MichaelByTheSea Reviews

Romance with a Twist (2024 TV Movie)

Jocelyn Hudon is fun to watch in a somewhat unique movie starring 2 actors well suited for their roles as aerial gymnasts

[7/10 · 17 March 2024]

Jocelyn Hudon is a very beguiling, bright and beautiful actress who shines as Luna, a former dancer trying to replace an aerial gymnast who dropped out of The Small Town Festival just 6 weeks away. The role of a former dancer wasn't a stretch for her given that she actually trained and performed at the National Ballet School of Canada starting when she was eleven.

Luna is paired with Bennett, an Olympic gymnast and professional aerialist who has been performing around the world with Cirque du Reve (a fictional Cirque du Soleil). Bennett is played by Oliver Renaud who actually did perform with the real Cirque du Soleil. He's lost his partner and the script would have us believe that a former dancer, who's spent the last few years working in her family's construction business, could learn to be a world class aerial gymnast in just 6 weeks. Maybe. The real Cirque du Soleil has an intensive training program that lasts at least 3-4 months.

As is often the case with these kinds of movies, the Big Festival is presented as having some sort of monumental significance when, in fact, it's just a small town festival. When it finally happened, it didn't look like more than a few dozen people showed up to watch. But Luna and Bennett's festival performance was actually pretty good.

Along the way, a small town reporter for a small town paper (Hazleton Weekly) inexplicably turns a puff piece about the up coming local festival into a bitter critique based on a preview she should never have seen. That would never happen and it bothered me. It was the kind of unrealistic plot development just added to create conflict and tension.

I had to look up the actress who played Luna's mom (Tonya Clarke) because she seemed too young and pretty to be Luna's mom. But she's 52 and has some nice scenes being very supportive of her daughter's dreams. I liked her even though I was a bit confused by the family's construction business. It seemed to consist of no one other than Luna, her brother and her mother and father. They're very excited and very busy about getting the contract for the festival but I never saw anything that they did in connection with that contract. And what would the festival need constructed? The Big Performance took place inside an existing theater.

This movie had one of my least favorite Hallmark tropes (the interrupted kiss) but Luna and Bennett's actual first kiss was pretty memorable.

Overall, the movie was just OK. I would probably rate this a 5 or 6 in most cases but I bumped it to 7 stars because I like Jocelyn Hudon.

Betty's Bad Luck in Love (2024 TV Movie)

Attractive stars undermined by an irritating story

[4/10 · 6 February 2024]

I really appreciate how Hallmark tries to come up with new and different variations of their successful romance formula. But this story (about a bad luck childhood curse) was just annoying. It reminded me of "Just My Luck" with Lindsay Lohan, and that's not a good thing.

Laci J Mailey (from "Chesapeake Shores") and Marco Grazzini (from "Virgin River") are good looking and engaging leads. Grazzini had the easy aasignment of being smooth and charming and then understandably befuddled by Mailey's character. But Mailey was given the thankless task of being completely neurotic and unhinged throughout much of the movie "... because all the men in her life will have horrible things happen to them if they get too close."

I just didn't like the premise. I kept hoping she'd realize the curse was nonsense. But, instead, poor Mailey is constantly forced to act like her character is having a series of panic attacks (in an elevator, at a rugby match, on a camping trip, at a fire, etc.). And they're played for laughs that weren't funny.

I also wasn't amused by the MANY scenes involving Felix, the well meaning but socially inept and frankly intrusive office nerd. Fortunately, Mailey's character wasn't unkind, but the moviemakers clearly intended viewers to see him as an object of derision.

I was also appalled at the multiple loud talking scenes during yoga classes. It was extremely disrespectful behavior that did not reflect well on the characters.

Perhaps the biggest problem with this "love story" is the lack of focus on the love story itself. The lovers were kept apart from each other throughout because of Betty's fear that harm would come to Alex if they were together. Instead of watching these two spend time together and fall in love, we are constantly bombarded with Betty saying she can't be with him.

Ugh. I'd like to see the two leads in a different and better movie.

Mystery on Mistletoe Lane (2023 TV Movie)

Very attractive leads, solid acting, and an interesting treasure hunt help overcome an unlikely premise

[6/10 · 28 December 2023]

I have never seen Erica Cerra in any other Hallmark movies (or anything) but she's absolutely beautiful and sparkles throughout this movie. Victor Webster is a bit lighter in tone than he's been in other roles and matches up well with Cerra. She plays Heidi, a divorced mother of two preteens who's moved them up to the Boston area from North Carolina for a new job. Webster plays David, the former "Director of the New Hollow Historical Society and Museum", a position that Heidi has just been hired to fill (David now does "historical renovations"). For Heidi, a "major perk of the job" is the right to live in Mistletoe Manor, a mansion that has not been occupied "in ages."

I had three main problems with the story.

First, how did Heidi get permission to take her kids and move over 700 miles and several states away? The dad is still in the picture and actually drove the kids to their new home in Massachusetts. What father would be OK with that? What court would allow it? Like most states, North Carolina does not allow a parent to move their children far away, or to a state other than North Carolina, without an agreement with the other parent, or a court order approving the relocation. And forcing the children to leave behind all their friends, and be deprived of regular contact with their father, is glossed over as though they're non-issues. The only way this would have been realistic would have been if the ex was dead or abusive or some sort of deadbeat. That's not how he was presented.

Second, the new job seems more like something a semi-retired person would do on a volunteer basis or for a very modest amount of money. It's unlikely that running a small museum in an old home would pay enough to support a family of three even with the free housing (which itself made no sense). Heck, a woman named Linda also works at the museum (doing what??). And the second home's ownership history and acquisition by the city is muddled at best. It's a huge and beautifully decorated home that was... abandoned? Never inherited by the previous owner's heirs? Never rented? Heck, it looks bigger than the museum.

