6.9 stars.
Picturesque, full of wonderful wilderness footage and filmed on location...these aspects of "Love on Safari" are worth noting. The plot, characters, and dialogue... not so much. Talk about a most ordinary story and a concoction of the most basic ideas that Hallmark has to offer...
Filming in such a beautiful location with so much potential begs for more excitement, drama and energy. First of all, Chabert, while she is a wonderful Hallmark icon, is not the right choice for the role if Kira. Actually, a better choice would have been Bristow, who is the supporting young blonde, and is literally perfect for the leading role. I bet dollars to donuts she was the first choice, but in 2018 she was not getting lead roles yet. It appears her first leading role was in "Holiday Date" (2019), which was not worse, or better than "Love on Safari". However, she's been female lead in several movies since, and she's great.
Let's look at the male characters. Tom (Cor) does a poor job, and the other male who portrays Kira's boyfriend is simply dreadful. My theory is Hallmark spent too much money on the location and since Chabert probably wanted to do this film, they gave it to her, which meant a bit more money, and they broke the budget. And to think that they miscasted her anyway...Her character is too much of a girly girl, not lithe or athletic, just too clumsy. Chabert cannot do outdoorsy, it's just not in her wheelhouse. Why not choose Reeser, Lenz, or Taylor Cole? Yes, Cole would have been the number one choice for this character, hands down.
There is just about zero chemistry between the actors. The song and dance (literally) of the South African natives was out of sorts and distasteful. If I were to recommend anything it would be the the scenery and atmosphere, but the story is forgettable. I will remember this as that cool safari Hallmark film with a bland plot.
Picturesque, full of wonderful wilderness footage and filmed on location...these aspects of "Love on Safari" are worth noting. The plot, characters, and dialogue... not so much. Talk about a most ordinary story and a concoction of the most basic ideas that Hallmark has to offer...
Filming in such a beautiful location with so much potential begs for more excitement, drama and energy. First of all, Chabert, while she is a wonderful Hallmark icon, is not the right choice for the role if Kira. Actually, a better choice would have been Bristow, who is the supporting young blonde, and is literally perfect for the leading role. I bet dollars to donuts she was the first choice, but in 2018 she was not getting lead roles yet. It appears her first leading role was in "Holiday Date" (2019), which was not worse, or better than "Love on Safari". However, she's been female lead in several movies since, and she's great.
Let's look at the male characters. Tom (Cor) does a poor job, and the other male who portrays Kira's boyfriend is simply dreadful. My theory is Hallmark spent too much money on the location and since Chabert probably wanted to do this film, they gave it to her, which meant a bit more money, and they broke the budget. And to think that they miscasted her anyway...Her character is too much of a girly girl, not lithe or athletic, just too clumsy. Chabert cannot do outdoorsy, it's just not in her wheelhouse. Why not choose Reeser, Lenz, or Taylor Cole? Yes, Cole would have been the number one choice for this character, hands down.
There is just about zero chemistry between the actors. The song and dance (literally) of the South African natives was out of sorts and distasteful. If I were to recommend anything it would be the the scenery and atmosphere, but the story is forgettable. I will remember this as that cool safari Hallmark film with a bland plot.