User reviews

It's nine months after a devastating storm in Sand Dollar Cove. Tourism is down and the beloved pier is closed. Real estate developer representative Elli (Aly Michalka) arrives to negotiate. Bait store owner Brody (Chad Michael Murray) is initially friendly until the new development threatens the pier. He happens to own land important to her.

Both Aly and CMM were big stars during their days. That's a step up for Hallmark which tends to only have one former star to lead their movies. What's surprising is that the couple doesn't have greater heat. The plot sets up the possibility but the dialogue does not deliver any heat. It's almost as if the two former stars are too cool for school. They are too leisurely which may fit the location but it's not what the movie needs. The location is great for clam bakes but everybody is too nice. They need to fight before they can make up. Even a Hallmark movie needs some heat or else it gets too flat.

I hate that movies based on this premise start out with 15-20 minutes of the boss promising the lead negotiator a promotion and drilling into her how important the deal is. This movie opens with a scene of a storm destroying the pier which is the lynchpin of the plot and the next thing we see is the negotiator driving into town. We get to skip 19 minutes of boring threats mixed with promises. (Unfortunately there are still plenty of those spread out later.)

BUT. Then we get about 45-50 minutes (commercial run time) of business negotiations combined with some banter between the leads, but mostly negotiations. I think this is part of what turned so many reviewers off Aly Michalka, but it's not all of it. She's just too stiff throughout. If there's chemistry with Chad Michael Murray, it's hard to find. Meanwhile, Murray is too laid back.

Michalka lightens up a little with Lily Jane, as Milly, the kid.

The overall story is a common one. The Developer wants to destroy town history and nostalgia. As the business progresses, the negotiator takes part helping with the local Jamboree. And she enters a contest. There's an adorable kid. The story is thin.

Almost exactly 3/4 mark (commercial run time) something happens that I didn't expect because it was earlier than usual. After that the movie stalls until the moment of truth after which the story runs to the usual conclusion in the usual way. Actually, thinking about it, the whole movie drags. Usually, the relationship picks up the slack, but there wasn't enough spark between these leads.

Usually Hallmark movies have some great scenery. This one had nothing really spectacular. One thing about Michalka did stand out and that was her wardrobe.

The leads had no real connection & she came across always,a bit sour in expression.

Have seen the lead female in other stuff,where she was decent.

Was a bit of a yawn fest,nothing new or special.

Cinematography & location(s) was nice,but won't make my see it again list.

Hey Hallmark ... PLEASE don't use Aly Michalka again. She isn't suited to romantic roles. She's OK - but her acting is not believable. Her facial expressions are so funny - not suited to the material. She might have been a great Disney actor - but grownup roles are past her abilities. No chemistry with Chad Michael Murray. This movie is just sad. Hallmark's summer 2021 offerings have pretty much all missed the mark... I still DVR them - but I couldn't make it through at least 3 of the 4 without falling asleep. Deleted off my DVR.

OH - and by the way - while it was nice seeing Glynnis O'Connor again - do you understand that she is only 26 years older than Chad Michael Murray? His mom, OK. His grandmother? Not unless she was 12 or 13 when she had his mom/dad and his mom/dad were the same age when they had him. She's the same age as me ... people my age have grandkids who are around 25 or younger. Not in their mid-thirties. She doesn't look old enough to be his grandmother. Silly casting ...

I liked the movie but that editing was very subpar, I saw a few mistakes throughout the movie.

Was a nice movie but the pick for female main character don't was right. She was flat no connection with the character, no passion, expression, was so vanilla.

The premise was quite nice, the formula is not too different from usual but the setting was a change from the usual settings. Chad Michael Murray has generally come on quite a long way as an actor and generally doesn't seem too taxed by the more mature roles and he has always been at ease as a romantic lead when the material is good. There have been some good 2021 Hallmark films this year as well as some misfires.

'Sand Dollar Cove' sadly to me is one of the misfires, which was pretty much feared when reading the reviews. It is better than 'Beverly Hills Wedding' and 'One Perfect Wedding', but it is around the same level as 'The Baker's Son' and one of the weaker Summer Nights Hallmark films from 2021. It has its moments and has a decent supporting cast, but is primarily let down by a terrible female lead, lack of chemistry and the story. Not a terrible film but really not good either.

As said, the supporting cast do well. Glynnis O'Connor being a joy to watch. Lily Jane is also adorable without being cloying and really did wish that Clare Bowen was the female lead instead. She plays her role with the required charm and has a look and presence that would have fitted so much better. Murray has a likeable charisma about him.

The opening was promising while the production values are great, 2021's Hallmark films have really delivered when it comes to the production values with particularly the scenery.

Unfortunately, Aly Michalka is a disaster in the female lead role, she does not look comfortable at all and has no emotional range, seeming very indifferent throughout. Just as disastrous is the complete lack of chemistry between her and Murray, it was like they didn't get along during filming, and it doesn't help that the relationship doesn't really go very far and is somewhat under-utilised in the film. None of the characters are that well developed and are little more than Hallmark cliches.

When it comes to the script, that came over as very stilted and also quite random and too talky. The middle act really rambles and is particularly near-uneventful story wise. The story is very tired, from following an old hat formula with nothing new, and drags badly. Of the 2021 Hallmark films, 'Sand Dollar Cove' is one of the dullest. The music is forgettable at best and the direction is routine.

