Hallmark Review: 'Love Locks'

Synopsis:

20 years ago, Lindsey Wilson (Rebecca Romijn) was an aspiring artist experiencing first love in Paris. Now, she's the head of a New York-based art magazine traveling back to Paris with her daughter Alexa (Jocelyn Hudon) for a weeklong vacation before Alexa begins her semester studying art at The Sorbonne. But it's not long into their stay that Lindsey gets thrown a curveball: her first love Jack Burrow (Jerry O'Connell) is not only in Paris too, but he's the owner of the hotel she and Alexa are staying in! Given the way their relationship ended, things are initially awkward between Lindsey and Jack. But as the week goes on, the two former sweethearts spend more time together and rekindle their lost bond. But between Lindsey's fear of change and the attention she's receiving from a New York business associate, will this chance reunion be enough to bring her and Jack back together?

Story:

Being set and filmed in Paris, Love Locks has a beautiful setting for its familiar Hallmark tale of a woman reuniting with an ex-boyfriend. While the main story holds no surprises, the charming way it's presented and the lovable subplots that surround it are sure to draw you in. In addition to Lindsey and Jack's reunion, there's also Alexa falling for hotel bellhop Jean-Paul and Lindsey's old art teacher Hugo striking a connection with hotel regular Kathryn. All three romances are heartwarming in their own ways and, while the movie's focus is unsurprisingly centered on Lindsey and Jack, the other two couples get a fair amount of screentime. Add to that the film's consistent script and smooth pacing, and Love Locks ends up being as sweet as French chocolate.

Characters:

Everyone (from the protagonists to the romantic false leads) is likable to some degree. While Lindsey and Jack start out cynical and commitment-shy respectively, Lindsey's return to Paris and her reunion with Jack change them both for the better. Lindsey rediscovers her romantic side as well as her artistic passion while Jack realizes he never stopped loving Lindsey. The two blend well together as the week allows them to reconnect with Paris and each other. Interestingly, even though he technically serves as Jack's romantic rival, Lindsey's business associate/suitor Trent Greer never becomes an antagonist nor does Jack treat him as an enemy. He's nothing short of kind towards Lindsey on a business and personal level. He's respectful to Jack and (outside of one playful moment of pettiness) Jack returns that respect. Jack's girlfriend Nicole doesn't fare as well, given how jealous she gets about Jack and Lindsey's history and how she could easily be written out of the story with no major changes coming from it.

The supporting characters are all just as interesting and cute to watch find love in the City of Light. Alexa is a quirky ball of energy and Jean-Paul is adorkable as can be, making them the perfect pair of young lovebirds. Alexa also shares a wholesome relationship with her mother, as the pair are completely in sync apart from a brief moment when Lindsey projects her own bad romantic experiences onto Alexa and Jean-Paul. Art mentor Hugo Blanchet is naturally lovable while troubled hotel regular Kathryn Daltry is endearing as she deals with her grief and strikes up an unexpected bond with Hugo.

Acting:

All three of the film's couples are aided by the fact that they're played by actors who mesh well together. While they start out on wobbly feet, Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell even out once their characters reunite. Jocelyn Hudon and Benjamin Sutherland have heaps of youthful energy as Alexa and Jean-Paul, with the former also sharing strong mother-daughter chemistry with Romijn. Bruce Davison will have you smiling and laughing with his performance as a charmingly eccentric artist and Linda E. Smith is just as delightful as she plays Kathryn as both a widow opening her heart to love again and a wise elder full of sage advice for the younger characters. David Julian Hirsh is suave and charismatic as Trent Greer, leaving Amber Goldfarb to be the cast's weak link as Nicole. Her French accent is the least convincing of the cast (Sutherland and Davison's accents are questionable, but at least they aren't distracting) and her performance is unremarkable. Though to be fair, it's not like Goldfarb is given anything to work with, considering Nicole's minuscule role and lack of a personality outside of being snooty and French.

Overall:

While the Paris tradition of love locks may be a thing of the past now, at least the practice led to the creation of this great Hallmark feature. Love Locks takes several familiar tropes and crafts them into a lovely story full of well-acted characters you'll quickly grow fond of as they fall in love under the Parisian skyline. For a romance movie that'll make you feel as warm as a fresh-baked croissant, look no further than Love Locks.

Score: 8 out of 10 red leather gloves.