I know that I am late. I watched the screener of this movie – actually watched it several times. Sometimes I wonder what all my hours watching Hallmark means and if I am reading too much into these movies, but I don’t care. I think that sometimes we all look for things that reach out to us and sometimes we’re looking for things that disconnect us.
For me, at this point, I think I was looking for something to disconnect. Passport To Love has been able to do just that… given me vacation from life and made me able to have a vacation. Take me to another country and take me away from the life that I am currently living.
Greece sounds like an ideal place. I think that there has always been some mystique around going there. The place seems magical, as if you can just get lost in culture, history, and the energy of all the dynasties past. Granted what I know of Greece is photos, greek mythology, and movies. And maybe that’s why I LOVED A Greek Recipe for Romance… because it fed into my dream of Greece.
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Who can’t appreciate that?
The movies premise is simple – a woman, Abby, looses her job at a New York City hotel, so she heads to Greece to see her Mom who has retired there. When there, she finds herself working with a friend of a friend to open his restaurant.
And you think that the complications would be around the restaurant. But it’s not. In all honesty, what I loved here is that the drama and the complications centered around a father/son relationship. It’s the expectations of what parents think that you should be versus the reality of who you are. Hallmark again continues to show growth in the way that they are doing things – breaking out of their mold and thinking about how they can show a different formula.
Don’t get me wrong, I know that part of the allure of romance movies of any kinds is that you can tell what is going to happen. You know that there is a formula that is being followed and at the end you will have your happy ending.
But with A Greek Recipe for Romance (as well as all of their Passport To Love movies) is that there is a journey to get to that happy ending and you realize that happy is subjective and consistently changing.
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Theo, son of one of the richest men in Greece, is hiding who he is. The last name of Pappas feels like it’s strangling him versus helping him to move forward in his life. He doesn’t want to join the family business in Athens. He wants to reopen his Mom’s restaurant and has two weeks to do so.
The thing is, Theo doesn’t have any support from his father. His father instead is using money any manipulation to try and get his son back to Athens to be a part of the business that he wants him to. His father thinks that he knows what is best for his son, but doesn’t really communicate with his son on a level of knowing him. Instead he cuts him off, thinking that will bring Theo home.
And then, sends his henchman to make Theo come back. But well, that’s the part that makes me so mad. If you’re a Dad and you want something from your kid – talk to them. Find out who they are.
Theo and Abby are working hard to put the restaurant together, and it’s such a reflection of who they both are. But the joy of their relationship is that at first, sure, they are annoyed by each other, but it’s the compromises that they give each other that makes everything feel organic. As they get to know each other, you see little signs of romance, but it’s not the focus. What is the focus is the friendship and the lessons that they can teach each other.
Sometimes in movies, you see the romance take the center stage, but here, you see the friendship take center stage. You see the way that friendship and want to be better people and follow their passions – no matter the things that they are leaving out – is driving them.
While the tensions between Theo and his Dad are a driving force for him to succeed (proving his Dad wrong) the bigger thing is he wants to bring his Mom’s dreams to life. Abby is helping him do that without hesitation. It’s kinda beautiful how Hallmark shows their dreams – Abby and Theo’s – crossing subtly and becoming something different than you would think that they are.
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Maybe I am speaking in circles here, but I expected that. I expected that because this movie felt like so many circles of life intersecting and finding a way to touch a persons heart. This movie encapsulated it all. I appreciated that about it. I appreciated knowing that no matter what I felt in my life, this movie felt like a release.
And a lesson in the complications of love. As well as the ease of communication.
I can’t say that I didn’t love Abby and Theo’s relationship evolution. I did. But what I loved most about this movie was the way that Theo and his Dad found an understanding.
And my favorite scene may have been when his Dad shows up at the restaurant to try his sons cooking. It’s the way that these two find a way to understand each other and see that they were both feeling the same thing – fear of forgetting Theo’s mom – but just in different ways.
I cried and laughed and smiled like a geeky big smile while watching this movie. It brought me joy and it brought me to Greece.
No complaints here. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. No notes. Would recommend.