Love in the Great Smoky Mountains: A National Park Romance (2023 TV Movie) User Reviews

Scenery

[Jackbv123 · 5/10 · 4 September 2023]

The premise is common. Former lovers with bad break up are thrown together. Also there is a treasure hunt. There is also a secondary romance.

The initial meeting of Haley and Rob is so cold, it should have ended the movie there. Haley was furious about the past. You could almost see her blood boiling. Turns out Rob was pretty hurt also. And like so many of these movies, that tension is ignored almost immediately. Apparently some of it still lingered, but they acted pretty friendly. Like Rob teaching Haley to cast a fishing line. Everything between them.

I'd be curious how accurate several things were. Do real archaeologists use shovels? Would someone whose life is the outdoors and has experience in the Smokey Mountains go off alone on a very difficult trail? Would he run on it?

I was so turned off by the initial animosity and the complete reversal, I can't tell you if there was any chemistry between Kebbel and Roerig. I didn't really trust Rob.

The climax is pretty dumb. Then ending is worse. I was surprised that there was little or no conflict leading into the climax. I expected something that didn't happen.

6.5 a lot of good but lacked a bit

[mccabe-shannon · 6/10 · 5 September 2023]

I love that this movie had a different take in so much that the professions were different. I also really loved the history they gave on the Cherokee tribe.

I think Arielle Kebbel did great for about 99% of the move got a Hallmark outing. She is stunning and cute. She obviously was like I'm playing this as a ton boy and even her walk seemed a bit exaggerated to play the part. The male lead I didn't know but he was obviously second fiddle and played it pretty darn well. The side characters especially the Cherokee friend was great- I'd love to see him in more.

Costuming- some was spot on. A few almost distracted me from what was going on. Like they looked up archaeologist and saw a picture from 1980 and went with it for her and yet he was in jeans and a button down? And her shirt was always sliding off her shoulders. Just take it off. I do love they didn't try to do like cute clothes that would be unrealistic.

The scenery is obviously beautiful but script wise if I had to hear her say the Appalachian one more time...

I would have liked the story of the trail of tears to be more. Not the first 5 lines of Wikipedia.

Also she said they'd be moving too fast if they kissed and a few days later he proposes and they kiss for the first time? Leave it with him giving up on an opportunity to join her and call it a day. Come on now. She was there for a few weeks. He Carrie's that diamond around at all times? The end ugh'ed me

The only other part that annoyed me was she was telling the girl about why they broke up at the dog site. And then 15 min later she is telling her the same exact thing at lunch. And the finding of the jewel was so minute and seemed too easy. It's an impossible hike but he is running and fake hurts himself after a few minutes? Nah.

Overall I'd love to see her more often. I like the guy and I think he has some potential. The idea is solid. But the time could have been better spent.

A bit of amateur archaeology

[MickyG333 · 7/10 · 10 September 2023]

6.9 stars.

The different sites and digs I find interesting. The chemistry between the leads is so-so, good enough to keep me hanging around until the end. It's a bit on the glam side, not enough dirt and grit for a real archaeological dig and all the true hard work that would be involved. The actors are too clean, too soft. This needs more sweat and pain for me to be convinced of the actual effort that would be involved with finding a treasure.

Ok, now the bad stuff. Oh boy, there is no way that her friends and colleagues are not all over this supposed hidden cave she found. Instead, the writers have them all being blase about it as she goes in search of a hidden and legendary treasure. No way this is reality. Then she thinks she found it and they just say: hey you go get that secret treasure that the natives have revered for a hundred years as the story has been passed down generation by generation, and we will just sit here on our lazy butts and not care about it. Then the cave, and the waterfall, and it's all way too dumb. So this only gets 6.9 stars.

Surprisingly Tough To Sit Through

[twashjr · 4 September 2023]

I love Ariel Kebbel ... especially paired with Andrew Walker ...or other notable Hallmark leading men.

