Hallmark Review: 'Hidden Gems'

Synopsis:

Addie Watson (Hunter King) may be at a Hawaiian resort for her sister's wedding, but her tropical getaway gets off to a bumpy start. Not only is she juggling maid of honor duties on top of pondering a big career decision, but it's not long into her stay that Addie loses her ring in the ocean. With the ring being a rare and incredibly sentimental heirloom from her late grandmother, Addie is desperate to get it back as soon as possible. Enter Jack Wilder (Beau Mirchoff), the resort's dive instructor. After a less-than-pleasant first meeting, Addie and Jack agree to work together to search for Addie's ring. Over the course of these dives, Addie finds that Jack isn't as prickly as she initially took him for and that they actually have quite a bit in common. Can they find the ring before Addie has to leave the island? And will the trip awaken some hidden desires in Addie that could change her entire life?

Story:

Pardon the obvious pun, but Hidden Gems has a lot of hidden charm lurking within the pages of its script. Granted, the conflicts that arise throughout Addie's visit to Hawaii (career struggles, losing her ring, butting heads with Jack) are relatively low-stakes. In fact, Addie and Jack's initial gripes with each other are very quickly ironed out and they spend the rest of the movie getting along swimmingly. It's through their friendship-turned-relationship and Addie's solo character arc that Hidden Gems becomes indisputably endearing. You'll easily get swept up in Addie and Jack's blossoming romance and cheer for Addie to follow her own passions and put herself first for a change. The fact that this is a transformation Addie was already in the midst of before meeting Jack is a small but much-appreciated touch.

My only complaint is that I wish Addie's ultimate decision and her sister Kate's reaction to it were given more weight. SPOILER ALERT While I wasn't expecting a giant sisterly squabble, it would've been satisfying to see Kate admit her faults (letting Addie give up her tuition money to finance her business and automatically assuming Addie would agree to her partnership offer) and apologize for them. Instead, she just immediately accepts Addie's decision to join the SeaLife program, as if all her "what would I do without you?" talk never happened. Spoilers Over

Characters:

While their characters start their journey together bickering, it won't take long for Addie and Jack to capture your heart. From the start, we see that Addie is an all-around terrific person. She's hard-working and passionate about her career without letting it consume her. She's skeptical without being overly cynical. And above all else, she loves her family and would do anything for their happiness. Unfortunately, that selflessness proves to be a hindrance to Addie's personal desires. As Addie tetters between doing what's best for herself and what's best for her family, you'll be eager to see her finally go after what she wants. While Addie's family (consisting of Kate and their parents Betty and Robert) are overall nice people, their dependency on Addie to hold the family business together frustratingly never gets addressed. It definitely should've been in Kate's case, considering how much Addie is established as having given up for the sake of her sister's happiness.

Jack, meanwhile, is the more rough-around-the-edges half of Hidden Gems' lead couple. When we first meet him, he's shrewdly and somewhat arrogantly dismissing Addie's plight and writing her off as an entitled and demanding tourist. But once they begin their search for Addie's ring and Jack learns about the jewelry's significance, he drops the attitude and quickly strikes up a rapport with Addie. From there, he becomes a charming and lovable guy, especially when he's encouraging Addie's aquatic ambitions or opening up to her about his own. Outside of Kate's family, the only two characters to get any noteworthy characterization are resort employee Hannah and beachcomber Doug. Hannah is an incredibly chipper woman whose dedication to her job is matched only by her boundless enthusiasm. Doug, on the other hand, proves that Jack wasn't exaggerating when he described him as an opportunistic shark of a man.

Acting:

Hunter King and Beau Mirchoff are both Hallmark newbies, but their performances are right at home on the channel. They both bring their characters' adorable quirks to life and they share infectious chemistry that gets stronger as the movie goes on. Of the supporting cast, Marita de Lara makes the biggest splash as high-energied Hannah. Despite her character's unaddressed flaws, Eliza Hayes Maher does a good job keeping Kate likable. The same applies to Diane Sargent and Brian Conners as the Watson sisters' parents, with Isabelle Du also doing some solid work as Addie and Kate's friend Kara. Making an unexpectedly memorable impression is Adam Johnson as slimy beachcomber Doug. SPOILER ALERT Even as Doug is callously extorting Jack out of his travel funds, Johnson plays the greedy snake with a smile on his face and joviality in his voice. Doug is a textbook example of a faux affably evil antagonist and Johnson plays him with all the necessary bravado. Spoilers Over

Overall:

While it certainly doesn't have the most complex or profound script, Hidden Gems' simplistic story has enough heart and charm to fill a swimming pool. The lead romance is as heartwarming as can be, the acting is great, and the cinematography serves up some tasty oceanic eye candy. All in all, it's the perfect Hallmark movie for when you're feeling low and need something to watch that'll have your spirits rising like the tides.

Score: 9 out of 10 frozen coconut mojitos.