue a lot.

I love all of Linda Howard's books, and was thrilled to accidentally run across this film on WE. I couldn't have been more disappointed. Not only was the plot completely different from Ms. Howard's storyline, the acting was mediocre at best. I was dismayed at the complete lack of chemistry between the two lead actors. I am a big fan of escapist romance, and I can forgive a lot of schmaltz and cheesiness in a low budget film if there is a credible connection between the characters and the plot is even halfway believable. But this movie embarrasses a genre that to begin with does not have much to recommend it in terms of higher artistic value. Don't waste your time watching this movie - especially if you are expecting it to resemble the book in any way whatsoever. But do check out some of Linda Howard's novels. She writes quality romantic escapism without forsaking skillful character development and interesting, suspenseful plots. She is a talented writer. My sympathies to Ms. Howard for having her name attached to such an embarrassingly sub-par movie.