'Second Chance at Love' was mainly seen for Hallmark film completest sake. Their 2022 output, like all their previous years, was unsurprisingly uneven. With some highs, some lows and plenty somewhere in between. But considering the tumultuous couple of years, the standard generally could have been worse. The premise also did sound very cute, though did worry about it being cheesy if not done well as has been the case sometimes with Hallmark.
As far as Hallmark's 2022 output goes, 'Second Chance at Love' is one of the decent somewhere in between films and its execution of the premise is more cute than cheesy thankfully. It is cute and charming, with a good deal of light hearted-ness and heart, but is uneven due to a few of the (significant) problems that have already been cited near-unanimously here. There is a lot that is good here, but not everything worked (which has been the case with many of Hallmark's films this year).
Production values are lovely, especially the scenery. The music is not too loud or used too much. The script is witty and heartfelt, always sounding natural and never juvenile or tasteless. The story, or at least the story with Jack and Brenda, is light hearted and heart warming on the whole, didn't drag or descend into cheese or melodrama too much and didn't feel too predictable despite the formula being familiar.
Most of the acting is also well above average, with very warm and engaging performances from Gloria Rueben and Eriq La Salle. Really liked their characters, they weren't meaty but they were very genuine and amiable. Their chemistry has a lot of natural warmth and wit.
The same however cannot be said for Alvina August who overplays, and do have to agree that her character is incredibly irritating to the extent that it unbalances the film. Also found her plot not near as interesting, tended to go into soap opera land, and the chemistry between her and Jarod Joseph (who did nicely with what he was given) didn't have as much spark.
Do agree also about the ending, which is very rushed and tacked on over-convenience, especially considering what came before it. It felt like a cop out cheat and unearned. The conflict could have had more tension and been less forced.
Concluding, worth seeing but uneven. 6/10.