Third, the treasure hunt is fun for the kids, but they blow off their father as soon as a tiny reindeer is found behind a painting without knowing the reindeer is part of a bigger "hunt." And that hunt essentially requires everything to have remained in place for over 60 years (since 1956) in a mansion that, in the real world, would have been lived in and/or sold. It's also tough to accept the idea that neither David nor his father ever had a Christmas tree or celebrated Christmas. And the romance gets sacrificed as part of the trade off in devoting time to the treasure hunt and the story behind it (and a needless subplot about the deputy mayor wanting to revisit the hiring of Heidi after a couple of days on the job).

Those complaints aside, the movie was pleasant, well acted and featured lots of Christmas decorations.

Anyone But You (2023)

Pure escapism featuring beautiful people, beautiful locations with lots of laugh out loud moments

[9/10 · 26 December 2023]

This was like an R rated raunchy Hallmark movie where people actually have sex. I can do without the miscommunication trope that drove apart a couple that seemed to be connecting, but I enjoyed the banter and really enjoyed the stars.

"Serious" critics typically don't appreciate the rom-com genre and judge them harshly. I went with my adult children and we all loved the movie. My kids make fun of my love for Hallmark movies, but even they liked this one. We laughed out loud repeatedly and walked out smiling. I love that feeling.

Sure, the script is flawed, the plot's ridiculous, and some of the dialogue is a bit off, but Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney light up the screen with their amazing chemistry. They're extraordinary specimens and look like they spend 6 hours a day in the gym, but I also like them as actors. Glen Powell was really good in another enjoyable modern rom-com with Zoey Deutch called "Set It Up" and he's fearless here, especially with the over the top body humor.

Sydney Sweeney is certainly voluptuous, and gorgeous to look at, but she's also established herself as a great actress in more critic friendly shows like "Euphoria" and "White Lotus". Edgy and dark is fine, and it certainly gets taken more seriously by the critics, but I prefer getting lost in an escapist rom-com that doesn't involve terrible people doing terrible things.

I want more of this.

A Biltmore Christmas (2023 TV Movie)

It is not an exaggeration to call this one of the best Hallmark Christmas movies ever made

[10/10 · 1 December 2023]

When I learned that two of my favorite Hallmark stars were paired up in a time travel story, I had high expectations. This wonderful movie exceeded those expectations. Bethany Joy Lenz is always great, but she just glows as Lucy Hardgrove, a screenwriter working on a remake of a beloved 1940s movie. Kristoffer Polaha plays Jack Huston, one of the stars of that old movie which, in this movie, is shown in black and white for authenticity. Polaha probably has one of the smoothest sounding voices in the world and he's very effective as a 1940s movie star.

This movie was a lot of fun. There's a magic hourglass, a mysterious hotel worker, feuding cast members, a sweet enthusiastic fan, a writer/director who drove away the love of his life, elaborate period costumes, old cars, a sweet rendition of Jingle Bells, lots of eggnog, a surprise cameo, a Jimmy Stewart impersonation, lines about TCM and His Girl Friday, and a character who says her name is Sandra Bullock.

Hallmark movies are (unfairly) criticized for being "all the same" and "predictable", but I honestly had no idea how the movie was going to play out. That's a tribute to the writer, Marcy Holland, who wrote the "Time For 'X' to Come Home For Christmas" movies. If they gave out Emmy Awards for best Christmas movie screenplays, she'd win for this one.

John Putch, who directed last year's excellent "A Holiday Spectacular", which was also set in the past, beautifully recreated the past in this movie too. And it was a Christmas movie in the sense that "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie; it takes place during Christmas and there are lots of holiday decorations. The essence of the story, however, was the chemistry between John and Lucy and the theme of taking a risk for someone else.

I just loved this gem of a movie.

The Santa Summit (2023 TV Movie)

A spirited response to the tired complaint that all Hallmark Christmas movies are the same; Amy Groening deserves a lead role

[7/10 · 16 November 2023]

I'm an unapologetic fan of Hallmark movies, but it really is refreshing when they try something different. That's not easy to do after churning out hundreds of movies, especially when their "cookie cutter" formula has been so lucrative. And yet the "Santa Summit" is unlike any other Hallmark Christmas movie I've seen and deserves a couple of stars for that alone. I didn't catch the name of the city in which the Santa Summit supposedly takes place, but my son and his girlfriend have dressed up for and participated in San Francisco's "SantaCon", reputedly the biggest Santa themed pub crawl in the country. Apparently, it's a lot of fun, as this movie often was.

I'm not the biggest fan of Hunter King (Jordin), and I wasn't really sold on the match between her and Virgin River's Benjamin Hollingsworth (Liam), but they're rarely on screen together given that most of the movie is them looking for each other (imagine "Serendipity" crammed into one night). And this was, in many ways, more a celebration of friendship (between the three teachers) and brotherly love (between Liam and Mac). There was also a nod to the vanishing emphasis on teaching music and art at school.

I have long felt that Amy Groening, who plays sexy nerd Ava, should be given a lead role in a Hallmark movie. She's just too good and too cute to just be a sidekick, as she has been in probably a dozen Hallmark movies. A well written movie starring her as a sweet teacher, or a beautiful scientist, or a passionate lawyer would likely be well received. Stephanie Sy was also effective playing Stella, a more surly character, who was understandably resentful after she was forced out of her beloved job as a music teacher.

But this was far from a perfect movie. Liam repeatedly confronts, accosts, and touches women in Santa suits mistakenly believing they might be the woman he had a life changing 5 minute chat with while wearing their fake beards. That's not OK.

Neither was the music. Although one horrific singer was intended to be horrible, so that Stella would seem better, I wasn't thrilled with Stella either. Or the DJ. Or Freddie. Karaoke may be entertaining for some people when they're drinking in a bar with friends and cheering on those friends. Bar patrons are invariably happy to lower their standards after enjoying some alcohol, but it's a far different experience when you're home alone and sober.

I was also annoyed by the way the three teachers treated their reindeer costumed surrey bike pedaler. He only charged $4.00 (despite having 3 passengers) but they literally refused to pay him. And when they meet him later, he doesn't say a word about not being paid, seems invested in their drama, and gives them another ride. I hate it when service people get stiffed.

Those complaints aside, I mostly enjoyed the movie. It was probably a 6 star movie on my scale (I grade Hallmark on a curve) but I added a star because I really appreciated Hallmark's attempt to try something new.

Everything Christmas (2023 TV Movie)

The perfect movie for people who like Magical Santas, but not as fun for those of us who don't

[6/10 · 13 November 2023]

For the umpteenth time, Hallmark revisits the old trope where someone in town either looks or acts like Santa and seems to have magical Christmas powers. Sometimes, the Magical Santa appears briefly, sometimes the Magical Santa grants a wish and checks back in a few times, and sometimes, as in this movie, the Magical Santa not only looks the part, goes by the name Kris Kringle, drives something red, and constantly bellows "Ho Ho Ho", he dominates the entire movie with his magical powers and carefully planned coincidences.

40 year old Cindy Busby plays 32 year old Lori Jo and, to be polite, she comes across as a wee bit maniacal from time to time. She's also kind of a crappy friend. She quits her job because of a task that she's been planning for years but has decided, rather arbitrarily, to complete this year. Then she encourages her friend and co-worker Tori, played engagingly by Katherine Barrell, to also blow off work and join her. Their jobs don't appear to be the kinds of jobs that have allowed them to squirrel away wads of cash. But hey, who needs money?

Lori Jo and Tori start driving cross country so Lori Jo can hang an ornament on a tree somewhere in Ohio (is that really worth quitting a job to do?). It was apparently something she and her grandmother had talked about doing for years but never did before her grandmother passed away 4 years ago. Along the way, their car breaks down and they meet a tow truck driver named Carl, played by Corey Sevier, who just happened to be passing by. Magic Santa also drops by and employs his first bit of magic (and not the real world illusion kind). The three new friends then team up with Jason, another stranger played by Matt Wells, who has a great line ("career, family, it doesn't have to be one or the other").

The plot essentially amounts to them being repeatedly manipulated/tricked by the All Powerful Kris Kringle in ways that make them wonder if he has some Higher Power. It's moderately entertaining, especially if you like old white guys with white beards messing with peoples' lives. No one has any past lovers or spouses to complicate the story and I actually liked that this movie gave equal time to the 2 new budding romances. I was actually more drawn to Katherine Barrell's character which, in most other movies, would have been the cardboard best friend whose sole purpose was to cheer on the main female lead. She's a real person with thoughts and feelings here (and attractive in a girl next door sort of way).

Aside from the, um, very animated performance by Busby, the acting was solid especially by George Masswhol, the actor who fully commits to the role of Kris Kringle. The movie also included a couple of great quotes but only one was properly attributed. "Life is a journey, not a destination" is often misattributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, as it is here. But the first known recorded use of the aphorism was by Lynn H. Hough. The other great line, "not all those who wander are lost" was indeed written by J. R. R. Tolkien, in The Fellowship of the Ring."

This wasn't a classic but it wasn't a complete misfire. It all depends on your tolerance for Magic Santas and Cindy Busby (I'm not a hater but she's not one of my favorites).

Christmas Island (II) (2023 TV Movie)

Once Upon a Time, a California pilot who loves her job fell for a guy who won't fly and lives 3,000 miles away in a tiny town in another country

[7/10 · 13 November 2023]

Rachel Skarsten starred in "The Royal Nanny", one of last year's best Hallmark Christmas movies. She also lit up a sweet alternate reality Hallmark movie called "Timeless Love". Here, she plays a private pilot named Kate who's hired to fly a wealthy family from L. A. to Switzerland. Bad weather (which we never see) forces her to divert the plane to Christmas Island (population 83) in Nova Scotia where she meets Oliver, played by Hallmark All-Star Andrew Walker. He's the air traffic controller who told her to divert to Canada after criticizing her for joking around.

They're at odds initially but, as Kate and the family are forced to stay longer than planned (again, without any obvious bad weather), Kate and Oliver realize they really like each other. So, after 4 life changing days together, Kate quits her job, moves from California to Christmas Island, marries Oliver, and gets a job making Christmas cookies (when she's not volunteering at the pet shelter and planning next year's tree lighting festival).

Just kidding. She doesn't actually quit her job. And Oliver is scared of flying and refuses to fly anywhere. But the question Drew Barrymore asked in the movie "Ever After" ("A bird may love a fish...but where would they live?) is not answered here. We are just asked to enjoy the insta-love between two very appealing and attractive characters without being bothered by any of the pesky details of.... Life.

Fortunately, Skarsten and Walker have lots of chemistry and it's easy to root for them. It's also satisfying to watch the family (comprised of busy parents running a clothing empire, a disgruntled teen, and a boy who still believes in Santa) appreciate spending more time together and experiencing Christmas traditions they haven't valued in recent years.

