Grab a Glass of Wine for This Enjoyable Romance
I stumbled upon Napa Ever After, one of Hallmark’s new romance movies, when I was looking for something else. While I don’t drink wine, I did grow up in the county next to Napa, and so that immediately intrigued me. Knowing nothing else about it, I decided to give the movie a try, and I’m so glad I did.
Cassandra (Denise Boutte) is an up-and-coming real estate attorney who has just made partner. She’s also just inherited a winery in the Napa Valley from her grandmother. She hasn’t been there since she was a girl, and her first instinct is to sell it. But a visit and a letter her grandmother left her convince her to take a sabbatical from work and try to get the winery back into business.
That also means working with Alec (Colin Lawrence). He seems to know exactly what needs to be done around the vineyard, but, much to Cassandra’s annoyance, he refuses to accept any money for his work. Will Cassandra be able to turn the winery around? And what about Alec?
This is a Hallmark romance movie, and I guessed what was going to happen pretty early on. Obviously, the details were unknown, but that’s the charm of a movie like this, right? I will say that Cassandra’s stubbornness about accepting help got old. I get that it was a source of conflict, but come on!
On the other hand, there were some other tropes of the romance genre that the movie didn’t drag out any more than they needed to. I was happy they moved past them quickly and instead used the results to further develop the characters and the story.
The movie does touch on some serious themes – loss and regret being the main two. It did that without being overly serious. But it still made the movie deeper than a typical romance.
As is often the case with these movies, the climax seems rushed, with us just supposed to accept some changes in the characters. But I didn’t mind too much because I really did like how they played things out.
Not that I’m an expert on Hallmark’s non-mystery movies, but this was definitely one of the stronger ones I’ve seen. I could feel the chemistry between the leads, I liked all the characters, the plot was smart, and I just wanted everyone to work things out. Yes, I have some issues, but they are minor. I really did enjoy it.
That’s not to say the movie didn’t suffer from low budget cheese. It mostly came from the writing, but there were times the performances dipped into it as well. On the whole, everyone brought their A game, however.
I don’t know for sure where they filmed this movie, but it definitely felt like Napa to me. Granted, I haven’t spent that much time in Napa proper, but it captured the way that part of Northern California looks perfectly.
Hallmark movies really are a genre all their own. If you enjoy them, make time to watch Napa Ever After. You’ll be glad you did.
Yeeesss!! I agree! You picked a good one to watch. I watch all of the Hallmark premieres and this was definitely my favorite of the 2023 Summer Nights. It's also my favorite Mahagony movie so far. The summer-themed movies are usually my least favorite, but this one definitely delivered. :)
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