Love Takes Flight

source: Love Takes Flight

I loved it from beginning to end. Simple, but good. Sometimes less is more, and this movie has it all. I wish all the Hallmark movies were like this. It even left me thinking about a lot of things. It seemed real. The movie is about real people. Loving and fun ones. People with problems, with issues. And of course, a happy ending!

This movie is not Lizzie and Charley's story. At least not solely. And it's important to see it that way. The problem with a TV movie over a book is that you can't tell both a romance story and another complex story in the time allowed and do them both justice. This movie tells Walter's story really well. That story heavily involves Quinn. It also involves Charley The writing and acting around that story is very good. It would be really good if Lizzie and Charley's story could have enough screen time to tell their story as well as Walter's. I felt the hole where there should have been more chemistry. I'm sure most people did. If I only wanted to know their story, then I would be really disappointed and I would think that the story never sells the idea that Lizzie fell so completely for Charley. Given the time they had to work with, they did pretty well. Nikki DeLoach is perfect for this role as a hospital administrator who has to think about the big picture and who experience has taught to separate personal and profession. Recently DeLoach has given good performances in at least a couple of movies that go deep. (Two Turtle Doves with honorable mentions for Love to the Rescue and Reunited at Christmas. I noticed Stephen R. Moore directed 3 of these 4.) I mentioned chemistry. The real chemistry in this movie was Skylar Olivia Flanagan, as the daughter, and Tom Thon as Walter. The scenes with them together sizzled with feeling. The story itself has a lot of fresh things in it. Yes, it also has some very predictable things in it. That doesn't mean you still don't need a lot of Kleenex and more than just one scene. My favorite dialogue: Lizzie: "Not in so many words." Barbara "How many words did you use?"

A few differences from the usual Hallmark movie. A helicopter pilot and a hospital administrator are the characters. At least there is no small town business to be saved or some other done to death thing. The actors are quite believable. But the story is draggy. The side drama of Father and son Is boring. Not a must watch.