The actors are all effective and this is the kind of Christmas comfort food that viewers tune in to Hallmark to see. It's also worth noting that, after watching literally hundreds of Hallmark movies, I don't recall one featuring a pilot who falls for an air traffic controller. Something new in a Hallmark movie needs to be acknowledged and appreciated. Unfortunately, my least favorite trope, the "almost kiss" makes yet another unwelcome appearance, no doubt delighting whoever had that on their Hallmark drinking game bingo card.

Project Christmas Wish (2020 TV Movie)

Amanda Schull Is beautiful and vulnerable in this engaging story of a cute kid helping her widowed dad find love again

[9/10 · 11 November 2023]

Amanda Schull plays Lucy, a divorcee who somehow survives on her own just by working at "Be Home Design", an always empty small decoration store that sells a lot of candles and not much else. Her real passion is granting the wishes left in a wish box at the store. That Project Christmas Wish is funded by local donations.

A cute 8 year old girl named Max, well played by the always smiling Averie Peters, drops off a wish asking that Christmas "be like it used to be" for her and her widowed father Lucas, played by Travis Van Winkle. She then repeats the wish on the radio, and revises it to be a wish that her father find love again now that 3 years have passed since her mother died.

Amanda Schull is truly beautiful. She was a ballerina before starring in Center Stage (which had the great tagline: "Life doesn't hold tryouts"). She was also in "Suits" other Hallmark movies that I've enjoyed.

Travis Van Winkle was in one of my favorite Christmas movies ("Christmas Getaway") and he's effective in this grumpy/sunshine story. Unfortunately, his character starts off being very selfish in his grief. Not letting his daughter experience all the joy and wonder of the Christmas holidays just screams bad parenting.

Max's desire for Christmas like it used to be, and her desire that her father find love again, are both touching. But does it merit a free Christmas tree from a small town vendor? Lucas seems to be doing just fine financially as a software engineer.

And Lucy puts an inordinate amount of pressure on the DJ to donate double the amount of wish list gifts. He's already giving her free time on the radio and small town DJs do not make much money.

But it's impossible not to admire Lucy as she channels her sadness into her philanthropic work with the motto: "Where there's a wish there's a way." Still, the announcement on the radio that "there is no ask too big for Project Christmas Wish" seemed irresponsible without better funding and set unrealistic expectations.

Aside from those issues, I enjoyed the movie. Everyone felt bad for Christmas Dad, but my heart went out to Lucy. She lost her fiancé to another woman and seemed so heartbroken. I felt her pain when she said:

"I don't want to fall in love with someone who's in love with someone else. I've already done that."

This movie has some great music. It features a lovely slowed down version of "Christmas is All Around", other versions of which were also featured in "Love Actually" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral." Music is also used to great effect in the mixer dance scene, which was a beautiful and powerful scene that captured the uncertainty, vulnerability, hope and growing attraction between Lucas and Lucy. Kelly Clarkson's "Please Come Home For Christmas" is wonderfully used to enhance the emotion of the scene.

This movie also features "friendship bracelets" before Taylor Swift's Eras Tour made them all the rage.

The kid in me also really loved the cool life size gingerbread house.

But I hated how the swing by the fire scene ended. Hated it.

Bottom line, this was another top tier Hallmark Christmas movie with attractive leads, good chemistry, engaging dialogue, realistic emotions, and a cute kid. Sure, it's a bit formulaic, but the formula works. That's why we keep watching Hallmark movies (which I always grade on a curve).

Flipping for Christmas (2023 TV Movie)

Well acted, occasionally touching, but ludicrous

[6/10 · 8 November 2023]

Marcus Rosner has become a solid lead at Hallmark, and Ashley Newbrough was in a very good Hallmark movie called "Small Town Christmas" with Kristoffer Polaha which, like many Hallmark movies, including this one, involves Big City developers trying to destroy the charm of a small town. And a flattering bikini shot of in her in her last Hallmark movie, Love in Glacier National Park, was apparently the first bikini shot of a lead ever seen in a Hallmark movie. The problem with this movie isn't the acting.

The movie starts with Abigail giving a pitch to a developer planning to break ground and start pre-sales on 100 units after the holidays. Abigail is apparently a "house flipper" and gives a generic speech about how her mom "loved interior design" and how she "provides families with beautiful homes, while always staying focused on profit and ROI." But none of that matters if she's going to be working as a realtor on pre-sales before the homes are even finished. Nevertheless, she shares her dad's quote that "you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when you're done" (it's a line that's used waaay too many times). That quote gets the developer's attention.

And Abigail's willingness to work "24/7" through the holidays is what convinces the developer to hire her to be his realtor. That's actually a BIG lucrative contract. But as soon as she gets the job, she leaves the city and goes home to help her brother in law fix up an old home he inherited from Grandpa Frank. When she gets there, she finds out that half of the property was left to a contractor named Bo who thought of Frank as a surrogate father.

Abigail (who has apparently decided NOT to work 24/7 through the holidays for the developer) agrees to work with Bo to spruce up the home despite an impasse on what to do with the home. Bo wants to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast and Abigail's sister and brother in law want to sell it, split the proceeds, and use the money to renovate their home to give Abigail's father a place to live. It's set up as one of the movie's Big Conflicts, but it's really a non issue. As any competent real property lawyer could explain, a court would order the property sold. Period.

Also, Bo has quite an attitude for someone who a) doesn't have the money to buy out his co-beneficiary and b) wasn't even related to Frank. And yet he dismisses Abigail's suggestions, pulls off her action item post it notes, and insists on changes designed to facilitate a bed-and-breakfast as opposed to a sale. Also, what exactly was his business plan for the bed-and-breakfast? Was he prepared to give up his work as a contractor? Who would run it with him? And did he understand he would have to share all of the profits with his co-beneficiary in the unlikely event they agreed not to sell?

