To Philly with Love

The story for _To Philly with Love_, with its sort of mild _National Treasure_ historical scavenger hunt theme, really makes the search for the missing letters and all of the connections to Philadelphia and the historical context much more interesting than the actual romance, which really suffers from a lack of chemistry beyond the professional between the leads. The production team did a really nice job of seamlessly integrating scenes filmed in Philadelphia with scenes filmed in Ottawa, with the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and LOVE Park featured prominently. It’s refreshing that they didn’t just fake it and use digital visual effects to make Ottawa look like Philly (so I’m assuming the cheesesteaks Nate and Emily had were authentic, even though where they came from was never mentioned). Unfortunately, all of this, the historical treasure hunt and the locations were more interesting than the actual romance. As written, Emily and Nate do flirt with each other but we never feel a real romantic connection, and then when Emily just flies off the handle over the exhibit without allowing Nate to get a word in edgewise, it almost feels like that was probably how that relationship should end. But in typical Hallmark fashion, Emily realizes her mistake and runs to Nate for that expected kiss, but here’s the odd part … the reunited lovebirds always have another prolonged kiss right before the credits roll to confirm to the audience that they are indeed in love and in it for the long haul. After their single kiss, the final scene takes place back at the house six months later, now the new home for the ladies’ historical league and a center to educate youth on the country’s history. Nate and Emily are engaged at this point but instead of them celebrating their success with another kiss, Nate walks in the house with a student and Emily stays on the porch and hugs her mom. What? It’s good when they try to shake up the formula, but this moment only enhanced the fact that there was little romantic chemistry between Nate and Emily. Full review on HOTCHKA