Starring Kimberley Sustad and Lucas Bryant
***SPOILER ALERT***
While waiting to hear if she’ll receive tenure, a widowed professor, Rebecca (Sustad), goes on vacation with her two sons (Nicholas Holmes and Azriel Dalman) at Mustang Point Ranch, where they meet up with other family members. While shopping in town, she encounters an attractive horse whisperer, Jake (Bryant), who works at the ranch. Rebecca is smitten but soon learns he’s already been taken—by her sister, Cassidy (Marlie Collins). Cassidy, uncertain that she’s a good judge of character, asks Rebecca to spend a day with Jake, find out more about him, and give her some feedback about him. Then Cassidy sets up a reluctant Rebecca on a date with an old acquaintance, Bobby (Antonio Cayonne), but Rebecca’s not interested in him. Jake and Cassidy break up, and the truth emerges about Rebecca’s feelings for him. Now she and Jake must decide what their future will look like.
PROS
The leads. Sustad, of To All a Good Night (2023), played a deeply emotional woman who tried to hide her feelings for the man she loved, but her emotions always leaked through. As always, the actress was adept at evoking both tears and laughter in viewers. Her character, Rebecca, was often unsettled, first by the news that her son Noah (Holmes) was bringing his girlfriend on the family vacation, then by learning that Jake was Cassidy’s boyfriend. And she was often conflicted, first about whether or not to tell Cassidy about her feelings for Jake, then about staying on the ranch vs. accepting the offer of tenure, which would mean leaving Jake behind. Sustad’s performance captured Rebecca’s intense discomfort, but this was lightened by comic moments, like when she overheard Noah and Jake having a heart-to-heart talk and fell into a bale of hay. Bryant, on the other hand, played a classic strong and silent type, a cowboy who kept his cards close to his vest. Jake was slow to reveal himself and hard to read, making him intriguingly enigmatic to Rebecca.
Let’s talk about that hat-buying scene. The film’s best scene occurred early on. Rebecca and Jake’s meeting in the hat store created more sizzle than I’ve seen in a Hallmark movie for a long time. It was mesmerizing. Jake fixed his magnetic gaze on Rebecca and selected three hats for her, gently placing them on her head while he emphasized that a hat must reflect the character of the wearer. Their attraction was so instant and intense, you could practically hear her heart thumping.
James Denton. The Hallmark veteran played Aaron, who owned the ranch. Unfortunately, Denton had only a small role. In a powerful scene, Aaron told Jake of his regret at losing the woman he loved by not staying in one place. To this day, he still thought of her. The story was his quiet way of telling Jake that he must not let Rebecca go.
Azriel Dalman. The young actor shone in A Season for Family (2023), and he was a charmer as Rebecca’s youngest son, Ollie. Ollie’s favorite pastime was ghost hunting, which turned out to have more significance that I expected.
CONS
After a strong start, The Real West dragged slightly in the middle before more drama occurred. Some of this drama veered into the realm of the unbelievable and melodramatic.
A clueless sister and related problems. A carefree party girl, Cassidy wasn’t meant to be the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Even so, I couldn’t understand why she didn’t see what was painfully obvious: that Rebecca had zero interest in Bobby and had fallen hard for Jake. After Rebecca left the double date early, Cassidy caught up with her. Rebecca wouldn’t admit her feelings for Jake but instead tearfully told her that he was right for her (meaning Cassidy). Rebecca added that he was good for her own children. This and the tears should have clued Cassidy in to Rebecca’s feelings, yet she still had no inkling of them. And unfortunately, the movie resorted to the much-used prolonged lie as a plot device. The sisters’ conversation after the date was Rebecca’s perfect opportunity to finally come clean to Cassidy about her love for Jake, but she didn’t do it and continued to lie to her sister. On another note, why didn’t Jake break up with Cassidy sooner if he knew how he felt about Rebecca? This didn’t say much for him.
A maudlin scene. Ollie disappeared, and a frantic search ensued. Ghost hunter that he was, he’d been searching for his father’s spirit. Rebecca seemed to think he was hoping to find his dad in the flesh and broke the news that Dad wouldn’t be returning. No kidding. Ollie was old enough to know this; his dad hadn’t walked through the door in three years, as he’d been dead all that time. She told Ollie to say goodbye to his dad, her way of helping him move on, I suppose. This left Rebecca, Ollie, and Noah in tears. It was all too melodramatic for me.
The dream kiss. Early on, Rebecca brought Jake a cup of coffee and they kissed. Though this was a great moment, it was disappointing to learn that it was only a dream—a storytelling cliché if there ever was one. I wished the kiss had been real, as this might have taken the movie in a fresh direction.
My grade for The Real West: C+ (good acting but questionable plot)
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.
