A Summer to Remember (2018)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Fantastic!

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Story lacks imagination; same cookie cutter schtick Hallmark puts out..movie...after movie...after painful movie. No imagination to the tale at all. Characters were dull as ditchwater although Catherine Bell's character was also really annoying. Her acting was forced. It's annoying that the fact she's a doctor comes up in each and every #!@!*! SENTENCE.The only reprieve is the fabulous setting and view.Something that Hallmark has taken to doing that is really annoying is to avoid people from showing they are aging, they are using technology to apply a light blur to everyone's faces. Idiotic notion and insulting to both the actors and the viewing audience.

Outside of the location footage, this film offers an extremely predictable story without even a slightly compelling twist. Overly simplistic and without any real conflict that isn't resolved by a simple exit. Time is precious and this is somewhere between 1.5 and 2.0 hours of life you will never get back.

Finally, a HM worth raving about, all due to the fantastic casting, especially with the leads Catherine Bell and Cameron Mathison. It is so nice to see mature actors in HM movies, but I think these two were exceptional. No acting like they were younger, as has been done before, the Jessica character was very believable as a physician as is many times with the younger HM actresses is not the case. The teenage daughter was adorable. While it was formulaic, I totally believed something like this could happen. Great all around cast and the Fijian scenery was beyond breathtaking. Well worth seeing even for a second time as I plan to do this summer evening.

A Summer to Remember strives to being something new and appealing to the Hallmark audience, but in this viewers opinion, it misses the mark . To its credit, the leading actors are mature and attractive, and present the story of how two people with an emotionally complicated past can find hope and happiness once again. The distraction from this worthy plot, however, is that the leading roles are played by two very attractive, yet poorly matched actors. Cameron Matheson certainly comes across as n appealing and attractive man..mature in years but with a remarkably toned and 'buff' body. Strangely, his high-pitched voice detracts from the seriousness of his role.. His smile is so pervasive, there seems no time for a serious moment between the two stars. Catherine Bell is a lovely actress..physically she is in incredible form. However, what plastic surgery she submitted to in the past has left her face with a seriously limited range of emotional expressions. Her mouth is permanently turned up at the corners, making it impossible for her to look serious. She seems always smiling, no matter what the emotions of the moment might be, rendering her unable to convey some of the sadder, intense moments of the story. She cannot express concern in her role as a doctor, a single mother, a woman of new conflicts about romance and her future. The best acting in the cast is done by her daughter, the teenager who finds herself much more accepted and successful in the setting of the island vacation resort. Her acting stands out among the others in the cast ..and shows some real potential for future roles. One little quirk that Hallmark directors ought to be looking at..that has become almost a Hallmark trait in every romantic movie..is the moment when the two stars are about to have their first kiss..and bingo!! there is always an interruption from some outside source..an unexpected returning old lover, an emergency phone call from home, something that stops the kiss just an inch from happening. Hallmark views almost laugh at this predictable moment in every single movie..Maybe the producers and directors could surprise us with an other way of letting this moment happen..Let the lovers kiss!In all.this is a beautifully filmed movie , in a gorgeous setting, but with very limited emotional range for the 2 leads,and with almost no believable chemistry between them whatsoever.