User Reviews

Very enjoyable movie. Gee no sex no cursing and no violence. What a concept. Being Italian I enjoyed the heritage. Some very tasty looking food dishes presented. Maybe some upcoming actors and actresses. Giada did a great job.

I am really enjoying the deeper non-holiday/non-mystery movies on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel. Tyler Hynes and Autumn Reeser delivered a deeper performance and had excellent chemistry-the story was well written and performed by all of the cast. Definitely recommend watching this movie and I hope to see the Autumn/Tyler pairing again in the future!

8.2 stars.

As far as Italian themed Hallmarks this one is near the top of my personal charts. This is about Elizabeth (Reeser) who runs an Italian restaurant on Bainbridge Island, but she's been running it alone for some years now. Unfortunately the restaurant is suffering financially and she must hire a consultant to help keep it afloat. Ben (Hynes) takes the job and what he finds is much more than a failing business. He discovers a hidden treasure of new and inventive cuisine just waiting for the right moment to be shared.

The romance between Hynes and Reeser is very real and fresh. She always shines as a lead, and he is right there with her. Add a wonderful soundtrack, and beautiful acting, and we have a winner. The whole family was engaging, not one of them failed to perform their very best. I have no negative feedback for this film.

Any film and television series etc centered around food immediately has me sold. The culinary/restaurant setting has been done to death before and has been a common setting since, but anybody that loves food and loves to cook and always finds themselves salivating at different dishes on cookery competitions may find that that doesn't matter. Whenever Hallmark do this setting, it does vary in quality. Particularly in the storytelling and whether the characters are any good.

2022's 'Always Amore' is one of the food-centered Hallmark films that works and up there with the best of them. Have seen some food-centered Hallmark and Lifetime films over the past few months, especially the Christmas films, that have really not worked for reasons other than setting, but this felt like a refreshment in comparison to those. It is a treat for anybody that loves food, culinary heritage and loves to cook and is not only a menu worth trying out but it is a tasty one. 'Always Amore' is one of the better 2022 Hallmark films and much better than the previous food-set Hallmark film 'Welcome to Mama's'.

It is not perfect, have yet to see a Hallmark film that's perfect (even the best ones). Did feel that the ending could have slowed down and was too neat.

Do agree that everything with still keeping the old menu, when revamping it would have decreased the bankruptcy risk, and the whole not trying out dishes not created by the owner didn't ring true.

Really liked everything else though. Autumn Reeser is endlessly engaging and has a lot of perky charm about her. Another (justifiable) Hallmark regular Tyler Hynes is very comfortable and easy going in his likeable role. Their chemistry is very genuine and never felt false or bland, it is a very understated one but there was chemistry in my view. It was great that it was not underused and didn't play fiddle to any conflict concerning the restaurant. The supporting cast are solid and the characters were ones worth engaging with.

The restaurant setting is portrayed in a very affectionate way and the passion for food was clear, it is really made the most of and what happens behind the scenes is realistic. Any conflict is unforced and has some uncertainty that makes one root for things to be okay. The script is a mix of amusingly light hearted and heart warming sentiment, without being juvenile or too sentimental. The story is not an original one, but it has a lively energy, doesn't take itself too seriously while not treating it as a joke and is cute. The characters are ones worth caring for and the film looks very nice and isn't over-scored.

Concluding, very tasty and fullfilling if not completely cooked all the way through. 7/10.

This was ok. Not great but not terrible either. Autumn and Tyler have decent chemistry-neither is a favorite of mine but they work well together here. The story isn't very innovative and there are plot holes that you just learn to ignore such as the daughter's age. This type of movie seems typical for Wonya's Hallmark-take the existing RomCom formula that works really well for the network and add more unnecessary drama and angst.

Giada DeLaurentiis is an Executive Producer on this and aside from a cookbook cameo and her clear involvement in the food being served, she is nowhere to be seen. You'd think she would have showed up as one of the competition judges at least. Missed opportunity for Hallmark.

Acting was terrific. The story was sweet, entertaining and wholesome. Unfortunately given the economy today after COVID, this movie was totally believable with restaurants struggling to stay afloat. Highly recommend.

This film was filled with family and grief over the loss of a loved one. Autumn Reeser's character is forced to work with a restaurant consultant who is brought in to help her rescue her deceased Italian chef husband's restaurant.

Initially she had difficulty trusting the consultant and their relationship is strained...but as she puts it a lot of people have put their trust in her and it took her a while to see that she could put her trust in the consultant.

The consultant who is a bit of a vagabond and also still grieving over the death of his fiancé...enjoys the "family" of this restaurant, where all the employees get Monday off and they all have a family style sit down dinner to which he gets invited.

I understand Giada de Laurentiis was used as a consultant on the film...and I will say the food was drool-worthy.

