For the second part of my Year of the Dog Double Feature for Often Off Topic’s Dog Day Blogathon, I chose to review a movie that was released in 2018, the Year of the Dog! Because Hallmark was premiering a brand-new movie this past weekend, I decided to include Season for Love in this Double Feature. When I first heard about this movie, I will admit that it was not one of my most anticipated movies out of these five summer themed films. To me, the plot sounded a lot like other stories that have been seen on the Hallmark Channel. However, BBQ cooking has never been featured in a Hallmark movie before and Texas has rarely been the primary location for any Hallmark production. So, like I do with every movie I review, I watched it with low expectations and an open mind. Want to find out my opinion of Season for Love? Square dance your way to my review to find out!

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: I thought the acting in Season for Love was good! Marc Blucas and Autumn Reeser really shined in this movie with performances that appeared genuine and versatile! Not only did the lead actors give a memorable performance, the supporting actors did as well. Shelley Thompson was a stand-out performer in this movie, her portrayal of Jo Dawson was so pleasant to watch on-screen! Even Lola Flanery gave a very believable performance, especially for being the only young actor within the main cast!

The on-screen chemistry: Though this was Marc and Autumn’s first time starring in a Hallmark movie together, their on-screen chemistry came across as very believable! I think what helped was that Marc’s and Autumn’s acting talents complimented one another. Marc and Autumn’s characters appeared as if they truly got along, like their relationship on-screen was genuine. I’m hoping that Marc and Autumn are cast in another Hallmark movie together in the near future!

The incorporation of BBQ cooking: Season for Love is not the first Hallmark movie that features cooking within the main plot. However, this is the first Hallmark movie that showcases BBQ cooking. I liked the way the BBQ competition was filmed, as the process of preparing a BBQ meal was shown enough to satisfy the interest of the audience. I also liked learning about the different ingredients that can go into BBQ because it felt informative while being entertaining.

What I didn’t like about the film:

Predictability: Most of Hallmark’s movies have a certain amount of predictability to them. But for a film that showcased new ideas (like BBQ cooking and a location in Texas), I was hoping Season for Love’s plot would contain more originality. A lot of story-points that were written into this movie were ones that I’ve seen in several other Hallmark movies. Because of this, it made this movie feel very predictable.

Situations happening too quickly: In Season for Love, there were about three situations that happened too quickly. One example is when Autumn’s character, Tyler, tells Corey, Marc’s character, that revisiting their relationship might not be a good idea. That same night, after she sees one of her daughter’s drawings, Tyler visits Corey to apologize for doubting their relationship. Moments like these seemed to interrupt the overall flow within the film.

Something was missing: Season for Love made me feel the same way Love at First Dance did: all of the pieces for this to be good movie were there, but something special felt like it was missing. Because of this, I wasn’t able to connect with this movie like I had wanted to.

My overall impression:

Season for Love was a decent movie. Though I did enjoy watching this movie, I still like Pearl in Paradise more. Since Season for Love was the last movie in the “Summer Nights” line-up, I can now give my complete and honest opinion about the line-up as a whole. As a “Summer Nights” line-up, the overall quality felt about the same as last year’s. As a line-up in general, this was a little stronger than the other line-ups on Hallmark Channel so far. There’s one more line-up left before the Christmas movies start premiering: Fall Harvest. I’m hoping these movies and the line-up as a whole end Hallmark’s seasonal movie collections on a positive note, especially since Hallmark has plenty more stories to tell. Thank you to everyone who read my Year of the Dog Double Feature and a special thank you to Allie from Often Off Topic for letting me join the Dog Day Blogathon. This definitely encouraged me to seek out other blogathons and let my creativity go as far as it will let me.

Overall score: 7.4 out of 10

What did you think of Hallmark Channel’s “Summer Nights” line-up this year? What was your favorite 2018 “Summer Nights” movie? Let me know in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen