Friends, sometimes a duck sits in front of a movie and says, “I think this one’s going to get right up my beak-holes.” That’s what I said to myself at the start of Raise A Glass To Love. But alas, how wrong a feathered fellow can be! You see, Jenna (Laura Osnes) longs to be a master sommelier, tasting fancy wines and knowing exactly what they are at the very first whiff. But her dream is nicely balanced when Marcello (beautifully played by Juan Pablo Di Pace) appears in all his handsome duckyness, arguing that wine can be community, caring, love. Of course, Jenna’s already in a relationship with Aidan (Matthew Downden)—a bit of a duckhead who has about as much pluck as a wet beak-blanket and seems to think he should hold Jenna back careerwise, even though the whole “master sommelier thing” is fiercely hard to break into, being male-dominated and snooty as a plover in stilettos.
The setting? Beautiful. Most of the action is set at the vineyard that belongs to Jenna’s parents (deftly played by Eric Keenleyside and Beverley Elliott), and Mom and Dad are the magical example of true love. What’s more, the theming in Raise A Glass To Love is super-ducking awesome. There’s a deep (but non-ducksplainy) exploration of the importance of having a partner who supports your career dreams and, as the flipper-tickling ending shows, fosters them along with their own.
Diversity? Not bad, quacktually. In terms of race, we have diverse supporting characters, including a best friend of color. No queer ducks though. Not even one. And what movie isn’t improved by a little non-normative flipper?
Watch the movie here:
Photo courtesy of Hallmark and Star Tavares.
Romancey Pants 
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