Une future étoile

Amelia (Holland Roden) is a new executive at a small record label. She's struggling for approval from her boss who is in a battle with her exes' bigger record company. She goes home to attend a music festival to find elusive indie band "Figure 8". It turns out that the band is led by her former teen sweetheart Will (Corey Cott).

It's a Hallmark romance and that part is pretty simple. Holland is a solid lead. I expected a taller hunk to be the male lead. It's just visually more fun to have short girl looking up all the time. I guess they needed a real singer for the role. The song is above average. That is a nice side to the standard Hallmark main dish.

British Columbia is a sad substitute. Will Hollywood ever get it?

The film is OK but sadly is just using OBX to sell a movie. I can only think of one that comes close, Nights in Rodanthe. I am only speaking of movies. Message in a bottle was the worst location wise.

Why? Cost? Then call it something else. Why not SC or GA if desperate for a location.

Meanwhile, the characters are fleshed out fairly well. Story is OK but this is a Hallmark formula movie as are so many others. Predictable, boss is also predictable. Friends too. Money hungry Real Estate developers etc. At least it isn't about Christmas.

Starting to wonder why I watched. That is on me.

The movie revolved around a recording company junior executive hoping to land an up-and-coming band (whose lead singer turns out to be her high school boyfriend) while competing against a bigger company with deeper pockets. (There were other incidental issues in the back story, but they didn't affect the plot significantly.) The 2 leads. Holland Roden and Corey Cott, are attractive, personable and most importantly, decent actors. After losing actors to GAC, some of Hallmark's replacements have been obviously 2nd and 3rd stringers... back benchers. I think these 2 have a bright future with Hallmark. Additionally Cott is a talented singer. Sometimes giving leads singing scenes seems to be more for vanity than talent. Cott carried his scenes well.

My only quibble is with the background scenery. And it's with many movies, not just this one and not just Hallmark. It seems like no effort is made to make the scenery look like it should. The movie takes place on the Outer Banks of NC. The OBX is a giant barrier sand bar. There is only 1 spot that's more than a few feet above sea level: the hill in Kitty Hawk where the Wright Brothers first flew their flying machine. There aren't even many large trees let alone mountains and forests. But this movie showed large rugged forested mountains everywhere. I get most of these movies are made in Canada and especially around Vancouver. The city and area is beautiful in its own right, but it looks *nothing* like the OBX. It's too bad more effort isn't made to find backgrounds a bit flatter, less mountainous and a little more like a sandbar. It would be more believable.

6.9 stars.

I would probably watch this movie again someday. It's not one of the greats, it's not one of the worst, it sits right in the middle of my average ratings. I like the actors, but the music is lacking. When I see a film like this, I expect higher quality and more variety in the music. The same couple of songs are repeated over and over, becoming worn out like an old pair of jeans. Unfortunately, this pair of jeans does not age well. There are several strange scenes in the beginning, you can tell they're trying to be awkward, but they pulled it off too well and it became overly awkward. That's fine. The movie was overall entertaining enough that I can round it up to a seven. 'Making Waves', I'll see you again in five years or so.

I really enjoyed this particular Hallmark movie because it was very well cast (both major and minor roles) and its storylines were more complete, more well thought out and detailed than some others. I also liked that it didn't center just around the main couple and that the supporting cast and side stories added real interest.

Corey Cott's wonderful singing was a really nice bonus and I wish both he and Holland Rodan were in more of the channel's movies. They portrayed their characters in very believable ways. I liked how the storylines came with some spoken and unspoken baggage right from the start; it kept me guessing and interested throughout and also made the outcomes less predictable. I will watch this one again and highly recommend it.