Hallmark For All Seasons

“Mix Up in the Mediterranean” aired February 20, 2021 on Hallmark Channel as part of the Love Ever After movies. It starred Jessica Lowndes and Jeremy Jordan.  Jordan previously starred in “Holly & Ivy” back in December, and Jessica Lowndes has been in several Hallmark movies, including Over the Moon in Love.

The movie was filmed entirely in Malta, a country that I have long been interested in visiting.  This movie only solidified that desire to go there someday (although I feel like the movie didn’t quite show enough of the area for my liking)!  Heavy.com has some great info on the various Maltan locations they used.

Jonathan Wright directed (he previously directed Love, Romance & Chocolate and Angels Falls: A Novel Holiday, among others). Julie Kim and Karine Marwood co-wrote the script.  They seem to be a package deal since they both acted as story consultants on 2019’s Nostalgic Christmas.

In a nutshell

I liked this a lot more than I expected.  The last two movies Hallmark gave us were extremely disappointing, so it was nice to have a movie that had a lot more froth and fun to it.  Added bonus: Jeremy Jordan was GREAT in his dual roles.

Plot of “Mix Up in the Mediterranean”

Josh, a small-town cook, impersonates his big city chef twin Julian to compete in a culinary contest and falls for Meg, the woman in charge of the event, who thinks he is the brother who is married.

Actors & Chemistry

Jeremy Jordan is the winner of the movie, and clearly Josh is the lead character (which is rare for a Hallmark movie nowadays).  Jordan was GREAT playing both Josh and Julian and the interaction between the twins was seamlessly edited and at some point I stopped paying attention to the fact that both characters were portrayed one person.  That’s saying something.

I didn’t care for his other Hallmark movie, “Holly & Ivy,” because I didn’t find the romantic aspect of the movie believable.  And while I didn’t necessarily feel that romantic connection in this movie, either, I really liked him much more in this than in “Holly.”

I think Jessica Lowndes is beautiful, and she’s perfect for Hallmark movies (although she tends to play her characters the exact same every time, which is frustrating because I guarantee she can do better).  BUT, I desperately wish she would not go so heavy with her makeup makeup.  Her eyes are naturally gorgeous in both shape and color, and she does herself a disservice going so heavy with her makeup.  Her makeup was not nearly as heavy in “Christmas at Pemberly Manor” and she was lovely.

The rest of the cast was great, from Callum Blue as Julian’s husband Henri, to Stephen Oliver as Chester, the chef friend who helped get the elusive black truffles.

From a chemistry standpoint, Jeremy Jordan had great chemistry with himself (which is hilarious to type) as well as with Blue.  I didn’t necessarily feel any romantic chemistry between Lowndes and Jordan, though.

Six Degrees of Kris Polaha: Jeremy Jordan is three steps away from Polaha.  Jordan co-starred in 2014’s “The Last Five Years” with Anna Kendrick, who shared the screen with Greg Germann in 2016’s “Get a Job.”  Germann previously co-starred in 2014’s “Atlas Shrugged, Part III” with Polaha.

Tropes

The movie opened with a beautiful opening drone shot of a small city at the base of a mountain.  Was it really Alaska? Who knows, but it was lovely.

Is this the top of the mountain for mistaken identity movies?  Or maybe at least a tie with the Candace Cameron Bure twins movie?

We had a classic “overheard conversation” but instead of being misconstrued, it was totally “strued.” *lol*  That conversation between the brothers about their charade should NOT have taken place out in the open.  And while I understand it from a script’s “bring’ on the conflict” perspective, they’ve done so well keeping the secret in place and yet Julian sudden could not wait one more moment to tell his brother of his concerns?  The conversation was both a trope AND a “did I hear that?”

Did I Hear/See That Right?

A secret stash of chocolate in case she can’t any of the good stuff?  Now, I may not have traveled all over the world, but I’ve always managed to find good chocolate no matter where I go.

A little truffle goes a long way, but Chester found a whole big bag for the competition, didn’t he?

I’m just going to ignore the whole “this is a live tv show” aspect of the movie because thankfully they kept that part of the story to a minimum.

Feelgoods

I loved Julian’s husband, Henri.  His initial reactions to Josh’s horrible imitation of Julian at the beginning of the movie had me laughing.  I also laughed when he came down with his sudden cold before the finals.  “Ah-choo,” indeed.

I’d be ALL OVER the black truffle bacon cheeseburger made with Wagyu beef.  YUM.

 Re-watchability

“Mix Up in the Mediterranean” is one I would probably watch again if only to see all of Jeremy Jordan’s scenes with himself.  And Henri, the husband.

The Ranking

“Mix Up in the Mediterranean” scored really well thanks to fun performances and a little bit of Malta.

1. Taking a Shot at Love (air date: Jan 2) – 641 pts – weighted score: 108.9 (76.4%)
2. A Winter Getaway (air date: Jan 23) – 620 pts – weighted score: 104.4 (73.3%)
3. Mix Up in the Mediterranean (air date: Feb 20) – 590 pts – weighted score: 102.5 (71.9%)
4. Two For The Win (air date: Jan 16) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
5. A New Year’s Resolution (air date: Jan 9) – 516 pts – weighted score: 90.5 (63.5%)
6. Playing Cupid (air date: Feb 13) – 466 pts – weighted score: 82.6 (58.0%)
7. Beverly Hills Wedding (air date: Feb 6) – 431 pts – weighted score: 80.6 (56.5%)
8. Snowkissed (air date: Jan 31) – 402 pts – weighted score: 76.0 (53.3%)

To see where this movie lands in my overall rankings of Hallmark movies, visit my Hallmark Movie Rankings page!

What did you think of “Mix Up in the Mediterranean”?  Comment below and let me know!