Le Gâteau du bonheur

I was following along with this okay movie until I noticed the bakery back room was a green screen. The lead actress and the actress who co-owns the bakery have several scenes in that room. The scenes are in a purple tint and the canisters and shelving are as fake as the chemistry of the lead actors.

This is a GAC movie. Not Hallmark.

The story was predictable but ok, nothing new or original but it still kinda works.

The real problem starts with the acting, aside from the 2 main actors everyone was absolutely unwatchable. Every interaction or line felt so badly performed, it was almost laughable.

The only good thing about the movie was the main characters, Jacob(Brad Benedict) was a stiff but relatively good enough, As for his co-star Victoria(Katrina Norman), she was a true breath of fresh air, the only shining star in the movie. Her charm just bursts out and colors the rest of an otherwise bleak movie. Please let us see more of her, and next time in a movie she can really shine through.

5.1 out of 10 stars.

People commenting here watched it on GAC somewhat recently and act like it's the product of GAC... it was originally produced by Hallmark and also aired on Lifetime. It was filmed in 2019 and released in 2020 - GAC launched in late 9/2021 - so common sense dictates that GAC had nothing to do with the production. It's very common for newly launched channels to buy movies from other channels to air - sometimes even changing the name. GAC has aired several Lifetime and Hallmark movies since they launched while they build their own library of originals. Also common is to have a lower production quality early on because money is tight. (Hallmarks were WAY worse than this in the beginning and only started improving in the last 5 years).

Here's a thought - if you don't like these kind of movies, don't watch them. If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. Movies like this are appreciated by millions - you think we don't know it's basically the same plot over and over? Lol. You think we can't see it's predictable? We enjoy the simplicity. We enjoy the innocence. We enjoy the tradition. If you don't, don't watch. Pretty simple.

This is literally Secret Millionaire (2018). That is the review.

THEY PUT THE CAKE BY ITSELF IN THE BACK OF A VAN LIKE A KIDNAPPED CHILD.

Even kidnapped children get strapped down, covered up and held tight in the back of a van. Not this cake though. Poor thing. It didn't even get a tupperware lid or a box to go in. It didnt even get something to lean on 🎂🚐😱 but guess what. Like magic, the cake was perfectly fine. Now it would have been hilarious and great for a plot (and bloody realistic) if the cake was ruined, right? Nope.

I watch Bridezillas. The cake is a major item when it comes to drama. For reasons like transporting, cost, size...? But they transport the cakes secured, or set it up at the venue; the cakes do come in tiers... Now if it's those obnoxious huge sand castle looking cakes then that might be another story with tiers and building at the venue. But transport is still secure. But this was a simple four tier cake here and the width of an average human and the weight of maybe a one year old. You could have held it in your lap. Not left it in a huge empty white van trunk by itself. What an off putting flaw. I can't get passed it. Folks, this was five minutes in. Shame.

I also have seen this plot before. A big bad real estate developer wants to build in an artsy or green space. Another film called True Love Blooms had this antagony. Awesome film about a developer wanting to build luxury condos in a garden! How important is that message!! From gentrification, to even imperialism, to quite simply an environmentalist wanting a community garden in an urbanized place. That film came with flaws (annoyingly gleeful actress, unattractive beau, no sexual chemistry) but it's a way better story in the same situation as these guys. The streaming site I'm watching Love on the Rise on is buffering and I take it as a sign. I will skip this.