Not only is he a dick at first, Bo inexplicably rolls paint across Abigail's sleeve in what I suppose the writer thought would be a "playful" moment. That and the ensuing paint war between two people who have literally just met, is supposed to seem "fun." It struck me as bad writing. But, remarkably, the stars still find a way to create some chemistry with each other despite a story line that fails to support a realistic connection between their two characters.

There are also more than a few good scenes. For example, I thought the scenes involving the remembrance tree were quite touching. I was also moved by a surprisingly emotional and well acted scene with Marcus Rosner, when his character reveals his back story and connection to Frank. Bo tells Abigail "Frank used to have this quote to help me see things more positively: 'don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.'" It's a good quote, and though Bo attributes the line to Dr. Seuss, there is no written record of Dr. Seuss ever having said that. In 1899, German poet Ludwig Jacobowski wrote "Do not cry because they are past! Smile, because they once were!" Scholars regard that to be the earliest known version of the quote frequently misattributed to Dr. Seuss.

As much as I admired the acting, and a surprisingly creative ending, I couldn't buy into the premise that Abigail would suddenly abandon her business in the city (and her biggest client) to take on a renovation of an old home over an hour away as a favor to her sister and brother in law. And Bo's behavior towards Abigail in the beginning, and his insistence that the home be turned into a bed-and-breakfast without having the money to buy out the other beneficiary really bothered me. I was also stunned at the chutzpah of Abigail's assistant to contact the developer about a new issue without checking with Abigail first. And, assuming Bo was able to get his wish to run a bed-and-breakfast, and somehow convinced Abigail to stay in town with him, would that mean she would be giving up her entire successful business in the city? I hate when women give up successful and rewarding careers for a small town man they just met. And when did Abigail have the time to become a lawyer and look up obscure code sections? If she has the time to do that, she' should also probably review what it means for realtors to have a fiduciary duty to a client. She sure breached that duty.

Checkin' It Twice (2023)

Kevin McGarry & Kim Matula shine as an appealing couple in this pleasant hockey themed movie

[9/10 · 8 November 2023]

Kevin McGarry has mastered the role of an easy going and likeable male lead in a slew of Hallmark movies (although here the first impression of his impatient bell ringing character Scott Briggs is awful).

Scott arrives in Idaho Falls (a real town with 68,000 people) around the same time as Ashley Durreau, played effectively by Kim Matula. She learns, at the airport, that her boyfriend poached one of her clients (she's a commercial real estate broker) and learns he is not joining her for the holidays. Thankfully, we only get exposed to the boyfriend for the minute it takes Ashley to break up with him. I've grown tired of the ex showing up unexpectedly later in the movie to make some misguided grand gesture. Not here.

I didn't know Kim Matula until I watched her in one of Hallmark's top tier movies ("Ghosts of Christmas Always" which came out in 2022). She's quite lovely and was as engaging in this movie as she was in "Ghosts." Ashley and Scott have some good "getting to know you" scenes and, refreshingly, never fight with each other. They're both at a crossroads in their respective lives/careers and it all seemed believable (although it sounds like Hallmark blew it on accurately depicting Idaho Falls). I just wish Hallmark didn't always force their stories to fit into an unrealistic compressed time frame. Hallmark couples invariably meet, hang out, fall in love, overcome a huge obstacle, and make life changing plans all within a week. Ugh.

Kevin McGarry actually starred in a rare deviation from the compressed time frame formula last year in "My Grown Up Christmas List" (with his fiancé Kayla Wallace). But that movie was a rare exception to the "jam everything into a week" rule. This movie would have been better if it covered two holiday seasons (with one of those "One Year Later" transitions).

Aside from that pet peeve, the only other glaring contrivance was the credit card incident. Most people have more than one bank card and cashiers never do two transactions at the same time. I also noted a filming error when Ashley brought her luggage to the car at the airport. No one puts her luggage in the car before closing the back hatch.

Those are all relatively minor complaints. This was a very pleasant and enjoyable movie with an appealing couple to root for. I was also intrigued by the story of 32 year old Scott Briggs going to Idaho Falls to play for a mid-level minor league team, while living in the shadow of his estranged NHL legend father. I thought the hockey part of the story was especially well written and, at times, quite heartbreaking.

This was a better than average Hallmark Christmas movie enhanced by good acting all around. And I really like Kim Matula.

Never Been Chris'd (2023 TV Movie)

Tyler Hynes is smooth as always, but the female characters were problematic

[4/10 · 6 November 2023]

The premise of two best friends who are attracted to the same man seemed like it might be interesting, but there were too many awkward and cringey moments, especially in the first half of this movie. The two smart, accomplished, attractive 35 year old women were repeatedly made to look like silly middle school girls whenever their old crush showed up (while he was as smooth as silk). It was insulting.

There was also not enough time to properly address the many competing plot issues (planning the next phase of the Best Pal app, parental abandonment, parental death, stressful family visits, setting boundaries with parents, learning not to live in the past, overcoming past insecurities, being honest with others, reassessing career goals, redefining the BFFs' friendship, and their old crush triangle). And romance really wasn't at the heart of this movie. It was more about the extraordinarily deep friendship between Liz and Naomi and whether and how that would change.

On a more positive note, even though Hallmark movies are always predictable, I was surprised by who ended up with whom (I thought "the other one" had more chemistry). Heck, I even wondered if the two women were going to realize they were in love with each other and move in together (although one of the main themes of the movie involved them becoming less co-dependent).

