User reviews

Nice job, Hallmark. Loved the Hawaii setting and enjoyed the story. It was great to see some new actors that seemed natural and believable. I did think the main male character seemed to make a quick turnaround with his attitude but it was a minor point. It is a Hallmark movie after all.

'Hidden Gems' (2022)

Opening thoughts: When Hallmark have films set abroad (i.e. France, Italy, Belgium, Hawaii, Fiji), one is guaranteed stunning scenery which has always been the case even in the misfires. Hallmark has always varied in their films abroad when it comes to the story and characters, some are charming and light-hearted with characters worth connecting with, others have very thin and predictable stories with over flawed character writing. Some also feel like too much of a travelogue.

There is a bit of both extremes with 'Hidden Gems'. Luckily, mostly charming and light-hearted in the story even with bumps along the way, while uneven in the character writing. It is a decent start to the 2022 Summer Nights films, which was somewhat hit and miss but could have been worse (like the previous 2022 seasonal blocks). Something that was not unexpected as all the previous years' Summer Nights blocks have been variable, some faring worse than 2022's though. 'Hidden Gems' falls short of being a gem, but it is not a film to stay hidden.

Good things: 'Hidden Gems' is successful in many areas. The best aspect is the Hawaiian scenery, which is absolutely breath-taking and made me want to book tickets to go. It's beautifully shot too, underwater is so vibrant. The music is pleasant enough and fits at least. The script on the whole flows well and has a playful lightness and warm heart.

Story-wise, 'Hidden Gems' isn't perfect but on the whole it is securely paced and is cute and charming. Hunter King and Beau Mirchoff, in a refreshing change from Hallmark regular actors in the lead roles, have a witty and heartfelt chemistry together, and both give committed and appealing performances individually. Each playing with easy going charm and not overdoing any mannerisms. The supporting cast, most unknown names to me, are solid support. The character writing is flawed, but they did feel more than just mere stereotypes and do grow.

Bad things: It is a long way from perfect though. It is spoilt quite a lot by a far too unrealistically pat ending that didn't feel logical considering the way the characters behave. This reviewer also has never liked these kinds of endings and has often found them illogical and jarring, like here. Will agree that the initial attitudes between the two lead characters are very overdone in the hostility to a mean spirited degree, their chemistry to begin with as a result was a little unpleasant to watch especially with Mirchoff's character being so hard to like.

Did think that some of the conflict was low on tension and was as strained as the hostility, while the changes of heart were a bit too rushed for my liking.

Closing thoughts: Concluding, above average if inconsistent.

6/10.

Addie (Hunter King) is in Hawaii as the maid of honor and organizer of her sister's wedding. Her most important possession is a ring from her late grandmother. When she loses the ring, she needs help from chilled dive instructor Jack (Beau Mirchoff).

This is a Hallmark romance. The meet-cute has a good amount of cute and the maximum amount of conflict. These are two young beautiful people in a beautiful place. The leads have fine chemistry. The underwater stuff is pretty and it's Hawaii. The writing and the general filmmaking is all Hallmark basics. The biggest issue with the story is Addie as a master diver. If she's a skilled diver and the ring is that important, she should be spending every moment of daylight to search for the ring. She can't know how to dive for the sake of the story logic. She should be stressed. She should be desperate. She should be trying to find the ring at every hour of the day. Now maybe he could talk her down a bit but the way that he could show he truly cares is to start searching for ring excessively himself. There is also the theme of magic. The movie could do more with that. For example, Jack should give something more personal to temporarily take the place of ring. It's a talisman. I do love her playing with her finger all the time over the ring. This has a lot of good elements of a rom-com. The writing does need to expand and develop into more than what is just another Hallmark movie.

What a gem of a movie! I really enjoyed the on location in Hawaii movie setting and the two new leads-this was my first time seeing Hunter and Beau. I hope we see more of them on Hallmark. They had great chemistry and are fun to watch.

What a surprise!

Another Hallmark movie done on location-Hawaii- with two talented lead actors-Hunter King and Beau Mirchoff-new to Hallmark with a fresh storyline I haven't seen before.

So surprised I watched til the end-which doesn't happen often.

Hallmark should sign King and Mirchoff to do a sequel-

The only good point in the case of this film, for me, remains the grandmother ring. Because too many aspects are just forced, from the unplausible lost of ring and its discover on beach, to the diving certification , improvised detail for good of romance and the venerable father as pastor.

Indeed, I am crotchety but , maybe, I expected little more. The work of Hunter King is pretty and, in some measure, reminds old fashion romances in Katherine Hepburn style but her character becomes so...chaotic than nothing real convince.

The job of Beau Mirchoff is blank and reasonable. The end becomes only confirmation of easy solutions . But, sure, it is only Hallmark.

7.7 stars.

There is love in the air in the tropics with a beautiful Hawaiian landscape and a destination wedding. The main focus is the maid of honor trying to figure out what direction to take her own life, and meanwhile she falls head over heals (ever so progressively) for a local diver and shop owner. What's not to love about this adventure? There is everything exciting to be found in "Hidden Gems". The chemistry between the leads is a tangible young love, the bride and groom are preparing for their beach wedding, mom and dad are a nice addition to the cast, the concierge is an extra special quirky and fun character. This hidden gem of a film is all you need in order to vicariously enjoy a sweet little Hawaiian vacation. This is a far cry from the usual Hallmark of mountains and arctic scenery. The cast is harmonious in providing a particularly smooth and fun experience in this luxurious pre-wedding atmosphere. Who wouldn't yearn to fly to any island resort after seeing "hidden Gems"?

