O Encanto do Amor

Old fashion romantic romp that grows on you on the strength of female lead Katrina Norma and her beau, a lovable charmer in the person of Tilky Jones. The story is chintzy. Katrina went treasure hunt in order to save her museum. She comes to scenic exotic island, ancient manuscript in hand, and meets inn owner Jones, who is based in New York but comes to the island to revive business for the charming historic Pierre Hotel. Katrina's beauty and personality grows on you during her encounter with the affable Jones. Their time together comprises much of the movie while assorted colorful, island-appropriate characters complement the back set. It's like going to an old ice cream shop when you are out on dinner stroll - comforting and everything comes out as expected. Should you be fickled and go hard on that creamery owner for not inventing new surprise gimmicks or do you enjoy the moment ?

I tried to get onboard with this but within the first 5 mins the lead actress had already manhandled a incredibly badly made arts and crafts "artefact" like a child from there it just got worse and worse... i know its supposed to be romantic and we all need to suspend belief and invest in the journey etc but when she started stomping through a tropical garden (which I'm assuming was supposed to replicate a wildly overgrown jungle) as an unconvincing female Indiana Jones in.... wait for it.... Hot pants and heeled platform lace up boots i could no longer bear to watch.

Also the 2 lead actors had zero chemistry so even that couldn't bring it back round for me.

The lead actors are some of the most annoying I've seen & the storyline is similar to Pearl in Paradise which has far more credible actors/acting. The only redeeming feature of this film is the stunning location.

Legend based on myth or truth? Of course. Maddie thinks it's true. At least she hopes it's true. The future of her museum depends on it.

Meanwhile, Fitz needs something to save tourism for the island he loves.

Thus starts the search for the lover's stone. And that's the story. It's not surprising they had to throw in Fitz's girlfriend to liven things up. It didn't help. I never saw anyone so unenthusiastic about proposing to his girlfriend and that was before he really got to know Maddie.

I was not familiar with Katrina Norman. I didn't recognize Tilky Jones but I had seen him in a couple of forgettable roles. The two had some mild chemistry. Like the story, nothing very exciting and no surprises.

The ending is more cheesy than sappy. I like sappy, but this was too over the top for me.

Good as a background movie where you don't have to actually pay attention.

But seriously though, she goes hiking on heels? Are you all out of your mind? 😅