'Countdown to Valentine's Day' movie review: 'Love, Romance, & Chocolate'
The decadent and delightful "Love, Romance, & Chocolate" (airing Feb. 16 as part of the Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Valentine's Day) is a picturesque getaway - even if its light on story, its rich in charm.
In short: Newly single Emma (Lacey Chabert) embarks on a solo Valentine's vacation to Belgium - and she volunteers to help Belgian chocolatier Luc (Will Kemp) win a royal wedding competition to create the most romantic chocolate.
Because of the relatively convoluted plot, "Love, Romance" takes a while to get its core plot off and running - Emma has to get dumped, make it to Belgium, meet Luc and finally get them together to enter the competition. And then there's a shallow b-plot involving Luc's business rival and Emma trying to set up her innkeeper friend with the guy she's infatuated with. Although this makes it seem as if the movie has a lot of moving parts, the movie all but abandons most of these plot points after the first act.
"Love, Romance" invests most of its time watching Emma and Luc fall in love - but it doesn't really concern itself with developing either its characters or story. Thankfully co-leads Chabert and Kemp keep the movie buoyant. This is great inasmuch as watching two endearing characters fall in love against a stunning backdrop is lovely - but the plot is thin ... it barely goes beyond its premise. There are hints of two rather risk-adverse taking chances to win a life-changing competition - however these tantalizing moments aren't developed to any extent. And the subplot involving Luc's business problems only come up when its convenient to the plot - it barely factors into Luc's decisions or motivations.
While most Hallmark movies are set in quaint and cozy small towns, "Love, Romance" is fully immersed in the breathtaking streets of Belgium. The gorgeous city and its distinct cityscape is an uncredited third main character. It adds to the fairy-tale feel of this winsome charmer - making it almost impossible to resist some bit of wanderlust.
Final verdict: "Love, Romance" might not feature the most complex story or characters, but it succeeds in its simple goal - watching two lovely people craft rich sweets while falling in love in a breathtaking city. The movie works best when Emma and Luc share the scene and falters when their chemistry is set aside in favor of a thin plot.
Score: 3-out-of-5-hearts
"Love, Romance, & Chocolate" is rated TV-G and has a running time of 90 minutes. The movie premieres on The Hallmark Channel on Feb. 16.