Concluding, lacklustre. 4/10.

Any Hallmark film that is said to take place in Connecticut (or anyplace) and is actually filmed there (as opposed to Vancouver) gets a few stars from me. Aly Michalka is also charming, and even seems to be a real estate developer. She has backbone. And having the female lead be something other than a baker or writer or some such is a plus. Nice job.

The movie was okay, the scenery was nice. The leads have decent chemistry but I did not save it to watch again.

No chemistry between the leads.. and I can hardly get past Chad Michael Murray's little "heh heh heh" laugh he does throughout. Basically stuck around as long as I did for the beautiful scenery.

I liked the lead female. She is beautiful and was chill, so that appealed to me. It's a light feel good movie to pass some time, was fine.

Hi:

I liked the movie. I love Chad Michael Murray, his acting is realistic, smooth and believable. He has great talent and is always outstanding no matter what he does. Aly Michalka, I did not care for her acting. She is too stiff her acting is not believable. She hardly ever smiles. She has such a flat affect. It almost appears like she didn't want to be in that movie at all.

CMM and Aly Michalka had little to no chemistry. Decent acting from a seasoned cast,but come on. Get two people who really like and want to be with each other. Formulaic is good , but get some chemistry. Scenery was beautiful and production and set design not bad, but lack of chemistry takes away the oomph of the movie. CMM being from New England is like eating a sand sandwich.

This is a very good movie that I think the whole family can watch and enjoy, The acting was good. And the script was well written. Yes, I HIGHLY recommend it. James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas. 1/18/2022.

It was a great surprise to see Glynnis in this movie. I recognized her right away from "Ode to Billy Joe" and a few other of my favorite 70's movies. It was Glynis and Chad Michael Murray that held my attention in the movie. Unfortunately, the leading female character wasn't a good fit. She seemed like she wasn't into the film. Better casting for female lead would've made a huge difference in this movie. I liked her in other films, but this was not the part for her. I wanted to like her in the movie, but there was no emotion nor spark. (I hate to write anything negative about anyone) I even checked to see if maybe she was going through something that would affect her acting, but I didn't see anything.

Chad Michael Murray was perfect for the role. His charisma jumps off the screen.

On a side note, I'd love to see Robbie Benson and Glynnis in an upcoming Hallmark movie. I know, my generation would love to see them together.

Overall, cute movie.

For me the wonderful woman playing Nana when she was probably only in her 20s when the lead man, her grandson was born really jarred, it was yet another clichéd bit of casting when she was actually one of the strongest performers and a character full of vitality. Hallmark really needs to support the stronger older characters which are a decent foundation of their films and their viewers demographic.

The lead character, Brodie was okay, the actor seemed a little bored with the whole thing, Pam, his sister was really good and would have been better as the lead female. The little girl did at least put some energy into the film without being too stereotypically a Hallmark child.

The lead female was seemingly bored with the whole thing, there was no expression or life in her performance.

The scenery was lovely but looked cold as the trees went through varying stages of leaf development so I assume it was early in the year and probably cold. Obviously most things were filmed outside during the pandemic and one of the extras was wearing a mask at the clam bake.

All in all, not a disaster due to the scenery and support cast, yet an instantly forgettable one.

The person who played Elli gave a zero fs attitude throughout the entire movie! She didn't seem to care about anything, her job, the guy, the place, the festival, nothing! Add the slow talking main guy and breezy scenery, I fell asleep during the premiere. The broken pier seems photoshopped so they never stand on it, but they stand on a bunch of other board walks that look equally long so I didn't understand what the big deal was with tearing it down? There were so many others! Nothing interesting about this movie, but it's not so terrible either if you like small towns and beach scenery.

For not having a manufactured misunderstanding in the next to last scene. I have seen many Hallmark movies that verged on being very very good that were marred by adhering to the Hallmark formula that there is always a misunderstanding in the last quarter of the movie. This was a refreshing change.

I gave this a 1. Although 0 might be more accurate. No chemistry between the two leads. TIred plot, and completely unbelievable that anyone would be trying to save this "pier" which is nothing special. Basically a worn old Dock that does not have any particular value. Looks like a lot of small, private docks that people have by their homes on small local lakes here in Michigan. Not something that would be treasured by a whole town. Sorry Hallmark, this one is a complete fail,

Loved the storyline. The actors did a good job. Believable drama. Good scenery.

I gave it a 4 because there was not vulgarness or content that was offensive. But it took 3 sittings to get through it. The writing or the acting was off or maybe both. There was no chemistry between the leads. The male lead seemed to be reading his lines ahead of time. The female lead said her lines with little or no care to how it came out. It was like she would have rather been anywhere but here. This new summer line up is missing it.

Not a fan of the dirty, old CMM here. His accent is bad in this, sounds more of a coastal southern than north-eastern. Neither have chemistry with the other. The main actress, Aly, feels like she didn't want to be in the movie or cast opposite as CMM. Also, didn't seem to be interested in doing her job she was there to do. It's what I call a filler movie for Hallmark; there's no purpose to it other than to fill a slot for a new movie.

Really liked seeing Clare Bowen again. She looked familiar. She has such a strong presence--she should be in leading roles.