It was supposed to be set on Bainbridge Island, Washington...where I am from and I can definitively say that it was not filmed in Bainbridge, nor did they make any attempt to make it appear that it was to my disappointment.

I think there is a statistic that something like 70% of restaurants fail...that gave real melancholy to this movie in which a restaurant is on the cusp and really trying to keep the memory of the late chef alive.

This was a worthwhile watched...I loved the Nona and her heart and being ok to grieve, love and celebrate the family that we make.

(I am still wondering why hallmark is running so many movies in which one parent has been killed? There has been a lot of death and single parents lately.)

I usually pick apart a story like this for all the formula elements in it. This story has some, especially then climax and ending. It starts out with the usual struggling business about to go under owned by Elizabeth. Ben shows up to save the business. But none of those matters. The story is just a vehicle for Autumn Reeser and Tyler Hynes to connect. And they are so good. Both are good individually and together. Even though I was thinking during the climax how cliche it was, I had tears in my eyes over what was going on between Elizabeth and Ben.

This movie stars two actors, Autumn Reeser and Tyler Hynes, plus a longtime actress that I adore, Patty McCormack ("The Bad Seed").

Patty was a welcome sight, just from the standpoint of adding a well-established person to the cast. Autumn is gaining her experience every day with Hallmark, and she is also a joy to watch. Tyler is a standard, and therefore common Hallmark choice.

I don't know what this movie lacked for me. Maybe it was the very thin romance that didn't seem to do much for me, but I think a lot of it was the disingenuous accent use (Marrrrco) and also: check out Autumn's scene at the beginning when she has a chocolate to eat from her friend. She holds it for God-knows-how-long, then takes a literal micro-nibble, then it disappears. I understand the pressure on actresses to stay thin, but it would have been awesome to see her just eat the chocolate (even if she was eating a freaking chocolate marshmallow with no caloric value). I understand all the complexities of wanting to be cautious about weight; maybe it is possible there was no intention for her to avoid eating it, but everyone else in the scene did. For some people recovering from eating issues, it's so great to see people set a decent example on film.

I didn't love the food setting; this might be a reason the film is either hot or cold for reviewers. The food was boring to me as a plot device; I could easily watch a chef show, but this type of story line is just so tired. I wish they could have focused more on the grief/ loss, for example, as there are a million ways that people deal with it. Food and contests and restaurants are so linear to me.

Another aspect was the daughter, who was beautifully talented and did a fantastic job. Even more scenes with her or her school woes could have been more deep or interesting.

When they brought in the guest chef, who I'm sure is popular outside of this movie, I was thinking this is just a long version of a chef contest show.

I think AR is a great actress, but there is something that strikes me as artificial about her; Lacey Chabert is an amazing role model, someone that I've watched since she was a little one on Party of Five, and her depth has always been there. I don't want to hurt anyone reading these reviews, but I would like to see AR in a movie that isn't depicting her as a beautifully perfect woman. Her entire demeanor is glamorous, but she lacks the grit that makes her more believable. I don't think she needs to do anything drastic, but tone down the perfection a bit (perfect nails, perfect lipstick, perfect outfits, blah blah blah).

Tyler does not seem different in this movie than in most of his movies, but admittedly, I don't study his progress much.

The truffle scene was so funny to me. I kept thinking "I didn't know you could just walk around and find truffles." - glad I'm not insane.

This was another restaurant movie. It had potential, but lacked energy. Autumn Resser and Tyler Hynes are usually good bets for Hallmark. They do not set me aflutter, but are reliable in their assorted offerings. Not so this time. Ms. Reeser was more whiny than usual and dull. Her stubborn fixation with her dead husband was over done and Mr. Hynes seemed basically phoning in his part. There were some pleasant inner actions between the main characters, but not enough to carry this entry. Several new Hallmark Movies for 2022 have been less than stellar, this is definitely one of the outstanding ones.

Oh look, it's Taylor Townsend. She looks exactly the same - hasn't aged one bit.

Fun fact - her last name in this movie is Campisi. The fun fact is that it was my nonna's maiden name, so I have a bunch of family with this lastname.

This looks like a really cute movie. She mentioned something about college, and I really wanted her to say "Brown', cause that would have been a cute little mash up that no one would really have noticed, unless they have rewatched The OC since it aired.

Everything about her is exactly the same, except the shorter hair cut.

It was good to see her again. It's been a while.

I must have watched a different movie than the rest of the reviewers. The one I watched had way too many grating fake Italian accents, a story that wasn't at all believable and two leads with no chemistry whatsoever. What kind of successful restaurant insists on keeping an old, stale menu even when they're going bankrupt? What kind of restaurant owner and chef refuse to try new dishes just because someone who's been dead for three years didn't create them? I usually like the two main leads but the script was a dud and there was nothing they could do to save it.

