Rhiannon Fish has appeared in many Hallmark movies, but as she shared with me in a phone interview, “Costa Rica Wedding” is one of her all-time favorites.
Rhiannon stars as Emily, a bridesmaid at her best friend Phoebe’s wedding. Her ex-boyfriend Sean recently dumped her and she wants the wedding to be perfect since she’s been spending the night at Phoebe’s house ever since.
In “Costa Rica Wedding,” Emily deals with Phoebe’s family, who believe she is accident-prone and will ruin the wedding. She is shocked when a monkey walks away with a wedding ring and has to turn to her nemesis, local guide Ryan (Christopher Russell), to help her find them.
Throughout the film, being trapped in a dense rainforest helps the two discuss issues in their relationship.
Rhiannon said she liked the movie mainly because they were shot in Costa Rica.
“It was amazing going to Costa Rica and it made shooting the movie so immersive. We used real animals, like real spiders, real tarantulas and real snakes.”
Of course, all the waterfalls and scenery are also real, so that means the shoot feels very real. Hopefully, for the audience, it will feel like an escape to this magical place called Costa Rica.
Rhiannon added that she has been in movies where CGI was used to shoot waterfalls, so it gave her a greater appreciation for the real-life scenery.
“I did a movie called Royalty in Paradise for The Great American Family, and they used CGI to shoot the waterfalls, so they do that for those movies, but it was really cool that we were able to shoot it in an actual location. marvelous.
Rhiannon said the monkeys were fun to work with and they were entertaining and willing to do anything for a large supply of bananas.
“To get the monkeys to grab the backpack, we painted a lot of bananas on the backpack. They snatched the map out of my pocket. They were cute. If you gave them a banana, they would do anything you wanted for the camera. things to do.
“They are so cute and there are so many of them. One of my favorite parts of the movie is all the real wildlife we show the audience.
Rhiannon believes many viewers will relate to Emily’s struggle for perfection and feel she doesn’t measure up.
“I think we all deal with these feelings. Even though I’ve had a lot of jobs, I had a little imposter syndrome moment when I first got there. I hope they didn’t make a mistake when they picked me. That comes from I want to do my best.
I relate to Emily because she is constantly trying her best. But as we saw with Emily, when you try to make everything perfect, sometimes chaos ensues.
Rhiannon loved her experience in Costa Rica so much that she would love to return there for a destination wedding one day.
“I would love to get married in Costa Rica. I thought it was beautiful while filming. I don’t have enough good things to say about the people and culture of Costa Rica. It’s absolutely magical,” she gushed.
“Their philosophy is Pura Vida. We talk about it a lot in the movie, and that seems to be the way people live.
“It’s about living a simple life and appreciating the riches of life. It’s a beautiful way to live. When we were there, I did see people living like that.
It was so much fun chatting with Rhiannon. After she gushes about Costa Rica, we discuss why Emily doesn’t like Ryan (Christopher Russell).
As she said, it was a mistake; she felt he didn’t like her, which was more cyclical. Rhiannon loved Costa Rica Wedding because the conflict between the protagonists made sense.
“Ryan had a long-term crush on Emily. To avoid that and not let anyone know, he was a bit cold towards her.
“She thinks it’s that he doesn’t like her, and therefore doesn’t like him. As you can assume in a Hallmark movie, the characters resolve their conflicts and discover something more than friendship.
We also discussed how enjoyable Hallmark’s Summer Nights was and how excited Rhiannon was to be a part of the network.
“I think Hallmark has made some cool changes in a very positive, inclusive way. At the same time, they still respect the core of the logo, which is, of course, just a pipeline built on love.
“Now we’re also going to make all these cool destination movies on top of that. So it’s really a dream network to be a part of.
Rhiannon heaped praise on her former costar, saying she loved working with Taylor Hines and was excited to work with her again. She and Hunter King worked together on “Nikki & Nora: Sister Detectives” and became good friends. “But Chris Russell really takes the cake,” she said.
“He is such a professional and kind man who challenged me as an actor to make our performances come together in a very solid way, which was the ultimate goal. I hope to have the opportunity to work with him again. He is the best.
Rhiannon is enthusiastic about her upcoming projects, which include more Nikki & Nora: Sister Detective movies.
“We also have two more Nikki & Nora films in the pipeline. Unfortunately, due to the writers’ and actors’ strike, they have been put on the back burner. Hopefully we can start shooting on both films soon.”
“I also have ‘Royal Proposal: Prince of Paradise II,’ the sequel to ‘Prince of Paradise’ that I made for ‘The Great American Family,’ which will be released over Christmas.”
Rhiannon hopes viewers will escape her wedding in Costa Rica with her and immerse themselves in the scenery and love story.
“At this moment, you can put aside your distracting thoughts and fly to the paradise on earth in Costa Rica. I hope the audience will be attracted by the beautiful love story between these two characters.
“It also has a lot of comedy elements mixed in. This will bring an immersive experience to the audience.
“If there’s one thing people take away from this movie, it’s that if they can go to Costa Rica, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s the most amazing place in the world.
To find out if Emily saves Phoebe’s wedding ring and clears up the misunderstanding between her and Ryan, you need to watch “Costa Wedding” where you’ll appreciate their effortless chemistry.
A Costa Rica wedding will take you and your guests to the island to experience lush rainforests, roaring waterfalls, and abundant wildlife.
“Costa Rica Wedding” will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, August 17 at 8/7c.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.