There were two big reasons to see 'A Paris Romance'. One is that it was part of my Hallmark film completest quest started with their Christmas output in 2019, which expanded with their other seasonal films just recently. Two is the city of Paris, which is absolutely beautiful as a place and a popular location in film and television for very good reason. Will admit to not being a fan of Jen Lilley, she can be engaging but she does tend to try too hard.
'A Paris Romance', or 'Paris, Wine and Romance', turned out to be good charming fun and worth watching, as long as not too much is expected. It is not my definition of great, but it is better than most Hallmark films set abroad (a type of story that has varied with them) and is one of the better 2019 Countdown to Summer films by quite some way. Lilley also fares well here in one of her better 2019 Hallmark appearances.
Starting with what doesn't fare so good, will agree that the accents are distractingly bad and would best not have even been attempted if it was going to sound stereotyped or affect some of the diction. The story has familiar Hallmark tropes which makes it lacking in freshness in the final third, so to me momentum was lost towards the end and some of the conflict is forced.
Did think that it was on the silly side too, especially in the at times overblown early portions where some of the laughs seemed unintentional.
However, a lot is good. Lilley is a mostly likeable and engaging leading lady and she doesn't try too hard or overdo any negative character traits, though she did seem on the too reserved side in the early portions. She has a sweet and genuine chemistry with the even better and subtly charismatic Jean Jeanotte, their romance obvious and real. Of the strong supporting cast, Lolita Davidovich's classy. Paris is absolutely stunning and appropriately like a character of its own, it is filmed in a picturesque way too.
Furthermore, a nice, affectionate job is done with the cultural element without stereotyping it and the film was made with a clear love for Paris and almost like a love letter to it. Indulging in the locations was easy, some of what is said and shown is educational and it didn't feel too much of a travelogue like some of the abroad set Hallmark films can be. The script flows quite well and is light-hearted and smile-worthy, its sweetness too not being too saccharine. The story has a very warm heart and the romantic element when it grows is charming. Did like what it does with the long distance problem, which is done with heart, honesty with a resolution that was more realistic than most films with the long distance relationship issues. The ending isn't too pat or obvious and some of the developments were nice and different.
Overall, nice film. 7/10.
'A Paris Romance', or 'Paris, Wine and Romance', turned out to be good charming fun and worth watching, as long as not too much is expected. It is not my definition of great, but it is better than most Hallmark films set abroad (a type of story that has varied with them) and is one of the better 2019 Countdown to Summer films by quite some way. Lilley also fares well here in one of her better 2019 Hallmark appearances.
Starting with what doesn't fare so good, will agree that the accents are distractingly bad and would best not have even been attempted if it was going to sound stereotyped or affect some of the diction. The story has familiar Hallmark tropes which makes it lacking in freshness in the final third, so to me momentum was lost towards the end and some of the conflict is forced.
Did think that it was on the silly side too, especially in the at times overblown early portions where some of the laughs seemed unintentional.
However, a lot is good. Lilley is a mostly likeable and engaging leading lady and she doesn't try too hard or overdo any negative character traits, though she did seem on the too reserved side in the early portions. She has a sweet and genuine chemistry with the even better and subtly charismatic Jean Jeanotte, their romance obvious and real. Of the strong supporting cast, Lolita Davidovich's classy. Paris is absolutely stunning and appropriately like a character of its own, it is filmed in a picturesque way too.
Furthermore, a nice, affectionate job is done with the cultural element without stereotyping it and the film was made with a clear love for Paris and almost like a love letter to it. Indulging in the locations was easy, some of what is said and shown is educational and it didn't feel too much of a travelogue like some of the abroad set Hallmark films can be. The script flows quite well and is light-hearted and smile-worthy, its sweetness too not being too saccharine. The story has a very warm heart and the romantic element when it grows is charming. Did like what it does with the long distance problem, which is done with heart, honesty with a resolution that was more realistic than most films with the long distance relationship issues. The ending isn't too pat or obvious and some of the developments were nice and different.
Overall, nice film. 7/10.