Ben saves restaurants from sinking for a living, and our main lady, Elizabeth is the owner of an Italian place in her city. Her husband the original owner, passed away and since then nothing has changed in the restaurante, ergo, Ben's job.

I went into this without reading what's about and it was a big mistake since I'm grieving someone and so is my mom, so it hit close to home and it was quite difficult to watch when those conversations arose.

Lately I've been a fan of Tyler and all his movies. I can't say the same about his hair in this movie. (Just a joke). And I'm going against the current in this one: while I thought the chemistry was there, I didn't think of it as romantic. I didn't think the characters were made for each other. If I thought this were real people, I wouldn't bet on their relationship. Maybe the main actors are friends in real life because their characters interaction weren't forced or uncomfortable to watch.

Plot wise, this was above average for me. Maybe except for the final problem. It was typical Hallmark, taking something the other character said the wrong way. Big fan of the found family dynamic going on in the restaurant. So this a weird one, a liked the plot but had problems with the main couple. It's always the other way around.

Anyway, not a favorite for me, but worth the watch.

Well, I flunked chemistry in high school and I didn't take algebra because I didn't want to fail a foreign language. Autumn and Tyler should have taught my chemistry class because they are damn good at it. Yes the story is predictable, but isn't that why you watch it?

What do you do want to see is a well written script performed by a fine cast with chemistry and believable characters. This is one of those movies.

I enjoyed this movie because I recorded it on my DVR. The best thing about that is eight clicks and the story continues without watching a single commercial. This is one of those movies that keeps you entertained and you won't want to lose your train of thought by watching some silly commercial.

It was on the verge of overacting by some characters, but unless you have personally lost someone you can't give a genuine performance of the mind numbing pain that is involved.

I do get props to the writer because she did not stereotype any of the Italian characters. Kudos to casting by Jackie Lind. She learned from the best ball players. Always a home run.

It passes my ultimate test. Yep, I'll watch it again next year.

I loved this movie so much!!!

The chemistry between the 2 leads was incredible. I think that Tyler found his best match with Reeser and vice versa.... The story was touching, the acting was good in an overall good movie. Yes the storyline could have given more lines to Patty McKormack and also Erica Tremblay to dramatize more the scenario but i still loved it... Enjoy watching....

This is a delightful film. Entertaining and touching at times. Autumn Reeser and Tyler Hynes have a quiet, engaging chemistry that makes the viewer believe they are watching two adults first odds, then fall in love. Autumn is at the top of her game in this film. It appears she's brought all her wisdom and talent to the fore. It's just a pleasure to watch such a gifted artist in a mature and intelligent role. The writing and photography are first class and the cooking scenes make you wish you were there to taste samples. This film is worth repeat viewing.

The wordless scene where Autumn slowly removes her deceased husband's wedding ring, looks at it, and with both hands places it in a box, and closes it is one of the Magical moments of TV.

If you aren't sick of hearing the name Marco by the halfway point of this movie then you need your ears checked. There isn't even a live character named Marco in the movie and yet he is referenced dozens of times -- and every time the name is said with a forced Italian accent.

But that's really a minor issue. The major issue with this movie is that it's dull. I know not to expect much in the way of excitement with Hallmark movies, but this one was legitimately sleepy.

Nothing wrong with the cast -- the writing just needed to be better.

Autumn Reeser and Tyler Hynes? One of the best of best in Hallmark. It is about the inner peace that you can use in sliding easily and gracefully in solving problems in your way.

This is a far better than average Hallmark Channel film, and a reassuring one too, as the quality of some of the more recent ones (aka after half their actors jumped ship) has been varied to say the least.

With a better sense of focus in terms of the story, and some surprising added depth to the characters, this flies along at a nice pace, helped by the fact they've got Tyler Hynes and Autumn Reeser in the leads, who could probably do this sort of film in their sleep.

Overall this is certainly a Hallmark film worth watching, and demonstrates how good their output can still be.

It's a wonderful film.

I love Tyler that's why I watched it. No chemistry at all. It was like they were just friends. Too bad.

I liked the storyline and some of the other actors.

Let me begin this review with points of personal privilege:

I viewed the film 3 times. The first without looking at the background information. I took notes.

I'm very much into "the willing suspension of disbelief" -- one of the reasons I love film, theatre, and literature.

I have a Ph. D. in Dramatic Theory and Criticism. While not Film Theory and Criticism, the basic criteria concerning writing and production are the same; the delivery systems are unique. I've taught both film and theatre criticism.

I've divided the criticism into three subheadings: writing, acting, and general production.

