Released: October 2021
Network: Hallmark Movies and Mysteries
Starring: Sam Page, Sarah Drew and Amanda Schull
Synopsis: Jack was very sick and close to death, but his wife Lizzie is the one who unexpectedly passed away. After a surprising recovery, Jack returns to her beach side hometown with 15-year-old daughter Mikki and 10-year-old son Tyler to spend the summer in the childhood home Lizzie fondly called “The Palace,” hoping they all can heal.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review: Wow. Just wow. Hallmark hit the ball out of the park with this movie. "One Summer" did not fit the typical romance Hallmark movie at all. It was in fact the complete opposite. The main story line did not focus on romantic relationships with the leads but instead focused on Jack (Sam Page) who was a father who recently lost his wife and trying to navigate life without her while raising his two children. Any romantic relationship story lines were way in the back burner and were only slightly alluded to at the end but never once took over this movie one bit.
Sam Page was phenomenal as the grieving widower and father Jack. His portrayal as Jack was so stellar that he had me convinced that he really was Jack. I fully believed that the man on the screen did just lose his wife and really was struggling to help his 2 young child cope with the death of their mother. Gone were his pretty boy looks and instead he donned long graying hair, scruffy facial hair, and he wore it like a champion. Much more believable for a man who was just struggling to live day to day and try to find his new normal. Well done Mr. Page. Well done. I can't say enough of this performance.
Amanda Schull played the role of Jack's deceased wife Lizzie and was just brilliant. I have really liked Amanda since I first saw her in the show "Suits" and I must say this role was far from her role in that. She appeared quite often in scenes with Sam Page and they were so believable as a couple. The chemistry, the emotion, the way they looked and spoke to each other. Within the first 15 minutes of this movie they already had me in tears. Just heartbroken by their story.
Sarah Drew was excellent as usual albeit her role was much more minor than I would have liked. I would have preferred to see her a bit more. I felt there was something missing a little bit. There was much more to her story that I think could have been told. Additionally other supporting actors were just so well cast. Madeline Grace Popovich who played the teenage Mikki....fantastic. Gavin Borders as the young son Tyler, so believable. This movie was exceptionally cast.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It was a huge change from the regular offerings from Hallmark. Performances were exceptional, story lines believable and I spent about a third of the movie in tears. The ending was a bit vague and alluded to a possible new relationship with Jack and Jenna and I'm okay with that. This movie was more of a journey for a grieving husband, grieving children and how they find themselves navigating their lives without their wife/mother.
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