Love on the Road

Erin Cahill's performances have varied in my view, sometimes she is good and more if the material is good and if she has a good character to work with. At other times though, she can be cold and bland when a film overdoes her character flaws. Jesse Hutch has more often than not been watchable, though not a favourite, regardless of how good or not the leading ladies are. The plot is very typical sounding but road trip films can be entertaining and charming when done well.

'Love on the Road' has a good deal to recommend and both Cahill and Hutch come over well. It is not a great film though and is instead rather uneven, despite having a lot of good things there are also some not so good things that could have been avoided easily. As far as recent film viewings go, 'Love on the Road' is not one of the best, nor is it one of the worst. It is if anything in the somewhere in the middle category and would have been better if the storytelling was more consistent and if the supporting cast were as good as the leads.

Am going to begin with the good. Cahill is very charming and handles the lighter side of the role equally as well as the more dramatic one, she is a long way from cold or bland here. Hutch is charismatic in an understated way and down to earth. Found myself liking both their characters, they have character flaws that are thankfully not overdone and stop them from being too perfect while also having qualities that make them likeable. They do have chemistry when they're together and it is a charming one.

It also looks quite nice, especially the scenery and it doesn't look too drab or too clean. The music at least fits and is pleasant enough, though never anything exceptional. The script is light-hearted and heart warming on the whole once the film gets going, and the same goes for the mostly engaging story.

Having said that, the story also does nothing new with very familiar ground which makes it feel a little tired. The pacing could have been tighter, the conflict could have had more tension and been less forced and the ending is far too pat and in a jarring way.

Do agree too that the supporting cast go through the motions in overused cliche roles, and while there is chemistry between Cahill and Hutch it is underused.

Summing up, nice and charming enough if never mind blowing. 6/10.

Abby Brooks (Erin Cahill) is the host of Abby's Restaurant Takeover. She fixes up struggling restaurants for her TV show. Unbeknownst to the owner Tom Billings (Jesse Hutch), his aunt had signed him up for the show. He runs a small town diner.

The small town has the potential for some pretty pictures. That makes the diner somewhat disappointing. It should be either very rundown which would allow for a great makeover. Or else it should be uniquely cute. The fact is the place looks bland and it never gets that far beyond that. His cabin home is so much more gorgeous that I do wonder about the location scout. Something went wrong there. The other issue is the needed food porn. It's really the spice that could have put it over the top. Again it's bland. It's a lot of bland even for a standard TV romance movie. I wouldn't say that it's terrible in any way but it's just kinda bland.

Not the strongest film I have seen them in but they always make the most of a weak script. A fairly decent supporting cast and some lovely scenic shots, I like the way Hallmark is moving in the more natural settings, we can only hope they can get some more varied careers for the female leads.

Two things caught my attention in this film, what an earth has Erin Cahill done to her teeth? Overly white and very unnatural, it sort of detracted from an otherwise good performance.

Last thing, coming from a British sheep keeper, what were the sheep? Some looked like Lincoln Longwools and really caught my attention.

This can be found as "Love on the road" but I watched it as "Making Something Great"

Abby (Cahill) has a tv show that does makeovers for restaurants. The network wants to change the format a bit so they send her to another state, most specifically to a tiny town called Lawrence, to this 50s diner called "Rocko's" owned by Tom (Hutch)

There isn't much to point out. These two have enough movies of this type, whether is Hallmark or not. Individually, they work. As a couple? I do believed there was a spark of chemistry but not enough scenes to fully develop it. I would have liked more funny moments or laughs.

This follows the typical formula, and that includes the ending. One of them hears something and misunderstands the situation, the other leaves town and we all know how it ends.

The ending, in my opinion, was waaay to perfect. They usually are super happy, but this was too much in my humble opinion. So, is it worth it? If you want to watch something sugary, go ahead, you'll like it. But there are probably better movies out there.

Reality shows with a reluctant participant seem to be a rising trend in rom/coms. Abby is being forced to change her formula and heads to a small town in Minnesota. As usual, she gets pressured by the network frequently through the story to go against her instincts. The ending is incredibly predictable partly because it's been done almost exactly many times.

There are some cute gags here and there. The fun way they use the line "it's not a date" demonstrates that it has become a cliche. The first time it was cute, but they got a little more repetitive than necessary with the denials. I'm glad no one said "do you like like her?" And there are some sweet romantic moments.

I love Erin Cahill. Unfortunately there were times that it seemed like some of the actors were phoning in their roles. And she doesn't get the most screen time with Jesse Hutch. Even so, when they are together there is chemistry. Mila Bursac does a nice job as Claire, the daughter.