I understand that people "love" this movie and there are many aspects of experience which contribute to our individual appreciation of a film. Briefly, in the contextualization of reading/viewing and meaning we have: The personal world; The needs of persons; The motive of the particular reading/viewing; The sociology of reading/viewing; Socio-political perspective; Socio-political references; The world(s) of discourse; ideology and worldview; The world of fact. For example, the "fact" that a viewer has experienced a death of a loved one will contextualize their view of a film. If you want to discuss in-depth contact me.

Writing-

Overall, writing was extremely week. There were plot holes large enough to drive a truck and not just a Ford 350, but a loaded semi. The exposition was sketchy at best. We get the points that she is a widow and that she's living her dead husband's life. We know that she's from Connecticut and came to Bainbridge Island 13 years prior. Why? To work in her roommate's chocolate store? Was moving to one of the most expensive areas of Seattle seemed life a fun place to meet an Italian chef? The restaurant has been in operation for 10 years and Marco was brought to open the restaurant. So given this timeline, she could not have met him until he was brought over. So, say they met when he first arrived. (Reminder that he's been dead for 3 years) So now we're at 7 years. Once year to meet and date and marry and have a child. The child would have been no more than 9. This is not logical. (We'll discuss this later)

Richard's purpose except to play the antagonist is unclear. How many investors? This point seemed to be thrown in to provide a "bad guy"

The plot is pretty implausible. If the restaurant is having hard times what is the reason? This would be a good opportunity to bring in the pandemic. Remember the basic types of conflict. Action without clearly defined conflict is nothing. If the restaurant is having hard times because of Marco's death, it would be wise to remember that Michelin stars are awarded to restaurants, not chefs. If Antonio is replicating Marco's recipes, then what is the problem?

The restaurant needs saving looks like a pretty thin excuse to bring the white knight in. (love-interest for Elizabeth?)

What is with the truffle hunt? Where is the truffle pig or dog? I know that truffles can be hunted without pigs or dogs, but really truffles are big business, and the writers have the actors wandering around looking for truffles that are just there for the picking? Lame.

There are also leaps of logic especially in the fountain wish scene.

There were several times when a character said, "Can we talk somewhere alone?" Sounded like the writers couldn't think of plausible action for characters to move to another space. Also, Ben has the same "It was a long time ago" which appears to be in the same vein.

Most of the dialogue was just dumb. The "It's a wonderful World" song didn't make sense. A moving Ukulele song would have been "Over the Rainbow"

I'll stop here but you get the drift. Bad writing. Within the world of the film, (In particular HM or HMM films) events must be logical. Go back to your college literature class and Freytag's Pyramid, study up on dramatic structure.

Acting:

I'll refer to the character's names not the actors. These talented people should not be blamed for lazy writing. They all gave it the old college try, but there is only so much talent can do. Actors need action and motivation to bring a script to life. A basic actor question is, "What is my motivation?" Ben has some motivation to save the restaurant, but he's not given much with which to work. His character appears pretty aimless and bored until the end. Maybe that was a character choice. Not sure.

The chemistry between Elizabeth and Ben was pretty flat. A smidge of eye flirting scattered throughout which was cute.

As stated above, Elizabeth was living Marco's life. Grief is very personal, and every individual's path is different. I don't believe in the idea of "just snap out of it" but her journey was not believable. Her motivation for removing her wedding ring was not clear. It was a tender and touching scene though. Was her motivation her attraction to Ben? Who knows?

Ben's workaholic attitude was believable, but the motivation was not clear. Elizabeth saying that he's just doing this to eat at great restaurants around the world seems plausible, but there is something hidden there that doesn't come across.

The scenes between Ben and Nona are the best in the film. Heartfelt and real.

Some off the humor (what little there is) is lost. Thrown away.

The young actress playing Sophia was quite good. But given the timeline outlined above, she was too old. She looked more like a 14-15-year-old. Her teenage angst over friends was so very real.

Let's talk Antonio! On my first viewing, I thought he was an Italian actor. Finding out he wasn't filled my heart with joy. He overcame the inferior dialogue, presenting a fully fleshed out character.

Production:

Bainbridge Island looks nothing like the setting for this film. Understanding that this was filmed in Canada can be overlooked-- but really? Do some research.

Elizabeth and Sophia's house was unbelievable. That restaurant must have been doing really, really well.

Wardrobe-Why did the costumer decide to dress Ben like a bum? The rolled-up jeans, the very wrinkled shirts? He was supposed to be a highly successful professional restaurant fixer and those choices make no sense. The jacket at the end was more in keeping with his professional persona. OK, OK Ben's hair. I understand it was an actor choice but given the shape of his face, he does look more like Lloyd Christmas than Russell Crowe in The Gladiator or George Clooney in anything. His stylist should have taken him aside.

The food looked spectacular. Good camera work. Bothered me that deserts were on the warming shelf.

Overall, this film was "Meh" --- not cringe worthy like Roadside Romance, but not that great. A waste of good acting talent. The writer should not be hired again.