Movie Review :: Hallmark Channel’s Love in the Clouds

Hallmark Channel

Love in the Clouds stars McKenzie Westmore as Seattle TV news financial reporter Brooklyn, who is walking a thin line between her job and unemployment because her boss Mary (Catherine Copplestone) doesn’t like Brooklyn to show too much personality with her upbeat reporting and story-related puns. That is reserved for the more frivolous lifestyle reporting. Already facing two strikes, it just so happens that the station’s lifestyle reporter needs to take an emergency leave of absence so Brooklyn is given the task of covering the hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and after some insistence from Brooklyn, she is allowed to bring along her assistant Elise (Alexis Zollicoffer). They are basically a package deal at this point. But having such short notice, there are no hotels to be booked as the festival can draw up to a million visitors, so Mark works an arrangement out with a balloon pilot, Jared (Paul Greene), to house the reporter and cameraperson in exchange for him being featured in the piece. Brooklyn expected the pilot with 30 year experience to be very old, but is very surprised when a man closer to her own age appears at the house. Having just been dumped — by text — by her boyfriend, Brooklyn seems to feel a little spark with Jared, and Elise definitely sees a mutual attraction. Part of Jared’s deal with Mary was that his business can be the story, but his personal life is off limits and after Brooklyn reports back to her boss that he seems to be very secretive, Mary insists that this is the story Brooklyn needs to report on or its her third strike, which does not sit right with her.

As they prepare for the first day of the festival, Brooklyn and Elise meet Jared’s assistant Carlos (Koppany Pusztai) and Brooklyn can see the instant attraction between him and Elise, and since the winds are not favorable to have lift off she encourages them to get to know each other better. Jared’s parents are also at the festival, and mom Jane (Gail O’Grady) can see the chemistry between her son and the reporter and also urges them to see the sights together since they can’t go up in the balloon — not that Brooklyn was planning to because she has a fear of heights. Jared’s dad Brad (Lorenzo Lamas) can clearly see what Jane is doing and does not approve, but he’s got his own issues to deal with, feeling a bit useless since he’s retired from piloting and his self-defense studio. While Elise and Carlos are hitting it off and making plans for Carlos to visit Seattle, Brooklyn is trying to play down her feelings for Jared but the more time they spend together the harder that gets. She’s also got Mary hounding her non-stop to do her exposé on Jared, and he finally reveals to Brooklyn that his business of taking couples for rides so a proposal can be made is just a gimmick because he doesn’t believe in love, at least not at this moment because his former girlfriend dumped him for his best friend and business partner, ruining all of their relationships and the business. Brooklyn feels that their own feelings are growing but when Jared overhears part of her conversation with Mary about him being the story, he gives her the cold shoulder. What he doesn’t know is that she was telling Mary she was not going to do the piece as she wanted, and that she had also applied for the position of a lifestyle reporter for a local Albuquerque TV station. This all puts Brooklyn in a predicament as it seems she’s lost Jared without being able to give him the full story. Elise and Carlos try to come to the rescue, but will they be too late?

Right from the start, Love in the Clouds feels like the most un-Hallmark movie on the channel. Something about it just doesn’t have that same spark most of their TV movies have. Not that it’s a bad movie by any means. It’s very pleasant and has some stunning New Mexico locations. It’s leads are also very different than those we usually see on Hallmark, a bit older than one expects and that is fine. Being a fan of Westmore since her days on Passions and hosting Face Off, it’s great to see her headline a Hallmark movie … or rather a movie that is on the Hallmark Channel. Paul Greene is familiar to Hallmark fans from his time on long-running series When Calls the Heart, making his return to the network after 2021’s Christmas CEO. Familiar TV faces O’Grady and Lamas are also welcome additions with their first appearances on the network, but that also make this feel less of a Hallmark movie. Besides not feeling like a Hallmark production, there are also some nagging problems, the main issue being O’Grady is just eleven years older than Greene, so they look more like brother and sister than mother and son. There’s also some dodgy green screen work near the end as the balloons take flight, and Westmore’s and O’Grady’s makeup is verging on drag, just way overdone. The story by Lisa Hepner is solid but also familiar with its meet cute, developing romance, a bit of drama to put the romance in jeopardy, and happy ending. It’s a formula any Hallmark Channel viewer is familiar with at this point in time, but that doesn’t detract from the enjoyment. There’s also a major kiss moment that happens much earlier in the story than in a typical Hallmark movie.

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The cast really makes it work. Westmore, having experience as a TV host, is perfect in her role as a reporter, and she also does a great job of balancing Brooklyn’s professionalism with her own personal feelings, giving little hints that she is developing feelings but still keeping things professional. She has great chemistry with Greene as well. Greene also does a great job of balancing his professional and personal life with Brooklyn, really easing into the conversation where he reveals what happened with his past romance. It’s never over-wrought. He keeps Jared on a very even keel, even when he knows his mother is maneuvering to get him and Brooklyn together. Together, Westmore and Greene make for a very engaging couple, and their connection is so strong that when it goes wrong, it really tugs at our hearts even though we know it will all work out in the end.

Alexis Zollicoffer is delightful as Elise, always with a smile on her face, always supportive of Brooklyn, and when she meets Carlos she just lights up, making it feel totally natural. The script though gives her a total about face with Carlos after Jared refuses to speak with Brooklyn, and after the entire movie of them being so tight it feels totally out of character and it almost makes Elise the ‘bad guy’ at that point. That’s not to take away from Zollicoffer’s performance, it’s just the way the character was written and it feels inauthentic. Koppany Pusztai is also terrific as Carlos, instantly smitten with Elise, always ready to help Jared, and when Elise gives him the cold shoulder, the expression on his face and his body language tells us that his heart is broken and we feel his pain and sadness. Of course it all works out in the end for them too, so perhaps someone will consider giving them a sequel movie to show them dealing with the long-distance relationship.

O’Grady and Lamas are also very good as Jared’s parents, O’Grady’s Jane meddling just enough because a mom wants to see her son happy, but never over-the-top, and she has some nice moments chatting with Brooklyn. Lamas gives a really nice performance as a once vital man who now spends his days tinkering and watching The Price is Right, obviously longing to feel useful again but also not wanting to put a strain on his marriage after so many years of always being busy and rarely present for his wife. It’s nice to see him begin to get his mojo back as the story progresses, and that is mainly because of Brooklyn’s presence. This goes back to the screenplay that has a lot of working parts that all function well to create a complete story. Catherine Copplestone could be considered the villain of the piece, giving Mary a totally humorless and overbearing quality that would make anyone with a joy for life consider quitting their job if she was their boss. Copplestone is most likely a very lovely person in real life, but she brings the boss from hell to life perfectly.

Overall, Love in the Clouds is a fine romantic movie that has a very good script, a great cast and some stunning locations, but there is just something missing that’s hard to put a finger on that just doesn’t have that Hallmark Channel movie spark. If you’re fans of any of the main actors though, it’s worth the watch.

Love in the Clouds has a run time of 1 hour 24 minutes, and is rated TV-G. The film is streaming on Hallmark+.

Preview – Love in the Clouds

Hallmark Channel