Hallmark For All Seasons

Summer Nights

Love, For Real

“Love, For Real” aired on July 31, 2021 and starred Chloe Bridges, Scott Michael Foster, Corbin Bleu, Taiana Tully and Karen Malina White. The same producer for last month’s Crashing Through the Snow (Stan Spry) was involved in this movie. Erinne Dobson wrote the screenplay. On Hallmark Channel, she is most famous for her “One Winter” trilogy. Maclain Nelson directed, having formerly helmed movies such as Christmas in Vienna and one of my faves, “Small Town Christmas.” If you couldn’t tell from the gorgeous scenery, it was filmed in Oahu, Hawaii, with a few scenes being shot at Kualoa Ranch, which is a popular spot for many films to be shot, including “Jurassic Park” and “Jumanji,” to name just two.

Music: There were two songs of note in the movie. In the scene where Bree and Marco ride off on the horses, Missing Piece (affiliate link) by Vance Joy played in the background. The other songs came near the end of the movie, as it was wrapping up. That song was Love Is Where Are You (affiliate link) by Kadesh.

In a nutshell

When I saw the trailer for this movie, it looked like a snoozefest. Thus far, Hallmark has NOT done a good job with any of their “reality dating show” movie plots. “Not another one!” was my initial thought when I saw the trailer. It’s one reason it took me a few days to muster up the energy to watch it in the first place. However, as the closing credits began to roll, I turned to my husband (who was in the adjoining room while I watched) and said, “I really, really liked that movie!”

The Plot of “Love, For Real”

Hayley and her best friend Bree go on a reality dating show to publicize her fashion line, but nothing goes as planned when love, friendship, and careers are on the line.

Actors & Chemistry

The character I loved out of the gate? Surly assistant director Marie, played to perfection by Karen Malina White. Every scene she had, I loved her. She was sarcastic and no nonsense, but also showed a soft spot for Luke, despite the fact that she “didn’t do feelings.” KMW stole the movie, in my opinion.

Another one that stole the movie for me was Taiana Tully, who played Bree, the friend who loves reality dating shows. I do not watch the new version of “Magnum P.I.” with any regularity, but I have enjoyed her on the few episodes I’ve seen. But I LOVED her in “Love, For Real.”

I also want to say that I hope Corbin Bleu is given more opportunities to be in Hallmark movies. While his character Marco didn’t get to do much in the movie, I do think he had great on-screen chemistry with Taiana Tully, and I think he’s a great addition to the Hallmark stable of actors. But next time, let him lead the movie as the romantic interest versus being part of a large ensemble cast.

Love, For Real — image: Hallmark Crown Media

Out of the gate I was a bit concerned about Chloe Bridges as lead character, Hayley. To be honest, I’ve not seen Bridges in anything (I don’t watch “Pretty Little Liars”) and I had reservations during her first couple of scenes because she seemed to over-exaggerate her facial expressions. It almost felt like she was a Broadway actress used to playing to the back row versus a TV actress performing for a TV camera just a few feet away. The result is that initially I felt like she was over acting. However, as the movie continued, I grew to really like her character despite the over-exaggeration, because the character was well-written and well-rounded. In the end, I really liked Chloe Bridges and hope to see her again.

Lastly, I’m also not that familiar with Scott Michael Foster (“In the Key of Love” being the only other Hallmark movie in which I’ve seen him), and it took me a while to get into him and his character. But at about the 30 minute mark all fears were gone, and I felt this was a stellar cast and they all worked REALLY well together. I believed Hayley and Bree were best friends since childhood. I believed Bree and Marco were smitten with each other. I believed Luke and Hayley were intrigued with each other. And I believed that Marie was secretly a softie under her tough exterior. I loved the whole cast.

Tropes

There were only a couple of them. First, should we add dating reality tv shows to the list at this point? Because this is their 5th or 6th movie involving reality TV dating. It’s becoming a thing, y’all. I saw empty coffee cups when Hayley and Luke were at the elevators near the beginning of the movie. Another necklace to keep an eye out for is the horseshoe necklace. I’ve seen that several times in 2021 and it might be replacing the circle necklace. Someone (Luke) had their job on the line. That’s really about it.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

My main issue with this movie is the reality dating TV show itself. Granted, this movie is the best one yet as far as this Hallmark trope goes, but I still wanted to yell at my tv, “THIS IS NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS!” whenever the show itself was involved. I’m not huge into Bachelor Nation, but I love reality TV. So while I may not know the ins and outs of The Bachelor, I know a thing or two about reality TV. And this movie got a lot of things wrong. But it also got some things right, which the other movies did not, so while I deducted points for the issues, it didn’t lose as many points as the other reality tv Hallmark movies did.

Feelgoods

Not too many feelgood moments other than LOVING the comedy bits (I laughed out loud a few times) and getting to see Jurassic Valley so soon after seeing it in You Had Me At Aloha.

Re-watchability

About 2/3rds of the way through this movie, I actually thought about whether or not I would re-watch the movie, and my resounding response was, “Absolutely!” This movie’s cast charmed me, and I’d definitely watch it again.

The Ranking

From its position in the rankings below, it would look as though “Love, For Real” is just mediocre. The lack of tropes brought it down – if it had a few more, this would definitely be in the Top 5 or me. But tropes are tropes, people, they are what I watch Hallmark for, and them’s the breaks! In any event, this was a very fun movie and worth catching if you can!

Crashing Through The Snow (air date: July 10) – 705 pts – weighted score: 118.1 (82.8%)
It Was Always You (air date: Feb 27) – 668 pts – weighted score: 114.2 (80.1%)
You Had Me At Aloha (air date: June 5) – 675 pts – weighted score: 111.4 (78.1%)
Sweet Carolina (air date: May 15) – 648 pts – weighted score: 110.1 (77.2%)
Taking a Shot at Love (air date: Jan 2) – 641 pts – weighted score: 108.9 (76.4%)
Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (air date: Mar 27) – 636 pts – weighted score: 108.5 (76.1%)
Right in Front of Me (air date: Apr 18) – 637 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
As Luck Would Have It (air date: Apr 10) – 638 pts – weighted score: 107.7 (75.5%)
Her Pen Pal (air date: June 19) – 636 pts – weighted score: 107.1 (75.1%)
The Baker’s Son (air date: June 13) – 637 pts – weighted score: 106.3 (74.6%)*
A Winter Getaway (air date: Jan 23) – 620 pts – weighted score: 104.4 (73.3%)
Love, For Real (air date: July 31) – 607 pts – weighted score: 103.6 (72.7%)
Mix Up in the Mediterranean (air date: Feb 20) – 590 pts – weighted score: 102.5 (71.9%)
Two For The Win (air date: Jan 16) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
Chasing Waterfalls (air date: Mar 20) – 570 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
Sand Dollar Cove (air date: June 26) – 557 pts – weighted score: 96.8 (67.9%)
Hearts Down Under (air date: Apr 24) – 547 pts – weighted score: 95.2 (66.8%)
Fit for a Prince (air date: Mar 6) – 546 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
A New Year’s Resolution (air date: Jan 9) – 516 pts – weighted score: 90.5 (63.5%)
Baby, It’s Cold Inside (air date: May 8) – 495 pts – weighted score: 85.6 (60.0%)
Playing Cupid (air date: Feb 13) – 466 pts – weighted score: 82.6 (58.0%)
Beverly Hills Wedding (air date: Feb 6) – 431 pts – weighted score: 80.6 (56.5%)
Snowkissed (air date: Jan 31) – 402 pts – weighted score: 76.0 (53.3%)