Amore a discesa libera

Justin is going home for a championship, it's his "comeback" after an injury which kept him out of the slopes for a year. Kayla, his childhood best friend, is there. She finds herself agreeing to be his coach for this race.

I don't know. It was hard at first to get into it, which maybe had to do with Charlotte Sullivan, I kept thinking where I knew her from and then her face: is it make up? is it her face? If so, she could use a little bit of tan. It was so distracting. I haven't seen Trevor Donovan in much movies but I apparently like him. I enjoyed his performance and apparently he can skii? Anyway, these two had a good dynamic, they told us they were childhood friends and I believe it.

I was pleasantly surprised at minute 43. I did not see that coming so soon. We always expect the big revelation in the final minutes, not half an hour before the ending, I was caught off guard, so points for that.

Fun fact: Around minute 53 we can see a man with a mask standing in the middle of the snow. If you ask me, he was part of the crew. I jut found it funny.

To sum up: we have friends-to-lovers combined with sports. It's a good combination, it worked. It didn't make me smile like other movies had, and I kept being distracted but it's not a bad movie. I'm also satisfied with the ending. I thought they might go in the same direction as always (you know which one) but they managed to avoid it. So, good.

I love Trevor Donovan, I watched quite a few of his movies, even his parts as Teddy Montgomery. I have to say he had the least amount of chemistry with Charlotte Sullivan. To be honest I don't know how good actor he is in reality as his characters don't really have a lot of depth, it's enough that he looks dashing, but Charlotte is just so wooden in this one This movie felt like they were not really there, just kinda "let's do another Hallmark movie". Their "romance" was not believable, no sparks, nothing. I frequently found myself checking my phone as it was boring. I'm sorry Trevor but I want to see you playing something else now. 4 stars for the scenery.

The idea for the story sounded quite charming, despite the very familiar setting and that it's quite formulaic. Have had mixed views on Trevor Donovan in the past and it is dependent on how his roles are written and whether he fits the type of character he's meant to be playing (there have been times where he hasn't, such as 'Snowcoming'). The title though is very inspiring and is not too corny, corny titles at times with Hallmark can be a turn off.

2021 has been pretty mixed for Hallmark thus far. 'Two for the Win' is neither one of the best or worst films, and do think the previous two New Year New Movies films 'Take a Shot at Love' and especially 'A New Year's Resolution' were superior. It is though quite good, if not my definition of great, and fits in the high middle category as far as the 2021 Hallmark films go. People may scoff at me for giving high rating to a fair share of Hallmark films, but if given a chance a good deal of them are a lot better than they sound.

Is 'Two for the Win' perfect? No, none of the 2021 Hallmark films have been and that is including the best ones. It is a bit of a slow starter and ends on the too tidy side.

Charlotte Sullivan did seem a bit ill at ease at first when her character was not easy to warm to. While the chemistry was believable in my view, the relationship could have had more growth.

A lot is good however. It's nicely made, with the scenery even being stunning. Hardly a surprise as the scenery has more often than not been one of the best things about Hallmark's films. The music fits well and doesn't come over as too constant or melodramatic. The script doesn't descend into too much cheese, sugar and awkwardness. When it's light-hearted it's not too corny, when there is any conflict it's not forced and when it is more dramatic it has emotion but not of the overly sentimental kind.

Furthermore, the story is charming and heart-warming on the most part despite being formulaic. Did appreciate that the final third is not as contrived as it can be with Hallmark. The skiing is lovely to watch, though would have liked to have seen more of it. Once her character became easier to warm to and started to grow, the more relaxed Sullivan became and her chemistry with Donovan is sweet. Personally thought that Donovan was very well cast this time and has a nice subtle charisma without being lightweight. The supporting cast are solid.

Overall, not great but pretty good. 7/10.

Obvious stunt double for downhill skiing. Should have done the same for cross-country or at least get someone to show them how it's done.

Clearly the costume designer has no clue what real skiers or anyone on or near a ski resort wears. I could barely stand to watch this film with characters who are supposed to be world class skiers wearing cheap outdoor (not ski) clothing with cheesy, low quality details. People in the lodge are all wearing cheap acrylic sweaters and Walmart necktubes. Then there is the disconnect between the ski scenes filmed on the little hill in Ottawa, cut to the character looking off in the distance and suddenly it's freaking Switzerland. Major Helly Hansen product placement. Hilarious.