''Love Under the Olive Tree'' is a Canadian

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Peter DeLuise Peter John DeLuise (born November 6, 1966) is an American actor, television director, television producer, and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Officer Doug Penhall in the Fox TV series ''21 Jump Street'', and for directing and writing e ...

and written by Samantha Herman, with a story by Jenna Milly and Ann Marie Allison. The cast includes

Tori Anderson Victoria Anderson (born ) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her television roles, such as Dr. London Blake on the TeenNick/ YTV series '' Open Heart'', Queen Titania on the Nickelodeon series ''The Other Kingdom'', and Evie on The CW series ...

, Benjamin Hollingsworth, and

Shawn Roberts Shawn Roberts (born April 2, 1984) is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in list of zombie films, zombie films such as ''Land of the Dead'', ''Diary of the Dead'' and the ''Resident Evil (film series), Resident Evil'' franchise. Early lif ...

. It premiered on the

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies and ...

on June 20, 2020.

Plot

A conflict arises between two local olive oil ranches. Nicole Cabella is determined to prove the opponent Jake Brandini her family's recipe is award-worthy. But what if these two fall in love?.

Cast

as Nicole Cabella * Benjamin Hollingsworth as Jake Brandini *

as Adam Caulfield * Gardiner Millar as Frank Cabella *

Hrothgar Mathews Hrothgar Mathews (born January 27, 1964) is a Canadian actor known for his performance as Gill St. George in the 1999 television film ''Milgaard.'' Career He has also played the recurring roles of Mark Fellows in '' Tom Stone'', Det. Charlie Klot ...

as Tom Cabella * Andrew Dunbar as Billy Stevens *

Laura Drummond Laura Drummond is a Canadian actress. She is the wife of Brian Drummond and is a co-founder of the Urban Academy school based in New Westminster. Personal life She has been married to voice actor Brian Drummond since 1992, together they have a ...

as Gloria Cabella *

Jerry Wasserman Jerry Wasserman (born November 2, 1945) is an American professor and film and television actor. Wasserman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is working on his role in ''Alien Trespass'' in post-production. He is a Professor of English and Theatr ...

as Raphael Brandini * Barry W. Levy as Maxwel Brandini (credited as Barry Levy) * Robyn Bradley as Eleanor Brandini

Production

The movie was shot in British Columbia, Canada, in July and August 2019. One specific location was the Milsean Shoppe in Aldergrove, BC. It was originally scheduled to be released in September 2019 but the premiere was postponed. ''Love Under the Olive Tree'' explores two evolving relationships: one that is heterosexual, and the other one between a same-sex couple (

and Andrew Dunbar). Roberts portrays Adam Caulfield, the lead character's gay best friend and her co-worker. According to the actor, the gay subplot was handled in the script in "the most natural and authentic way". Roberts went on to say: "I'd never seen that in any other scripts before. It wasn’t a comment one way or another about anything, or what kind of relationships are out there, and without shining a light on things, just have something open and accepting."

Critical reception

In a journal for ''Fangirl, Interrupted'' the two lead characters were named "the

Montagues William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'' contains a relatively distinctive cast of characters. In addition to the play's eponymous protagonists, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the play, which is set in Verona, Italy, contains roles fo ...

and

Capulets William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'' contains a relatively distinctive cast of characters. In addition to the play's eponymous protagonists, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the play, which is set in Verona, Italy, contains roles fo ...

of the olive oil world", and the movie itself was praised for its inclusion of the LGBT characters. A review for ''The Best Darn Girls'' was mostly favorable: "While the conclusion is anticlimactic, the love story still has promise." Albert Nowicki of ''We'll Always Have the Movies'' praised the movie for its "charming setting" and "the natural portrayal of a queer relationship". He also believed Roberts' character was a positive gay role model and went on to describe him as a "

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

type of a man", "with a musculature of a

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=10782366, title=Love Under the Olive Tree
''Love Under the Olive Tree''
at