The Journey Ahead

This is a great movie to watch with people you love - and it'll make you want to phone them if you're not with them. Holly Robinson Peete was perfect as was Kaylee Bryant. A perfect pairing. The entire cast was well chosen. Kudos to all. There were a few moments that seemed a little slow but the story and acting made up for that. Beautiful scenery as well. I'd definitely watch this again. Two hours well spent.

This is Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel, so it's not your usual Rom/Com. This movie explores different relationships and also approaching life's different journey stages.

The acting was good once we got past Holly Robinson Peete showing how much of a jerk Madeline was given the point she was at in her life. Through the first commercial break (about 20 minutes) she was a definite witch with a capital B. The unlikableness continued for a while past that but the heat turned down over time. In that sense, this movie didn't fall into the mistake so many of these make where a character's personality changes instantly between one shot and the next. But it didn't help for over all appeal

Even after friendships were made, the story didn't have a lot of spark. The movie was about choices and feelings about those choices. For me it was a little slow.

Great scenery.

Not the typical Hallmark movie, interesting story line with a great message but...

As in many Hallmark movies, there were quite a few disconnects. Some small, some larger. For example, the unrealistic rafting scene, the restaurant scene where the child comes over and silently colors on a paper at a table occupied by the main characters, and the dinner scene where in the middle of dinner, one character asks for pie and gets up to get it while the other two are still eating. A guest would never do that. Especially a prominent actress who prides herself on propriety. These are just a few examples but there were others. I find these take away from the credibility of the story.

Holly Robinson is great. Her storyline was great. Ruined it with the woke storyline of the younger girl. It gave nothing to the story. The younger girl's story could have been done correctly and still carried the same weight. I used to love watching Hallmark knowing it was child friendly and wholesome.

THINGS I LIKED: Holly Robinson Peete does a believable job as a spoiled Hollywood star. Did you know her father was the famous actor Matt Robinson (the original Gordon on Sesame Street!) Her husband is the famous football player Rodney Peete.

Kaylee Bryant plays a super judgmental, annoying Millennial, but her character definitely warms up in the end.

There's a very touching, tearful moment in the end.

We get to take a road trip across the USA.

Both of the main characters experience growth with hard-won insights.

The minute you see Mark Humphrey, you can already tell there is a romance brewing.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Both of the characters are unlikeable at the beginning with attitudes of entitlement and superiority. Why do people feel they can treat others with such instant disdain?

We see several scenes and then they repeat shortly after as thoughts in the protagonist's head in Act 1. That could have easily been cut from the movie.

There are some slow moments.

Act 3 felt rushed as both characters suddenly made decisions they had been resisting for years.

There are some moments where odd things occur that just don't happen in real life. For example, a young girl randomly walks over to someone else's table in a restaurant and starts drawing. What? Where were her parents? It's such a contrived moment to make a point about one of the characters. Trust me...there are more weird things like that.

It's very predictable.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Talk of a lesbian relationship.

Talk of pre-marital relations.

THEMES: Adoption Complicated relationships Regret Dreams Road-trip adventures Phone your loved ones!

Challenging yourself to do hard things The importance of education