Love in the Clouds is a new Hallmark Channel original title that celebrates love, career fulfilment, and hot air balloons (but not necessarily in that order). Set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the romance movie stars McKenzie Westmore as a reporter who feels sparks fly while doing a segment on a hot air balloon pilot, played by longtime Hallmark actor Paul Greene. Gail O’Grady, Lorenzo Lamas, Alexis Zollicoffer, and Koppany Pusztai round out the ensemble cast coming together to create this film celebrating love and New Mexico’s annual International Balloon Fiesta. Does their work culminate in a fully fleshed-out film, or is this just a creative ad for New Mexico tourism?
The Gist: Jared Troy (Paul Greene) is a hot air balloon pilot with over 30 years of experience. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he runs a business called “Love in the Air Romantic Hot Air Balloon Ride.” Jared loves his work, but seeks help from a news crew to gain more publicity and business in the wake of Albuquerque’s annual International Balloon Fiesta.
Enter Brooklyn (McKenzie Westmore), a Seattle-based business reporter who is desperate to make the shift to lifestyle reporting that would allow her to inject more personality, passion, and puns into her stories. Unfortunately, her workaholic boss Mary (Catherine Copplestone) is adamant about keeping Brooklyn’s business broadcasts as dry as possible, leading her to consider applying for a new job altogether. But Brooklyn’s chance at a fresh start comes sooner than planned when she’s tapped to fill in for the lifestyle reporting coworker covering the upcoming International Balloon Fiesta, focusing on Jared under the one stipulation that she can’t report on his personal life.
With her videographer and friend Elise (Alexis Zollicoffer) by her side, Brooklyn embarks on a five-day trip to stay with Jared while reporting on his hot air balloon business and how it fits into the entire Fiesta. But immediately upon meeting, Brooklyn and Jared are unexpectedly drawn to one another despite their many differences. For example, Brooklyn is a hopeless romantic who fears just about everything (including heights and spicy food) except for love, while Jared has few fears but is jaded about love. When Brooklyn off-handedly informs Mary about the latter fact in jest, her boss runs with it and says that the romantic balloon ride operator’s ironic aversion to love will be the piece’s focus.
As Brooklyn and Jared grow closer over the next five days, these two opposites begin to attract as their feelings for one another blossom into something real. At the same time, Brooklyn gets to know Jared’s parents, retired pilots Brad (Lorenzo Lamas) and Jane (Gail O’Grady), who work together to set up the younger couple in hopes of seeing their son in a relationship as steady and loving as their own one day. Elise is also eager to play matchmaker for her coworker and Jared, but ends up finding a potential match of her own with Jared’s cousin, Carlos (Koppany Pusztai). Under the constraints of a short time period and an assignment that would invade Jared’s privacy, can Brooklyn truly find love and accomplish her career goals, or must she sacrifice one to achieve the other?
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: The hot air balloon-fueled romance angle may vaguely remind some viewers of the 2019 film The Aeronauts. Otherwise, Love in the Clouds might bring to mind other Hallmark movies where the female lead journalist falls in love with the man she’s supposed to be writing a story about, like Snow Bride, Just My Type, and A Not So Royal Christmas.
Performance Worth Watching: Thanks to his solid acting and natural charm, Paul Greene is a reliable and believable leading man as Jared Troy.
Memorable Dialogue: It has to be this line delivered (somehow) with the utmost sincerity by Mary: “Are you kidding? It’s the International Balloon Fiesta. Hotel rooms are booked years in advance!”
Sex and Skin: None at all. The only spicy things here are all the chilis and salsas that appear over the course of the movie.
Our Take: Starting with the positive, Love in the Clouds has some entertaining lines and moments that do lift it up at times. The romances between both Jared and Brooklyn and Elise and Carlos are enjoyable enough, albeit a bit forced and fast (both duos seem mostly driven by them being the only single, similarly-aged people in each other’s orbit), but I liked the supportive friendship between Brooklyn and Elise. Additionally, the shots of Albuquerque are truly breathtaking, and I really enjoyed just looking at all of the gorgeous scenery.
Unfortunately, the positive qualities of Love in the Clouds don’t completely outweigh the not-so-high points. Between three romances, multiple different plotlines, and an insane amount of puns (and that’s coming from someone who has already made several in this very article), there are perhaps just a few too many things going on. By throwing a lot at the wall and hoping something sticks, you end up with some goofy moments, particularly the several silly-sounding statements involving balloons delivered so earnestly, the very obvious green screen in the background of Brooklyn and Jared’s hot air balloon ride, and the random scene pigeonholing Lorenzo Lamas’s martial arts experience into the plot by having him teach the other main characters some taekwondo.
Overall, Love in the Clouds just ends up feeling a bit underwhelming, and like more of a promo for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (which is indeed a real event that occurs every October) than a fully thought-out film or love story. But hey, at least now I feel inspired to go to New Mexico!
Our Call: While Love in the Clouds is a pretty good advertisement for Albuquerque tourism (it really does look so beautiful), it falls short of becoming an engrossing and swoon-worthy romance movie worth making the time for. SKIP IT.