Summer Villa (2016 TV Movie)
6/10
another Hallmark movie
26 August 2018
Romance writer Terry Russell (Hilarie Burton) has writer's block. Her friend Leslie sets her up on a blind date with her brother Matthew Everston (Victor Webster) known as Chef Cupid. It goes badly but he's more devastated about a food critic's review. Leslie offers her family estate in France for the summer. Terry arrives with her teen daughter Abby only to be shocked by the presence of a mistaken Matthew. They reluctantly decide to coexist under the same roof. Local chef Jean Luc is taken with Terry. Jean Luc's sister Nadia is the butcher with the family farm. With a little help from Abby, Matthew puts new life into his cooking.

The leads are serviceable for this Hallmark movie. It's interesting that they are provided with side pieces but those characters have little development. They're not big enough characters to be even hurdles in a love triangle. The teenage daughter is more compelling. She provides a good avenue for development but it stops a little short. The leads struggle with chemistry and basic romance formula. It's more heartbreaking if Matthew stops being Abby's mentor. That's the most compelling relationship here. It may be more fun to make Abby the protagonist trying to parent trap two romantically challenged adults.
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