Tyler Hynes is one of the most likeable actors on the Hallmark roster and he's usually given roles that play to his strengths. Here, he's effortlessly charming playing Chris Silver, an ex-Marine, with a Master's in Literature, who teaches English at his hometown high school; the same school where he was the hockey team captain, school President, and Jingle Ball King. The girls who were lucky enough to date him were said to have been "Chris'd", hence the groan inducing title of this movie. And yet despite all his accomplishments, including his service to our country, he feels as if he hadn't amounted to much (I did wonder why he was in Westin).

Naomi, played by Janel Parrish and Liz, played by Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes (a talented and intriguing actress who is new to me) were and are best friends who never "fit in" back in high school. But 17 years later, they're featured on the covers of magazines and in the Wall Street Journal after developing an app to find friends called "Best Pal." They're so joined at the hip that they own side by side condos somewhere near Silicon Valley in Northern California.

Liz and Naomi return home to visit their mothers and basked in the adulation of "the popular group" that previously excluded them. It's difficult to envision how that group had been the most popular but their yearbook photos are effectively juxtaposed with their current appearances. Neither Naomi, Liz, or Chris are married or dating. There are no pesky ex spouses and no exes whatsoever to deal with. And no one's dating history is mentioned. Everyone is basically a clean slate. No baggage despite being 35. Chris has been all over the world but, for reasons never discussed, and without any mention of any local family members, or other deep ties to the area, he returns to a tiny town called "Weston". Why?

It's also not clear where Weston is located. Although Liz and Naomi went to Iowa State, and there is a "Weston" in Iowa, that Weston only has 138 people. And yet one (or both) of the two successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are encouraged to move back to that tiny town. The only parts of Weston we see are the insides of homes, the high school, a couple of shops, and the only bar in town. Usually, when Hallmark trots out the "Big City bad, Small Town good" trope, there's at least an attempt to make the small town charming and appealing. I didn't see anything that would make Weston an appealing place to live.

I did get a chuckle at the name of a local cafe. "Pretty Baked" is slang for being very high on pot.

The storyline involving the family Christmas card that excluded Liz was ridiculous. It's 2023. You can literally create photo cards in a day. Or you can skip the photo and go with a holiday design.

I also didn't get the vegan/pescatarian lines or the mom who was packing to move to a new home she hadn't even picked out.

This was written by Joie Botkin who wrote the far better "3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost" and "Her Pen Pal" (one of my favorite Hallmark movies). There were some good scenes, but the infantalizing of two successful 35 year old women really annoyed me. And I really think they had more chemistry with each other than with Chris.

3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost (2023 TV Movie)

Ridiculous, but Wonderful

[9/10 · 17 October 2023]

I was anxious to see this because it stars Julie Gonzalo (who was in "Falling For Vermont", one of my favorite Hallmark movies) and her real life love buddy Chris McNally. They have obvious chemistry and elevate the quality of whatever Hallmark movie they're in.

But the best and most engaging performance of the movie was by Madeline Arthur who played Ruby the ghost. She has beautiful blue expressive eyes and really brought to life a well written character. She's bubbly and animated but also convincingly sad and upset when that's called for. And she really delivers the old 20s lingo like "Jeepers" and "Toots." She looked and sounded a little like Betty Boop. I loved her.

The movie opens with Ruby and several party-goers dancing to the Charleston. It was a great intro and captured the feel of the 20s. And I liked the cut from Ruby's lost love Charlie dropping the flowers he bought for her to the flower tree that grew in that spot (100 years later).

One of Arthur's scene stealing moments is the scene in which Anna gives Ruby some sage to "rid the space of lingering spirits." Ruby's fake and exaggerated depiction of it working reminded me of the famous Meg Ryan scene in "When Harry Met Sally" after which another diner said "I'll have what she's having,"

There's also a fun scene where Anna shows Ruby her modern cell phone and demonstrates how to send text messages. Ruby is amazed and asks "What do you do with all the time you save?" The half groan response by Gonzalo was subtle but effective.

There's also a fun and pointed discussion about what women can do today that ends with a real zinger.

I also liked how the writers avoided following any strict "Ghost Rules" with a wink to the audience:

Anna: "How can you move objects but not people?" Ruby: "I don't know sweetheart. Cruel irony."

The civil way that Anna and Elliot act towards each other, however, after dissolving their business and breaking off their engagement a few months earlier struck me as very ... Hallmarky. Couples who break up are usually not that pleasant to each other, nor do they bump into each other that often. As Anna tells Elliot (in a cute scene):

"We should start avoiding each other like good exes"

But the civility works for this movie because it makes the prospects for a reconciliation more likely.

Anna's father is the no nonsense head of a real estate brokerage and has brought Anna on board following the end of her business with Elliot. Although the villainous realtor Terrence is a bit of a caricature, the father was perfect and the last scene with him and Anna was lovely.

Normally the fun banter is between the couple, but here it's between Anna and Ruby:

Ruby: "You don't want to fight me. I'm as unsinkable as the stock market" Anna; "You're not making the case you think you are."

Anna and Elliot apparently had a restoration business together which Anna abandoned. It's a theme in the movie that is best captured by this line:

"We don't quit. We restore. So let's just restore us"

This was Hallmark at its best.

The More Love Grows (2023 TV Movie)

How to end a 20 year marriage and find someone new in just a few days with no muss or fuss

[5/10 · 3 September 2023]

This movie makes a divorce after 20 years of marriage seem like a minor inconvenience. It also suffers from a common problem in some of the weaker Hallmark entries- too much is packed into too short a time frame. One day, Helen and Paul are dropping off their daughter at college (after which Paul wants to talk to Helen about their next "adventure"). The next day Paul drops the "adventure" talk and announces he's moving to Denver and ending their marriage. Then Helen gets a dog (for the first time) and, in what seems like the same couple of days, and without any grieving period following the end of her 20 year marriage, Helen meets a handsome vet played by Warren Christie, goes on a series of dates, and falls for him. And it's all tied up neatly and quickly with no yelling or crying.

