Wedding Bells

Pleasantly surprised to see Bruce Boxleitner again in this 2016 Hallmark Classic. The cast is well selected and also features two of our Hallmark faves (Danica McKellar & Kavan Smith). Everyone clicks really well with each other and the plot is not as far fetched as some TV Movie plots tend to be nowadays. Loved this.

This Hallmark romance includes common themes and familiar tropes. And the ending can be seen from a mile away. But that does not automatically make the film a dud or a disaster.

As usual in a Hallmark production, the settings are beautiful. And the two leads, Danica McKellar and Kevan Smith, work well together. As hoped for in a romance, there are moments of tearjerking fueled by nostalgia and tenderness.

What makes this film enjoyable, more than anything else, is the performance by Danica. Especially in the final scenes, she really sells the emotions that are the crux of the film. Bruce Boxleitner, as the father of Kevan, also deserves mention for playing the crusty oldster with a protected heart of gold without overdoing it. He adds just the correct amount of "distraction" to the central relationship.

My favorite is "Let it Snow", but this comes in a close second! I have always loved Danica and was hoping she could pull off a great Hallmark movie, in all her others she way over acted and I was disappointed. This one was perfect! Her chemistry with Kavan is off the charts. The only thing I did not like about the movie was the senseless break up, they should have just put in more chemistry moments between the two of them and had them get married that day, everything was all set up! Duh!! Please release this one on DVD, if not I will just keep it stored on my DVR forever to watch it over and over again!!!

We thought we had already seen this, but then realized we didn't, so we watched it. I'm trying to NOT read reviews or look at ratings until the end so my review is not tainted by some of the reckless reviews along with the positive one.

The end of the movie came and as I went to IMDB to rate and review I realized that I had favorited Danica and Kavan.

Now, back to my review title...the except. What made me rate this 10 are the two leads. Danica and Kavan were great and their chemistry was palpable, it was so good. I'm way past reviewing movies because of "double dipping" "brow furrowing" or other trivial personal matters like that, though we all have our own personal tastes, constraints and restraints.

Yea, the story was your typical HM movie, there's the script and rhythm which are Hallmark movies, but it always boils down to the characters and their chemistry. I'll watch anything with these two in it.

Molly Quinn (Danica McKellar) is the maid of honor for her best friend Amy. Amy is marrying James. His best man is Nick Turner (Kavan Smith). Nick is a chef and Molly is not a fan of his cooking. The wedding has to be canceled when Amy's father loses his money to a crook. There may be a solution with Nick's estranged father Charlie (Bruce Boxleitner).

The movie suggests such animus between Nick and his father but it does not deliver. Without it, there is no real tension. Of course, no tension is the hallmark of Hallmark. The fighting between Molly and Nick has no real danger either. The difficulty comes when their relationship generates little to no heat. It's all very low stakes and it comes off bland. Danica McKellar is a good romantic lead. Boxleitner has more to give. This is pretty flat.