Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Bland, predictable romance has grief and kissing.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Love on the Right Course
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In LOVE ON THE RIGHT COURSE, Whitney (Ashley Newbrough) is a pro golfer in a slump. Her mother, a retired golf pro, had been her coach until the mom's death two years before. Whitney's pushy caddy wants to take that role, but that arrangement isn't working and he publicly quits just as she loses a tournament. Uncertain she can continue on the pro circuit, Whitney heads to her dad's mansion in Hungary for a refresh, finding he's been isolated from friends and work since his wife's death. The seemingly depressed dad (Roy McCrerey) has even put his beloved golf country club on the market. Nevertheless, Whitney starts training there for what may be her last tournament, the Eastern European, and meets the club's golf pro, handsome and friendly Daniel (Marcus Rosner), with whom it immediately becomes apparent she will pair up by the movie's end.
Is It Any Good?
The perfect audience for Love on the Right Course is a tween who loves predictable romance. For anyone with more life experience than that age range affords, this will appear trite, dull, and devoid of a single original idea. That Newbrough and Rosner are attractive presences with large, even-toothed smiles is indisputable, but is that enough to get an audience through 84 minutes of running time plus another 30 minutes of inescapable ads (depending on the streaming platform)? No, because no adult humans behave the way the characters here behave. Drama is manufactured in painfully inept confrontations -- anyone with two sentences to announce just shows up to announce them, instead of calling or texting the way people communicate in real life. Whitney never actually asks Daniel to be her caddy but is hurt that he doesn't push his way into that position. Also, except for gratuitous references to chicken paprikash and goulash, the Hungarian setting plays absolutely no role in the plot.
Add to that absurdity the film's overriding mushy wisdom: "You have to chase your own dreams even if you haven't dreamt them yet." Even Hallmark's own greeting card division would reject that pearl. Maybe the good news is that in this movie, there are no surprises.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way the movie oversimplifies relationships and situations. Do any of the conflicts here seem real? Why or why not?
A frequently used plot point here involves someone not telling someone else something important and then being upset about the resulting miscommunications. Does this feel involving or off-putting to the audience? Why?
Once the conflicts are set up, is there any outcome that cannot be predicted from the movie's earliest moments? Does that matter?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : January 6, 2024
- Cast : Ashley Newbrough , Marcus Rosner , Roy McCrerey
- Director : Stefani Scaini
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Hallmark Entertainment
- Genre : Romance
- Run time : 84 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : January 15, 2024
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