User Reviews

Like most Hallmark movies, this follows the same formula, girl meets boy, they butt heads, then realize feelings for each other, a conflict brings them together, eventually ending in a happily ever after. Oh, and not without a former boyfriend/girlfriend throwing a monkey wrench into it all. It's predictable but still cute and relaxing to watch.

This one was a bit disappointing in the casting. Renee is beautiful, but her acting is pretty flat and not believable. Some poor writing contributed to that (why wasn't there more time spent on demonstrating her commitment to the island she loved?) - it seemed like her path to opposing the development and then speaking against it at a council meeting was rushed, and Tom's involvement to help her was passing out fliers? Her speech wasn't passionate or well thought out enough, in my opinion, to make me believe the council changed their minds so readily, even though you knew, of course, that was going to happen.

Chris McNally as Tom was great, have loved him in other Hallmark projects, especially in When Calls the Heart. It seemed like he always had to try and pick up the slack when Renee's acting fell flat. The chemistry between them was pretty good but not enough to make up for the rest of the movie's flaws.

There are aspects of this movie that I really enjoy. First off it was so appropriate the leading lady was a teacher and NOT INTRESTED IN THE PARENT OF ONE OF HER STUDENTS. The fact her love interest is someone completely unrelated to a school setting is a major plus.

Secondly- I Love Chris McNally in the movie! So believable in the role of a fisherman (who was or is in the Navy) who wants to travel the world on his new boat. I always say this is like he is Lucas's (his character on When Calls the Heart) great grandson or great nephew as their are similarities within the two characters.

He was such a perfect fit for the part!

What does not work about this movie is the leading lady: her voice is so baby like, kind of makes her ditzy or something. When she made the speech about why Blue Island needs saving it was almost laughable as you can't take her seriously. Also the part of her towards the beginning when she was doing a table seating plan with her friend and she said: "I'm a big girl" her tone of voice suggested otherwise- I could not believe her words because of her voice!

Overall, though this is one of my favorite movies Chris has done so far (the other being The Sweetest Heart). Its got a stronger storyline than the average Hallmark movie and the scenery is gorgeous. When Tom and Claire are out sailing, it's so beautiful on the water. Certianly worth a watch- and even worth rewatching when it airs on Hallmark.

What's this? The rarest of rare events: a Hallmark movie that doesn't roll out all the tropes and plot devices that make most of their movies seem like they all came from the same writer?

Starring Kevin McGarry and Leah Renee - whose chemistry, I should note here, is bang-on - and full of sumptuous shots of water, island and harbour towns, Sailing into Love tells the story of Navy veteran and yacht captain Tom and local girl Claire, a teacher who is heavily invested in saving a small island offshore from her hometown which has become the target of developers. They meet by accident near the start of the movie and sparks fly pretty quickly - as you would expect. Granted, there is the Hallmark trope of a returning ex-boyfriend in this one, but he is a bigger part of the plot than just being the guy Claire used to date and the guy who wants her back again. There was no awkward moment or misunderstanding that characters in these movies always seem to jump to incredibly wrong conclusions over. A decent script, some good acting, wonderful scenery and a nice message about tradition and keeping things the way they are.

Everything comes together nicely. Every now and again Hallmark gets it very right - this is one of those times. Sailing into Love is an engaging and enjoyable way to pass ninety minutes.

As many other reviewers have pointed out, this movie's biggest plus is the beautiful scenery and nautical ambience brought by the coastline atmosphere. It definitely lives up to its title with lots of stunning shots of sailboats on the water (although near the end, these sweeping nature shots seemed to be a bit overdone - more to pad out the movie's runtime than anything else), but the movie is dragged down by poor acting and an unbelievably predictable plot.

Leading lady Leah Renee has certainly received her fair share of critique in some of these comments, and while yes, her voice is much too impassive and veering into high-pitched vapid girl territory, her bad acting stood out much more to me. There is never a point when she doesn't make it obvious that she is reading lines rather than attempting to actually be her character; her flat portrayal and wooden intonation are a constant reminder to the audience of her lack of acting skills. To make matters worse, her character isn't all too likable either; most notable is the scene in which her ex-boyfriend plants a seed about her love interest betraying her and she refuses to talk this out with said love interest. Her constant brush-offs and cold shoulders during a misunderstanding she could've easily fixed with a bit of grown-up conversation are a cliche of women in television that's getting downright tired.

The movie's chief problem, however, is that its B-story, next to the blossoming love, is that a beloved nearby island may or may not be for sale for the sake of building a hotel resort. The movie digs its heels into this plotpoint, completely oblivious to the fact that the audience doesn't share the same passion for this relatively insignificant island as its main characters do (specifically, the female lead, who seems to be hanging on to childhood memories more than anything else). What makes this storyline even more frustrating is that Hallmark has milked the "evil development company wants to change the beloved town" angle to death. It's a miracle if you can find a movie these days where a sentimental building isn't being torn down for the sake of condos/hotels/golf courses, and the town has to rally around the preservation of said building. It's getting unthinkingly old.

The film's only saving grace is its scenery and the rest of its cast, who do an adequate job carrying the movie around the dead weight that is Leah Renee.