Starring Danielle C. Ryan and Rafael Kariotakis
***SPOILER ALERT***
After an assistant hotel manager, Abby (Ryan) is downsized from her job in New York, she accepts her mother’s invitation to visit her in Greece. There Abby meets Theo (Kariotakis), a chef who’s striving to honor his late mother by reopening her restaurant. However, his billionaire father, Nikolas (Argyris Gaganis), thinks Theo’s a drifter and intends to groom him to take over his business. When Abby learns from an ex-colleague of a promising opportunity requiring restaurant experience, she decides to get that experience by teaming up with Theo to resurrect his mom’s restaurant. But they’re going to need money to make this venture a success, and Theo is hiding his family’s wealth, which he can’t access because of his conflict with his father, from Abby. When Abby learns the truth about who Theo is, this threatens to derail their romance.
PROS
The storyline wasn’t anything unique, but if you like your Hallmark movies low key and somewhat serious in tone, you might enjoy this one.
The leads. Ryan and Kariotakis were appealing actors and created palpable but modest chemistry as Abby and Theo. The characters clashed upon meeting, as Theo’s mint-green scooter was blocking Abby’s mom’s vehicle. However, as they cleaned up the restaurant and fixed whatever needing fixing (including a temperamental light and a leaky ceiling), shopped for decor, and created menus, they developed a rapport that included gentle teasing. Romantic sparks first flew when Abby and her mom, Jackie (Peru Kavalieri), the real estate agent selling the villa Theo’s father owned, arrived to unexpectedly find Theo there in his bathrobe. Kariotakis came across as very natural, and I liked that his character was driven to pursue his own ambitions and refused to accept his father’s version of his future. Ryan lent a sweetness to her role; Abby was genuinely helpful to Theo and cared deeply about him and his success. In the goodbye scene, she revealed to him that she was accepting the new job back home—she hadn’t envisioned remaining in Greece—and Theo confessed he was afraid of running the restaurant without her, and of losing her. I loved his vulnerability here. Knowing how they felt about one another, neither wanted to say goodbye, which added a sad note to A Greek Recipe for Romance.
Family tension. It can be hard to sympathize with a character born into extraordinary wealth, but my heart went out to Theo, since receiving his father’s love and support was contingent on his doing what was expected of him. Nikolas dismissed Theo’s dream outright. Gaganis was effective as the cold, domineering father who even sent someone, Dimitris (a calm and collected Nikolas Makris), on a mission to bring Theo home to work at the firm. Father and son were estranged, but Theo did reach out to his dad, leaving him a wistful voice mail message inviting him to the restaurant’s grand opening. It was satisfying to see them finally reconcile. Nikolas had psychological baggage—he admitted that he hadn’t returned to see the revamped restaurant since his wife’s death because he couldn’t bear the thought of the memories he had of her there disappearing. And at last he validated Theo’s ambitions.
Greece. The movie was filmed primarily in Syros, and also other scenic locations in Greece. Viewers were treated to the sight of quaint old streets and markets, an olive grove, a palatial villa, and most impressive of all, an ancient amphitheater where Theo liked to go to think and make wishes.
CONS
Though I liked this movie well enough, it was a tad lethargic at times, and I found it hard to get past certain aspects.
Coincidences galore. While coincidence (or you might call it fate) frequently plays a role in Hallmark movies, one coincidence is enough. Coincidence number one: Theo, the chef serving Abby dinner, was the same man who’d blocked her mother’s car with his scooter. Coincidence number two: Cassia (Christina Barlogianni), who worked for Abby’s mom, just happened to know Theo and introduced him and Abby. Coincidence number three: Abby’s mom just happened to be selling the villa belonging to Theo’s father, and where Theo was staying. This all felt too contrived.
Well, that was silly . . . Right before the grand opening, Theo’s restaurant didn’t pass inspection, so he was permitted to prepare but not serve food there. But Abby had a clever idea: Why not serve Theo’s dishes at the villa during her mother’s open house? Maybe I missed something, but I wasn’t sure why Theo couldn’t have simply prepared food at the villa. Instead, Abby schlepped the meals he made at the restaurant over to the villa—on Theo’s scooter! Given how packed the villa was with guests, Abby would have needed to make a ridiculous number of trips.
Say what? As much I enjoyed Kariotakis’s understated presence, unfortunately I just couldn’t make out some of his dialogue. It was a combination of his accent and the fact that he was so soft-spoken.
My grade for A Greek Recipe for Romance: C+
Caroline Kaiser is a professional book editor who specializes in fiction and memoirs, and she’s been guiding writers toward publication since 2007. Caroline is also the author of two ghostly mystery novels, Virginia’s Ghost and The Spirits of South Drive. Before she embarked on an editing and writing career, she spent many years working in a Toronto auction house as an antiques appraiser. Apart from curling up on the couch and drinking tea as she watches Hallmark movies, Caroline enjoys baking and exploring London, Ontario, the picturesque city she now calls home. Her website is www.carolinekaisereditor.com.
