Texas Two-Step Dances Into Our Hearts With Sweet Heat, Charm & Wholesomeness

Critic’s Rating: 4.1 / 5.0

4.1

Well, Texas Two-Step certainly dances its way into your heart, doesn’t it?

The latest Hallmark film brings warmth and charm, with a second-chance-at-love romance that genuinely made me smile.

Family, found family, community, support, love, and puppies, honestly, what’s not to love?

Heather Hemmens is such a dynamic onscreen presence, and it’s one of many reasons why it’s such a delight when she gets to be center stage in something rather than a supporting character.

And there was something genuinely refreshing about Olivia.

There are so many factors that have become staples for romances like this, and Texas Two-Step has a way of simultaneously delivering on them and turning them on their heads a bit.

What makes Olivia so resonant is the fact that she genuinely thought she had found her calling, but then she returns to Sweet Waters and realizes that she’s not so sure.

However, instead of trying to pigeonhole her into something new, where she suddenly realizes she wants to run the dance club or open up her own photography studio or whatever else, the film actually allows her to stand in the uncertainty of not knowing what’s in store for her future.

Most people don’t have life figured out, even when it feels like we do or should. When even the most wholesome, aspirational, escapist films can reflect that as well, while still giving us a semblance of a happy ending, it’s comforting.

Similarly, the film follows the standard trope of a small community coming together to save Aunt Ruby’s bar, but it warmed my heart that it wasn’t one of those ordeals where a predatory big business or an outsider tried to swindle her out of the neighborhood hang spot.

Brian was a genuinely sweet guy.

His interest was more to help Ruby than anything else, and he didn’t have any hard feelings or plot when he got a solid “no” as an answer. He even helped them raise the money they needed with the dance-a-thon.

And as a possible suitor for Olivia, he was just so sweet and a really solid guy. I can appreciate when they present an alternative option we know our heroine wouldn’t actually pursue, but they’re not a bad person.

Brian was a good guy, just not the right guy for Olivia, and that’s closer to reality than making a villain or something out of him to push Olivia and Jake further together.

It was also just nice to see Family Law‘s Zach Smadu play such an endearingly dorky type of character. I would’ve attached an entire side show about Brian finding love himself, because, goodness, the guy really deserved it.

The film could’ve swung a tertiary love story, but Junebug and Mason operating as the secondary couple was sufficient.

Mason was so genuinely nice as Olivia’s cousin, and Junebug being completely and totally upfront about her interest in him and essentially waiting for him to catch up was great.

She knew what she wanted, and she wasn’t afraid to go after it, or him, and he didn’t know what to do with all of that. But Mason was another hardworking, down-to-earth, endearing guy who made a small Texan town and simple life seem alluring.

He didn’t have as much presence as I would’ve expected, but he came equipped with the most adorable puppy ever, and for June’s sake, it delights me that a great friend like her found her own happiness and family there in Sweet Waters.

She was also the perfect amount of meddlesome, effective, and funny, especially when it came to pretty much doing Aunt Ruby’s bidding to get Jake and Olivia on the same page.

And as for those two, they were such a charming and sexy pairing.

Second chances at love stories are always great because they come with that built-in history that can carry so much of the movie as you want to unpack all the past while rooting for a successful future.

Catching glimpses of what they were like as kids, two-stepping together was sweet, and, frankly, the film could’ve taken more advantage of those childhood flashbacks to really sell us on their history as each other’s first loves.

Also, the kids playing younger versions of them were just the cutest, and I would’ve loved to see more of them.

Even when watching the film, I couldn’t quite understand why this friction was supposed to be between them.

It seemed they had parted ways because they were young and in a long-distance relationship, and different life paths kept them apart.

Olivia’s attempts at avoiding Jake and not wanting to deal with any of his smooth-talking made it seem like they had a much harsher history.

But they still struck the right chord in balancing a bit of tension with an explosive chemistry that had you rooting for them anyway.

I mean, I admire Olivia for holding strong as she did because Jake had the perfect combination of salt-and-pepper, a cocksure attitude that somehow didn’t make him obnoxious, nice abs, and the whitest, prettiest smile I’ve seen in ages!

Personally, I would’ve folded like freshly laundered clothes on a rainy afternoon, but that’s just me.

Jake, with all of his cowboy swagger, made it pretty clear the entire time that he was still head over heels for Olivia, and it was adorable watching him get under her skin as much as he did.

It was also nice to see how close-knit he still was with her family.

His dynamic with Aunt Ruby was especially cute, and the overall vibes of family and community, just as powerful as the love story, are what make Texas Two-Step so special.

Too often, movies like this pour their all into the primary romance and treat everything else like background fodder, but the balance in this film was just right.

And they didn’t skimp on the two-stepping either!

I was obsessed with the dance numbers and just how many we had in this movie. And dang if it didn’t have me dancing in my seat and wanting to hit up a country-western bar myself.

I’d even say they put more energy into the dancing fun than in parts of the script that built up the bigger conflicts.

It was hard to really nail down why Aunt Ruby was in so much debt, why she kept things so secretive, or how a live-streaming event saved them.

But did I care? No. Because the characters were fun to watch, the chemistry was so great, and the vibes provided the perfect escapism and sweetness that make these movies work and so appealing in the first place.

And that goes back to what I was saying about how refreshing things were.

Texas Two-Step didn’t have to rely on a tried trope like miscommunication or another person to come between Olivia and Jake. When Jake, much like Mason, realized he was standing in his own way, he addressed the issue head-on.

The two of them weren’t working out the first time around because of no fault of their own, so much as the timing not being right, as they were young and on different paths at the time.

And their reunion 20 years later was because they both got to live their lives, know what they want, and commit to each other in an amateur way.

Neither of them has the answers to everything, or an idea of what their lives will look like anytime soon, but they know enough to know that they’re committed to each other, and it’s something they want to figure out together, and that’s more than enough.

I love my romances to bring some sweet heat and a dash of realism, too.

Howdy Y’all:

• Am I the only one who wishes Heather Hemmens got to sing in this? Olivia just felt primed for singing.
• Seriously, the chemistry between Heather Hemmens and Brendan Penny was sassy, sexy, and had me smirking. They were such a fun couple.
• Variety is the spice of life, because the men of Texas Two-Step were very easy on the eyes. There really is something sweet in that water, and I’d like a tall glass of it, please, and thank you.
• Aunt Ruby was the best scene-stealer and basically was the highlight of this movie.

• Doubling down on my love for this movie, not relying on “villains,” it truly warmed my heart in ways I didn’t expect when Meryl showed up to support Olivia. She was self-absorbed, but she wasn’t “bad,” and that had me in my feelings.
• The kick, hip-check, slam combo to fix the refrigerator had me dying laughing, and June was particularly smooth with it!
• Aunt Ruby, taking one look at June and nicknaming her Junebug, was the cutest and PEAK “auntie” energy.
• I need Olivia’s jean jumpsuit! And also those white cowgirl boots.

Over to you, Hallmark Fanatics. Let’s two-step into the comments to discuss this sweet film!

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