Finding Love in series

(On Cable TV, November 2021) I’m three films deep into American Cinema International’s “Finding Love in [city]” series, and its hook is now as obvious as it seems: these are films with footage shot in the cities where they’re supposed to take place (or close enough). That should not be all that revolutionary, but in the world of low-budget made-for-Hallmark/Lifetime romantic comedies, anything that isn’t shot in Canada or on soundstages is now semi-unusual. Better yet — taking full advantage of its location, Finding Love in Big Sky, Montana (which differs slightly in pedigree from its other “Finding Love in…” stablemates, being adapted from a novel) does feature some nice location shooting for its class. The plot is nothing you haven’t seen before, as a prodigal son returns to his childhood small town, befriends an old flame and saves the ranch from greedy developers. The only bend from formula is in how the story is told from the perspective of the small-town flame but that’s not much of a deviation when everything else feels the same. Clearly playing up the comfort of a familiar recipe, the film stomps through the expected plot beats and delivers exactly what’s expected. Still, the location shooting does set it apart from many undistinguishable films of the same ilk, and Big Sky, MT does make for more spectacular scenery than is the norm for similar romantic comedies. Otherwise, the plot is slightly ridiculous, but executed according to the most perfected formula. It wraps up to an innocuous film, pleasant enough but hardly striking even when set against the mountain background. Hey, I’ll even watch the next movies in the series.