I enjoyed this movie for the sweet romance. The basic plot is the maid of honor loses a precious ring given to her by her late grandmother. She hires the local diving guide/hunk to help her find it, and together they embark on an adventure that includes diving, sailing, dancing, and some smooches. "Hidden Gems" is a breath of fresh equatorial air.

I really appreciated that this was a slow build romance...in fact it was a little bit of a hate to love, which is my favorite romantic genre. I am not the biggest fan of Hunter King who played the main character Addy, but I liked her strong character and I thought she had great chemistry with Beau Mirchoff who plays opposite her as Jack.

I am very happy to say that they didn't go with the tired romance formula where there is a misunderstanding or conflict between the two romantic leads at the three quarters point...instead the conflict occurred over Addy's career aspirations and she and Jack have not only talked it through, but he is incredibly supportive.

The backdrop is gorgeous sunny Hawaii and the story revolves around Addy's sister's destination wedding there. Right before the wedding her sister offers her a 50% stake in her fashion business...but Addy really has aspirations to be a marine biologist, an education that she gave up to help her sister. While doing paddle board yoga in the pacific...Addy looses her grandmother's priceless pearl ring, which is how she meets the hotel's dive instructor Jack...who she hires to find it.

These two were more every day people and this was an actual romantic story where effort was put into building the relationship in a believable romance. I highly recommend this film to all the romantics out there.

Great work Beau Mirchoff! I think your acting was outstanding. I honestly think Beau would be great in the Hallmark Christmas movies. I hope all of the Hallmark supporters enjoyed watching Beau as much as I did!

The story is sweet and will give you small giggles of happiness.

Seemed very natural and the way the story developed around the main characters falling into love is nice.

All I can say is hallmark just banked on the setting in Hawaii to carry this movie. Very boring. I hope the actors can land better roles in their next project.

They are nothing to be ashamed of and you have a solid audience. Hunter King and Beau have strong chemistry in this romance where people believe in magic in a real world setting with Hawai'i as a backdrop. Those who work hard to do for others and are able to find their own dream as a reward are truly lucky. This movie is watchable and that is a lot because a lot of scripts just don't have it. King, a fine actor trained on the soap opera canvas, leads the way.

Refreshingly different than the typical cookie cutter hallmark movie. The actress was very hard to watch between her grotesque botox lips and gawdy eyelashes It was hard to pay attention to the story. What am eye sore!

I liked this hallmark movie. It was refreshing. I wanted to watch because I liked the actress hunter on y & r. I like hallmark movies usually, this was one of the better ones. The Hawaiian scenery is beautiful! Nice light entertainment.

The leaps in logic were just too ridiculous for me to handle.

The positives - it's nice to see some fresh faces as opposed to the usual Hallmark actors, and contrary to some other reviewers, I thought the leads and the supporting cast did a good job for the third of the movie I saw.

The scenery was beautiful and you can't beat the authentic on-location setting.

Also the idea for the story is great - her grandmother's ring bringing true love together by going missing when it did, as if through the very magic that her grandmother believed in.

Unfortunately, this idea ended up being wasted as it was so poorly executed.

As one reviewer has already said, not taking the ring off to do SUP yoga was stupid. OK, it's needed for the story, I'll carry on watching.

Then it only transpires after she's waited a full day and gone to such desperate lengths to try to enlist the help of the dive-master that she's a certified diver herself. To be fair, the movie does try to address this by having Addy asked about this on two separate occasions. Sadly her explanation doesn't really stack up. While it doesn't to any harm to get the help of a dive master who knows the currents, why did she not start looking herself immediately? (I'm no expert on currents, but surely the sooner she started looking, the more likely it would still be in the area where she'd just been doing the yoga), and, as another reviewer has said, why was she not spending every available hour looking herself?! Jack's assistance should have been a bonus, not a necessity.

It's needed for the 2 lead characters to meet and have initial conflict. I can just about accept it and carry on watching. There's numerous other ways they could have met - off the top of my head, she could have been looking for it herself and interfered with one of Jack's dive excursions. But I'm 30 minutes in now, I want to see where this goes.

The final straw for me though came when her sister demanded that the dive-master spend his spare hour helping them do some utterly trivial scavenger hunt game rather than be looking for the ring. That was just the height of selfishness - it was her grandmother's ring too. That no-one called her on it was just too much.

In fact, given that her and their "friend" insisted Addy do the yoga against her wishes, quite actively stopped her from looking for the ring immediately, and now this, I have to wonder if the sister was jealous that their grandmother hadn't given her the ring instead and so wanted it to stay missing.

If that gets revealed later in the plot, then great. I can't watch any longer to find out.

This film checked off all of the Hallmark Romance boxes. Uptight girl meets free-spirited boy, tides bring them together in a beautiful almost magical place. Any negative reviews are from people who don't like Hallmark movies. I mean, you know what you're getting into so if you don't like sappy Romance that's all tied up with a perfect bow at the end, then this movie is not for you. I, however, love the ocean and am a sucker for sappy Romance. If that is also you, then settle in and just press play already. Warning, I did tear up a little in places like when the heart strings are pulled when the protagonist thinks about her grandma.