I'm continually amazed at how many variations made-for-TV producers can continue making of the same basic story. Even more amazing is that most of them come off well, especially the ones that appear on the Hallmark Channel.
(Take a minute now to read the Plot Summary if you haven't already done so.)
Now that you're oriented and have probably even figured the outcome, all that remains is to watch the movie and let it fill in the details.
So why do I bother writing these paragraphs? Only to note the near-total lack of chemistry between Julie Benz as "Johnny" and Scott Elrod as "Andrew". It's rare that the supporting cast out-performs the leads; but, sadly, that seems to be the case here.
Williams, Gould, Johnson, and Ishibashi all turn in good performances. Benz might have, too, if she'd been given a more compatible leading man. The other problem with her character, Johnnie, is that we never see her in down-home attire or without business-woman make-up; so we have no surface evidence of her underlying potential to adapt to country life, if indeed that were to become her future as step-mom to the heir of the winery. (Rightly or not, movies are still about the image.)
I've enjoyed Scott Elrod (Andrew) in other roles (on "Men in Trees," for example), but not so much as the celebrity chef in this outing. His fatherly scenes with his "son" (Gattlin Griffith, in a heart-stealing performance) seemed real, even endearing; but as a potential husband for career-woman Benz? I'm not convinced. (However, I think he'd be great in a western, if anybody made them any more).
Bottom line: I rated this a 5 (i.e., average). With some minor script alterations and a tweak of the cast, this could have been a 7.
(Take a minute now to read the Plot Summary if you haven't already done so.)
Now that you're oriented and have probably even figured the outcome, all that remains is to watch the movie and let it fill in the details.
So why do I bother writing these paragraphs? Only to note the near-total lack of chemistry between Julie Benz as "Johnny" and Scott Elrod as "Andrew". It's rare that the supporting cast out-performs the leads; but, sadly, that seems to be the case here.
Williams, Gould, Johnson, and Ishibashi all turn in good performances. Benz might have, too, if she'd been given a more compatible leading man. The other problem with her character, Johnnie, is that we never see her in down-home attire or without business-woman make-up; so we have no surface evidence of her underlying potential to adapt to country life, if indeed that were to become her future as step-mom to the heir of the winery. (Rightly or not, movies are still about the image.)
I've enjoyed Scott Elrod (Andrew) in other roles (on "Men in Trees," for example), but not so much as the celebrity chef in this outing. His fatherly scenes with his "son" (Gattlin Griffith, in a heart-stealing performance) seemed real, even endearing; but as a potential husband for career-woman Benz? I'm not convinced. (However, I think he'd be great in a western, if anybody made them any more).
Bottom line: I rated this a 5 (i.e., average). With some minor script alterations and a tweak of the cast, this could have been a 7.