Hello – I am the host this month for Food ‘n Flix and the feature is Just Desserts starring Costas Mandylor and Lauren Holly.
The Plot
Marco Poloni's family owns a bakery in the Bronx . They are facing the prospect of selling the bakery as sales are dwindling. Marco sees a contest, The Golden Whisk, (Yes, I swear I am not making this up), advertised where the winner will receive a good sum of money….but he needs a partner. He asks Grace Carpenter, the baker of an upscale restaurant. Naturally they start off completely irritated with one another. The same old blah-blah-blah romantic comedy template that is getting so stale you could choke.
Marco and Grace are talented bakers and manage to get into the final rounds, the grand prize being a real possibility for them. Naturally they fall in love. Complication - Grace has a boyfriend, one with two planes (one for business, one for pleasure) as he points out constantly in this movie. He’s rather a git, truth be told, and there is no real chemistry between Grace and her boyfriend.
 |
| From Blog Buddy |
The other contestants who are in the run for the prize and money, Jacques du Jacques and his female partner, find a way to steal Marco’s family recipe for Torta Barozzi. Jacques is also a former classmate of Marco’s at the Culinary Institute of America. He’s also a complete fake,his name is Jackson and he isn’t French at all. Jacques’ female cohort flirts with Marco, shakes her ass and seduces him (well almost) gets him drunk and copies the recipe for the Barozzi.
The big focus here was the Torta Barozzi.........So you think I’d make that…but I didn’t. I made a coffee cake.
My favorite interactions, believe it or not, was between Uncle Fabrizo (played by David Proval) and Angela (played by Maria Bertrand). Despite the age difference and Fabrizo’s eewww-factor, these two had chemistry. Really. Yes, I do think that and, no, I wasn’t drinking when I watched this Hallmark movie.
Hallmark – had I known that I would have been prepared for fluff dialogue and a plot with the substance of cotton candy.
Anyhoo – Marco and Grace triumph, win the contest and you are left with the impression they live happily ever after. The acting was bad, there was zero chemistry between the two main characters and seriously….could they have stereo-typed Marco anymore, putting the Italian baker in a white wife-beater and tight black pants? Puh-leese.
I liked Lauren Holly in her role as Director Jenny Shepard on NCIS. But in this movie – nyaaah. Seriously, it wasn’t good. At all. (This is my opinion and maybe there are fans of this movie.)
For the record, my usual taste in movies run from V for Vendetta, to The 300 with the romantic comedy/drama choice being Notting Hill. That being said, I knew there wouldn’t be sword fighting or Hugh Grant…but the promise of a decent dessert factor was mighty appealing.
So….if I am never invited back to host ( or participate) in Food ‘n Flix, a fine site for movies and food, I will understand. And leave gracefully. Still loving my movie-foodie buddies….thank you for liking me for the person I cannot help being :-)
Here are photos of the coffee cake. I actually don't recall seeing a coffee cake in the movie but, this is a dessert that serves double duty for the sweet tooth and for a breakfast snacky meal.
It sure smelled good after it came out of the oven.
If you have already watched the movie and would like to participate in the roundup, please post your review and send me the link to your website. Please link back to my announcement post (which you may find HERE) My contact email for this is hexandkobe AT yahoo DOT com. Please contact by September 30th.
Cheers...........
If you like this post please feel free to share it!
Tweet