I mean she is absolutely one of my favorite actors on Hallmark. However, in this semi documentary-like movie ...except for the scenery... it was total blah blah blah...bottom line ... boring and totally predictable-totally! And sorry to report I felt absolutely no chemistry between her & her ex.... zero... nada... ziltch...none!

I truly felt he did not deserve her ... maybe in their past but not now.

And it really got into lots of minutiae and way over the top detail of how bad the whites destroyed the indigenous peoples occupying the land at the time.

Disappointed fan.

Don't waste your time...

[DreamyOneNumber1 · 1/10 · 3 September 2023]

We either love or at least enjoy most Hallmark movies. We've watched some of them over and over again. Not this one...

The dialogue and the acting seemed so forced with this one, that we couldn't get through it. We tried. We gave it at least an hour. But we were suffering. The plot is decent. It's something about the casting and the actors. The dialogue seems forced. So many others could have carried this movie so much better. There seemed to be little chemistry. It's not the actors themselves. They'd all do better in different roles.

At the time of this review, 26 people had rated it, with ratings obviously higher than the one the four of us who were watching it came up with.

No chemistry

[vjf36 · 7/10 · 3 September 2023]

I liked the movie despite no chemistry between the two leads.the actress krabe was very good in the role. Her partner really can't act and again no chemistry between the two. Supporting cast were good and the Mgr of the dog really looked the part and the Indian culture this movie I think was very aggressive for hallmark. I enjoyed this new way they are going. It seems they are back. No hidden messages no hidden agender than just a good rom com. I would like to see more movies with the lead actress. She is very good and can carry a movie. Like to see her in murder mysteries and of course Christmas movies.

Absolute snoozefest!

[akiwigirl · 2/10 · 3 September 2023]

This was soooo predictable!! Which I know these films pretty much are but this one I knew exactly what would happen within the first 5 minutes... and unfortunately I was right.

I have always liked Arielle Kebbel, she is a great actress. BUT She was too much for this drivel - too talented too confident too dominating. Total waste of this actress. The other actors may well be talented but this didn't showcase their wares at all in particular the chick who played Sky was dull dull dull. However I did think the actor who played Troy brought a sweetness to his role.

The writing never held my attention and I never bought into the romance so didn't care about the ending nor did it make me want to explore the mountains.

Not even sure why I gave it 2 stars...problem the scenery

[broker-33680 · 2/10 · 5 September 2023]

Oh, I love the main actress... She has been exceptional in her previous Hallmark movies I've seen, but there is a massive lack of cohesion between any of the characters in this movie. Although I appreciate all of the background they give regarding the Indians, it seems the unnatural conversations are terribly memorized and too slow for the flow of communication. This is quite disappointing because the previews of this movie were so cute.

I am so happy to see that this film was actually made in the Smoky mountains. I was expecting another Canada location but much to my surprise, there are four filming locations in the United States.

Nice scenery, but no chemistry with the leads

[vivdubetz · 4/10 · 4 September 2023]

I was disappointed with this movie. The concept was good, but the execution wasn't. I've seen Ariel in other movies and she has had great chemistry with other male leads, but in this film there was nothing, not even a fizzle. It was disappointing because I've seen her in the other films and really liked her. She was okay in this film, but without the chemistry it just fell flat.

The scenery was lovely, but I don't watch hallmark movies because of the scenery. It's just a nice bonus if the setting adds to the movie. The story of trying to find this magnificent stone was okay, but finding it was way too easy. It was hard to believe that it hadn't been found already.

Don't bother.

[kr-68364 · 2/10 · 12 September 2023]

Sad that Hallmark seems content with bad scripts and acting for these national park movie series. Usually one of the leads is good while the others can't seem to act there lines with any level of natural cadence. The male lead, contrary to all his acting history, was the worst. What's up this the female lead hiking with her shirt off one shoulder. And we don't need a history or political lesson while watching your movie. Hallmark, you can't rely on beautiful views to carry the show. Please hire better directors and be willing to cut bad actors lose. Just plane sad. Guess we'll need to wait fir christmas.