As someone who lived through the end of a 25 year marriage, I was bothered by how the movie glossed over the hard and often brutal realities of divorce. And the economic consequences of divorce were completely ignored (how will Helen pay for that beautiful house by herself?). Given how some reviewers still found the movie depressing, I suppose there was a conscious decision to hire the usually smiling Rachel Boston to help take the edge off a story that starts off with a couple getting divorced. That is, admittedly, a very depressing subject. But this is one of the rosiest movies about divorce you'll ever see.

Rachel Boston highlighted the sunny kumbaya approach of the writer and director to divorce. Other reviewers noted her tendency to giggle during any lapse in dialogue and how it often seemed inappropriate to the moment in the script. That's fair. One such moment came during a highly unlikely scene of Helen changing her car's oil by herself ("look at me- I'm suddenly a strong independent woman who can change her own oil"). Setting aside the fact that most people have their oil changed at places like Jiffy Lube for $50, laughing is not the reaction one would expect after getting covered in oil just as the ex walks up. Still, I've liked Rachel Boston in other movies and her laughing and giggling is on the director and writer, not her.

There's a valid point to be made about friends being defined by whether they are supportive during a divorce. But the scene in this movie where Helen's "friends" acknowledge they knew about the divorce but failed to reach out takes place, loudly, in the middle of a yoga class. That simply wouldn't happen and, the next time we see Helen's "besties", there's a sunny kumbaya unrealistic resolution of that conflict too.

Helen does find a new friend in Cindy played by a talented 57 year old actress named Linda Boyd. Unfortunately, Cindy is written as a bit of a caricature. She's a "punk rocker" who wears garish eye makeup and dresses and acts like her onstage persona even when she's offstage. It feels forced and unnatural. But some of my favorite exchanges came between Helen and Cindy.

Cindy: "My ex burned my life to the ground and I rose from the ashes rocking. How are you going to take your power back?" Helen: "I could get new throw pillows. Paul always hated them."

Cindy: " You need to call a lawyer." Helen: "I'm not ready for that." Cindy: " Ready or not, you can either stand up for yourself or get run over."

Great words of advice. But then the movie suggests that their only legal dilemma is how to split up the "things" inside the house. There's not a word about who pays the mortgage, how Paul will pay for wherever he lives in Denver, whether the house will need to be sold, whether there's alimony, who pays for their daughter's college, etc. In other word The Big Divorce Questions are ignored.

Roan Curtis played Aly, the daughter who just started college. She's a beautiful actress and Aly seemed really sweet but stressed. I thought that subplot, of Aly navigating her way through her first semester at college, was quite realistic and I would have preferred a movie that focused more on her.

Helen's mother was an interesting character. She represented the traditional view on marriage- and essentially urged her daughter to save her marriage at any cost which, for her, meant inviting Paul over for a home cooked meal. She also seemed to be clueless about boundaries. But she seemed like the only person advocating for the couple to make an effort to save their marriage. Helen and Paul hopped on the express train to divorce and never even bothered to go to couples' counseling or therapy. That was a pretty disposable marriage. At one point, Helen tells her mother a line by Cindy about how "marriage is an outdated social construct and Paul is holding me back from living my best life." That may be true, but I suspect most Hallmark viewers would disagree and would have liked the characters to have made some effort to save the marriage.

Note to screenwriters, flashing the words "One Year Later" (still not enough time to truly recover from the end of a 20 year marriage) is a perfectly acceptable transition.

And, on a final positive note,, "Tubthumping" may be the perfect song for people going through a divorce.

Aloha Heart (2023 TV Movie)

A beautiful and talented actress, in a beautiful location, with a handsome leading man is not enough to make a good movie.

[6/10 · 14 August 2023]

First, I wish I had a shot at someone as beautiful as 39 year old Taylor Cole when I was 25 (the age of Kanoa Goo who plays her love interest). She's absolutely stunning and a magnetic performer. Manu was very lucky to have Sara show an interest in him. And this just in- not every relationship needs to lead to marriage.

Many successful mainstream romance movies have featured far more dramatic age gaps between the leads when the male is the older actor. For example, Richard Gere was 40 and Julia Roberts was just 22 in "Pretty Woman." He was still 18 years older than her when they starred in "Runaway Bride." And he was 26 years older than Winona Ryder when they made "Autumn in New York." Catherine Zeta-Jones was just 28 when she filmed "Entrapment" with a 67 year old Sean Connery. Jack Nicholson was 60 when he starred opposite 34 year old Helen Hunt in "As Good As It Gets". Cary Grant was 17 years older than his costar Deborah Kerr in "An Affair to Remember." Humphrey Bogart was 17 years older than Ingrid Bergman in the classic "Casablanca." Tom Cruise was at least 20 years older than his last two love interests in the last 2 Mission Impossible movies.

And Leonardo DiCaprio famously only dates women half his age. The list of male stars who do the same is long. So what's wrong with a younger male being attracted to an older female and vice versa? The better question might be who puts a 25 year old in charge of a lush high end beachfront resort hotel in Hawaii?

Manu is supposedly the manager of his family's hotel and yet he's usually off playing with Sara. Or standing around looking concerned or confused. And she's there for a destination wedding, but spends more of her time with Manu instead of the bride and her bridesmaids.

The script also overplays the ecologist angle. I support efforts to combat climate change and develop more sustainable energy sources but Sara is, initially at least, painted as a bit of a caricature. And it was never really clear what she was supposed to do to help Manu run the hotel. Build a desalination plant? Buy him more electric golf carts?

