Sweeter Than Chocolate

Good movie!

source: Sweeter Than Chocolate

Made it almost made it halfway through before I lost my cookies, uh chocolate. The main male character's boss was unrealistic. She had no real emotion. Seemed as though she read her lines. The male character went from jerk to decent in no time. Love Eloise Mumford in almost everything she is in. This one didn't fit. And then halfway in Hallmark brought in their token character to satisfy their new agenda. Which is not wholesome or family friendly at all. Their movies are reaching an all time low. The writing is bad. The actors and actresses seem to be reading all their lines. Just wasn't worth my time to finish it.

8.3 stars. If you wish to enjoy a character study of a female chocolatier that owns a small shop somewhere in the states, this is the film to watch. Here is an in depth analysis of a woman who claims to be a realist, but is a cynic at the far end of the spectrum when it comes to believing in true love. She believes in the power of chocolate maybe too much. She makes cupid chocolate that when people eat it they quickly fall in love. There are many secrets to this chocolate that you will discover if you choose to see it. I suggest that you do. What I really treasure about "Sweeter Than Chocolate" is that it portrays the depth of love that many hopeless romantics exhibit in spite of living in a cruel and painful world. Lucy is very hesitant to experience true love because for years after her father died, she and her mother were devastated beyond measure. It is a wonder either one recovered from the fallout of their unutterable loss. It's obvious from their level of pain that he was a most wonderful and beloved man. Lucy claims that that it was her mother who was desolate and damaged with the loss, but you will come to recognize that Lucy was equally as broken, if not more. Dean is a reporter doing a story about her chocolate shop and the famous cupid magic love chocolate. He is blindsided by more than this completely audacious farce of a fairy tale chocolate as he gets to know Lucy and her history. In the meantime, he has aspirations to do bigger and better stories, but for now he is stuck trudging his way through this story in order to get to the big time. What he didn't expect was to meet this charming and wonderful chocolate maker named Lucy. This is the tale of their magical love story, about his desire to be an anchorman and the permanent imprint that she leaves on him. His choices are inevitably altered as he is swept up by her irresistible charm. You too will be swept up by the magic of Lucy and Dean's romantic adventure, and then realize it is indeed "Sweeter Than Chocolate". "Sweeter Than Chocolate" reminds us that we must be willing to love, because it's infinitely worth it. You've heard the famous quote "better to have loved and lost..." So true, but said in a different way, in spite of the anguish of losing your true love, the experience of love itself is worth it. Is love worth the grief? What is love without grief? What is happiness without pain? What is light without darkness? You get the point. This movie reminds of that point, and it's exactly what I needed.

This was a romantic addition to the Hallmark film vault and perfectly timed for Valentine's Day. The general story is about a family run chocolate shop that is going to have difficulty making the 40% rent increase and a local reporter who wants to be an on air anchor but has only done gotcha exposé pieces. The two end up working together for a mutually beneficial project that gives Lucy Sweet much needed exposure for her Sweet Chocolate Shop and Dean Chase gets to show off a softer side as they interview couple for the sweet shop's wall of love. You see Lucy Sweet's grandfather has a special chocolate called the Cupid, that was not for sale but only for friends and family. When Lucy took over the family business and she found her grandfather's secret recipe, her mom talked her in to selling the Cupids for Valentine's Day. The Cupid chocolates seem to have a magical way of bringing couples together...queue the special interest piece on couples brought together by the Cupid. This was such a sweet and romantic film that didn't discriminate on the type of love represented on the wall...second chance romances, heterosexual, homosexual...everyone's story is told. Meanwhile our two stars seem to be hitting it off with some amazing chemistry and chocolate making! These two were romantic gold, Eloise Mumford and Dan Jeannotte. I highly recommend this film to fellow romantics and chocolate lovers. This is an excellent Valentine's Day film. The romance touch m so much I cried!

I know some people are going to downgrade this film because it features more variety of diversity, ethnicity, and gay/lesbian romance than they might be comfortable with... but Hallmark has made a commitment to produce more realistic films that portray people as they are and not just as some hope or dream they might be. This movie was well-written and conceived in such a way to show all kinds of people falling in love because of a Valentine's Day encounter with a special Cupid chocolate in a private chocolatier's store - and there were so many couples who got interviewed for their stories due to the skeptical reporter's assignment to flesh out this "urban myth" (instead of his usual job of exposing fakes who take people's money.) The concept and the delightful stories from these couples led to a beautiful romance in the final scene. Of course, it's fantasy and storytelling and magic - and a joy to watch if you have an open mind and a desire to be entertained.

I immediately found it interesting to see Eloise Mumford in the role of the magic maker when almost two years ago she starred opposite that person in The Baker's Son. Two common themes make the premise for this movie. The family store is in trouble due to a huge rent hike so they need publicity. And a reporter is sent to cover the story of the magic chocolates but his default mode is expose. I hate the latter and usually leads to a predictable conflict but not that particular one here. The story follows the usual path of meeting people who tell romantic stories, and this part works. The conflict turns out to be a mixture of small things. And then the ending is spectacular. I usually get turned off by showy public speeches, but this one was done just right. The interview leading up to the ending helped build up to it. Mumford and Dan Jeannotte have very good chemistry. A lot of that is Mumford's shy flirtation. Overall, the acting is good and the dialogue is decent.

After watching over 350 Hallmark movies, I love that this movie finally addressed the ridiculousness of all the previous baker/chef/ barista movie moments stating their secret ingredient is love. When asked what her secret ingredient was, the male lead says "it's love right? Your secret ingredient is love" to which she replies "no". Made me change the rating from 6 to 7. I have noticed that this new series of Hallmark movies has kind of made fun of the previous movies and their predictable storylines. It's nice to see a little bit of reality mixed in with the usual tropes and characters Hallmark has churned out over the years. This was a fun watch and had good acting.

This was sweet story, of course pretty predictable. I would stop watching it at beginning, but saw something realistic - price increase, what is something happening a lot this years (and yes, plenty of shops, confectionery and similar closed in my town). Some clearly stated that it was because of rent increase. And then they two met - not under best circumstances - first almost traffic accident, then some disagreements about ... basically ways of advertising . And then the usual thing - getting along. Yep, romantically. But whole time there was factor of special old family receipt chocolate, the faith chocolate, I would say. And lot of screen time went about it. And what was in happy finale ? Basically proving that all it is wrong about - because they two were already in love before consuming it. Yeah, self contradiction. But we learned that for it bravery is needed. And earlier that older people (like over 20 years :-) ) should avoid milk chocolate. Well, should add 'fantasy' to movie category too. I clicked on 'no spoilers' - really hard to believe that there is someone who don't expect happy ending. Poster self says it clearly.

What's with the 2 jabs on milk chocolate? I guess it's the elitist view that somehow dark chocolate is better & everyone over 30 knows this. Dark chocolate is more prone to a dry, chalky texture & and a bitter aftertaste. It might have more antioxidants but it's not better tasting. Another unrealistic relationship where the guy gives up his dream of being the next Peter Jennings, nice addition of a Canadian there, to stay in a small town with his new love interest. This has been done multiple times, mostly with a woman giving up her career for love. I think they should at least make the stories realistic, they are constantly pushing fantasies, like the Prince with the commoner. The only Prince dumb enough to do this is Prince Harry & he's going to regret it big time in the future.