I generally like Hallmark movies -- but I didn't like this one.

[vtrekx · 4/10 · 21 September 2023]

I watched this with my wife, and we loved the scenery. We honeymooned in the Smokes many years ago, and have been back since, and loved those mountains and waterfalls.

Sadly, this movie was poorly written, poorly acted, and poorly set up in so many of its actions that we very nearly turned off the movie several times -- but the Smokies kept us watching.

The way the female lead "hiked" in those mountains was dangerous and foolhardy, and the "in cave" portion of the final part was sooooo non-professionally-done for a PhD "archaeologist" that it completely broke the scene.

We didn't come to care about the leads, didn't "feel" any chemistry between them -- see "poorly acted" above -- and she accepted him waaaaay too quickly and easily.

All in all, I think the 4 stars might be an overly positive rating. (sigh) This was an exceptionally poor movie -- not quite terrible (mostly because of the great scenery, actually in the Smokies!) -- but definitely below average.

We still love the Smokies.

so much potential, so little success

[omijer · 4/10 · 11 September 2023]

The star of this movie was the scenery. But since the scenery can't act and talk, credit needs to be given to the incredible Arielle Kebbel..She is an actress of great maturity, phenomenal talent, and, luckily for Hallmark, she carried this film. Everyone else could have literally stayed home. Her leading man was so dull, so bland, so detached, even his eyes didn't light up enough to convince the viewer that he was emotionally involved. He was flat, passive, and hardly convincing as a romantic partner for the dynamic, energetic Arielle Kebbel.

Of course, Hallmark can't always come up with leading men the level of a Tyler Hinds, Sam Page, Benjamin Ayers or Andrew Walker. But the actor in this movie was truly not a logical choice to pair with someone as dynamic as Arielle Kebbel.

One wondered why her character even bothered resuming a relationship with him. Why would she choose to move forward with him?

The secondary roles were sufficient, since Hallmark always seems to need a secondary couple in their classic plots. The woman playing the Cherokee guide was over the top silly in her persistent giggling and frantic smiling.

It would be wonderful to see Arielle Kebbell in a better story. She is truly a gifted star. One small criticism..Not sure if this was her decision or the director's, but there seemed to be an excess of tight t-shirt scenes. Kebbel has a beautiful body, granted. But even her jackets were slung off her shoulders or tied around her waist,, and every outfit she wore emphasized the excessive tight shirt or sweater. This seemed a bit politically old-fashioned in this day and age of womens' images being appropriately portrayed.

Watch this movie for Kebbell and the scenery. Forget the leading man!

Nothing here

[Pvrspecialist · 1/10 · 19 October 2023]

I thought I was being harsh giving a 1 star since the average was 5.5 but these reviews are right on. It was a total snooze fest. I stopped watching after the first 5 minutes, another of those silly you wronged me encounters. Boo hoo. The scene or acting brought no sympathy for either side. Went back again a month later, just to clear my PVR and decided to hop through it with fast forward. What was really telling was no matter what interval of a jump along I did, I could follow the story because nothing changed. Boring and dull. The only National Park movie that was good was the one with Stephen Huzar. The Cindy Busby one was a failure too.

Scenery is the only thing worthwhile.

[rb-89863 · 3/10 · 7 September 2023]

It seems since Hallmark has lost many of its top Stars they are now scraping of the bottom of the barrel for talent. This movie is a rough one to watch maybe this happened during the writer's strike and they got kids right out of college to put some sort of script together. It's also a slap in the face to native American actors that were not cast to actually play the parts of native Americans. This is probably why the GAC channel is getting better ratings than Hallmark now. The nice thing about this movie is the scenery in the Great Smoky mountains. Hopefully if Hallmark makes another national Park movie they will spend a little more time on the script and look for better talent.