Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Movie Review: Caribbean Summer

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Good acting, fun story
Cons: A couple things with the plot and a bit of low budget issues
The Bottom Line:
A last minute trip
Will mix-up lead to romance?
A light, fun movie




Booking Mix-up Leads to Love

Back in the summer of 2022, Hallmark’s Caribbean Summer looked good to me, so I recorded it when it was on.  And there it sat on my DVR for a long time until I finally sat down to watch it.  I’m glad I recorded it because I enjoyed it.

Jade (Heather Hemmens) is a producer for a news station in New York City.  She is very committed to her job to the point that she drove her most recent boyfriend away.  But an on-air mistake leads to her being forced to take a vacation.  She has one of her assistants book her a vacation rental on a Caribbean Island.

There’s just one problem – it wasn’t a real vacation rental but a scam, as Jade finds out when the owner returns home that night.  Ford (Ser'Darius Blain) is very understanding and lets Jade use his guest room.  Jade tries to find another place to stay, but as they get to know each other, will something more develop?

Even though I knew where the story would go, that premise intrigued me enough to want to watch the movie.  I found it was an enjoyable set up with charming characters to draw us in.  And I’m not just talking about the leads (who were absolutely charming), but the rest of the characters are fun as well.  Ford’s best friends play an important part in the story and have a sub-plot of their own that I got invested in.

I also appreciated how a storyline that becomes important in the second half was set up early on.  I wasn’t expected that to mean anything when it was planted, so I was impressed.

On the other hand, there is a storyline that gets completely dropped.  Since it drove parts of the first half, it would have been nice to see it conclude in some fashion.

I get that these are romantic movies, so we are supposed to be happy when the couple profess their love and kiss.  Don’t get me wrong, I was.  But I felt like in this case, they had more they needed to work on to really make their relationship work.  I think they can, but it would be nice to see some acknowledgement of that before the film ended.

But this falls into the realm of me being nitpicky.  Overall, I did enjoy the story.

And who can complain about the scenery.  The island looks wonderful.  I’m definitely ready to head down there to visit.

The acting is good, especially for a Hallmark movie.  There are some other choices that are made purely for the need of a budget that were a little obvious, but that is typical with their movies.

If you are looking for a light romantic movie, Caribbean Summer will make you happy.

1 comment:

  1. I enjoyed this one when it first aired. It is one of the better summer Hallmark movies (which are usually my least favorite). :)

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