'Road Trip Romance' (2022)
Opening thoughts: Expectations were not high for 'Road Trip Romance', despite being impressed by a good number of Hallmark's 2022 films. Natalie Hall is very take and leave, with a high number of average and less films and mostly ones where she herself is not good. Corey Sevier is also variable, though he is good when the character is written decently and when he has a good leading lady. The premise has been done to death many times, including on Hallmark and twice already in the 2022 output.
Really wanted to go against the grain and hoped that 'Road Trip Romance' wouldn't be as bad as has been said, but sadly this reviewer does have to agree with the panning. 'Road Trip Romance' is a very bad film and among the worst of the 2022 Hallmark films. The worst since 'Butlers in Love' in fact. There were some very good films that year for Hallmark, with 'The Wedding Veil', 'North to Home' and 'Presence of Love', but this was a major misfire.
Good things: Only the scenery is good.
Bad things: And even that is not served very well by the flat and too simple photography and some choppy editing. None of the performances are good, with both leads being very weak. Hall tries too hard and comes over as very affected and clinical and Sevier is very vanilla in personality and looks lost. Their chemistry is really lacking, with no wit or charm between them, in a relationship that never really develops or gels. None of the characters are interesting or easy to like, basically tired genre cliches.
Furthermore, The music is too constant and over-scored, not uncommon for Hallmark but this is one of the worst Hallmark films in this regard for this year. The direction is characterless and leaden.
The script is full of cheese, over sweet schmaltz and awkward. The story is paper thin and very dragged out, while also having nothing new whatsoever with a very familiar formula that pretty much plays out exactly as expected with no spark. The ending can be seen from miles off and it is one that is too neat.
Concluding thoughts: Concluding, very poor.
2/10.
Opening thoughts: Expectations were not high for 'Road Trip Romance', despite being impressed by a good number of Hallmark's 2022 films. Natalie Hall is very take and leave, with a high number of average and less films and mostly ones where she herself is not good. Corey Sevier is also variable, though he is good when the character is written decently and when he has a good leading lady. The premise has been done to death many times, including on Hallmark and twice already in the 2022 output.
Really wanted to go against the grain and hoped that 'Road Trip Romance' wouldn't be as bad as has been said, but sadly this reviewer does have to agree with the panning. 'Road Trip Romance' is a very bad film and among the worst of the 2022 Hallmark films. The worst since 'Butlers in Love' in fact. There were some very good films that year for Hallmark, with 'The Wedding Veil', 'North to Home' and 'Presence of Love', but this was a major misfire.
Good things: Only the scenery is good.
Bad things: And even that is not served very well by the flat and too simple photography and some choppy editing. None of the performances are good, with both leads being very weak. Hall tries too hard and comes over as very affected and clinical and Sevier is very vanilla in personality and looks lost. Their chemistry is really lacking, with no wit or charm between them, in a relationship that never really develops or gels. None of the characters are interesting or easy to like, basically tired genre cliches.
Furthermore, The music is too constant and over-scored, not uncommon for Hallmark but this is one of the worst Hallmark films in this regard for this year. The direction is characterless and leaden.
The script is full of cheese, over sweet schmaltz and awkward. The story is paper thin and very dragged out, while also having nothing new whatsoever with a very familiar formula that pretty much plays out exactly as expected with no spark. The ending can be seen from miles off and it is one that is too neat.
Concluding thoughts: Concluding, very poor.
2/10.