It's all very lovely to look at, but the story didn't really support more than a vacation hookup. And Hallmark isn't in the business of making movies about anything less than Big Love. That's not what we got here in the few days these two knew each other.

Take Me Back for Christmas (2023 TV Movie)

A worthy addition to the list of fun satisfying Alternate Reality Hallmark movies

[9/10 · 17 July 2023]

It's flawed (like most Hallmark movies) but it has a big beating heart at its center that makes it one of Hallmark's better Christmas movies.

I'm an unapologetic fan of time travel/alternate reality movies. It's a trope that has worked ever since "A Christmas Carol" and "It's a Wonderful Life". Hallmark has made a bunch of really good "What if?" movies. Some of my recent favorites include "Next Stop Christmas", "Love Strikes Twice", and "Ghosts of Christmas Always". Some of my older favorites include "Family For Christmas" which starred Hallmark Queen Lacey Chabert, "A Dream of Christmas" with Hallmark King Andrew Walker, and "Just in Time For Christmas" which starred Eloise Mumford, one of my Hallmark favorites.

This alternate reality movie reunites Vanessa Lengies and Corey Sevier, who were last paired together in "Heart of the Holidays". That movie, and this movie, was directed by Corey Sevier and written by his wife Kate Pragnell.

This fits in nicely with those other Hallmark movies despite a bit of a rocky start and, as is the case with many Hallmark movies, a complete disregard for the financial realities of starting and running a business. But Hallmark movies often succeed or fail based on the quality and chemistry of the stars, and Vanessa Lengies and Corey Sevier are both excellent and have great chemistry together. Lengies is especially effective at making her character adorably clumsy and flustered, and then believably emotional. I'd like to see more of her.

Unfortunately, the movie begins inauspiciously with an either/or discussion between Renee and Aaron. Note to homeowners who are stretched thin financially and feel like selling their treasured family home is the only option if they want to move: refinance the home and then rent it out. You'll be able to keep an appreciating asset, pay the mortgage with the rent, and free up the cash you need to start somewhere else. You can always sell later if you really have to sell.

The next scene features Renee working at what appears to be a small seasonal Christmas store that sits all by itself in the middle of nowhere. Usually, the unprofitable small store in a small Hallmark town is at least in a quaint town center area, but not here. And yet Renee's career goal is to one day becoming the manager of that small seasonal out of the way store. Could her career goals be any lower at that point? And then she's shown to have the spine of a jellyfish when she fails to mention to her manager that a gift basket she gave to her co-worker was not an unauthorized purchase. That was cringey, as was her initial fish out of water transition to her alternate life. And her idea for saving the Big Company in her alternate life? Let's just say it was impractical and unlikely to have the long term impact her Big Company needed.

But the rest of the movie had me hooked. And Renee's mother? Ugh, that was, for me, the most emotionally powerful part of the movie. That had me crying and was a big reason why I recommend this movie. Take Me Back To Christmas is a winner because it captures that quintessential ingredient that's in the best Hallmark movies- it has its heart in the right place and reminds viewers what really matters in life. I love lines like this:

"At a certain point in life, when you've met your person, home becomes less of a place and more of a feeling. It's wherever they are."

Also, I don't often notice the background music in Hallmark movies, but the music playing during the end of the alternate life segment was a perfect fit for the moment.

I loved the ending. It was just bursting with joy, love and gratitude and made me forget my relatively minor complaints. That feeling is why I keep watching Hallmark movies.

When Love Springs (2023 TV Movie)

Keep watching through the cringey reunion at the beginning. It gets better

[7/10 · 8 May 2023]

Awkward.

Unrealistic.

Cringeworthy.

At least at the beginning.

But then there is some fun banter and some nice getting to know you moments between the two leads. And the Lily Lake B&B is located in a lovely setting near some beautiful waterfalls cleverly known as "The Falls". The movie also uses a lot of split screens in a way I found to be (mostly) effective. And the background music is quite good.

Still, a B&B with no WiFi?

No TVs in the rooms?

A front desk with no computer?

A front desk person who goes into another room, puts on headphones, and dances obliviously right when guests are expected to be checking in at 4pm?

Rhiannon Fish is not for everyone, but I enjoyed her in this movie and in the recent A Picture of Her. She's quirky, fun, spirited and engaging. And a little silly. And she looked great in this movie, especially in that white hat. Unfortunately, I didn't like how her role was written in the scenes involving her ex, Jason, who dumped her back in NYC, but just happened to be checking into the same B&B where Rory and her family were staying. I would have preferred it if her character had been written with more of a backbone.

James Williams O'Halloran was solid as Noah. Frankie Savige was savage as Rory's heartless boss Melody. Erin Connor had some lovely moments playing Rory's mother, and Renee Herbert was sweet and enthusiastic as Rory's sister Cleo.

Bottom line, it was worth watching.

"You'll look back one day and you'll realize that all the little things, they add up to be the big things in life. And that makes every moment so much more precious."

"There are two moments in life, those you miss and those you seize."

Unexpected Grace (2023 TV Movie)

Lots of tears, lots of beautiful moments, lots of Shakespeare; Erica Durance and Erica Tremblay are spectacular

[10/10 · 17 April 2023]

I think Erica Durance is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses working in television. And lately she's been popping up in Hallmark movies that have more depth than the standard rom-com. This is NOT a rom-com.

This is a lovely and profoundly moving story of people recovering from the loss of loved ones and finding a way to move on. I can't imagine how a parent survives the loss of a child, but Durance's Noelle is plodding forward as best she can 2 years later. As she tells a colleague: "grief makes one hour ten." There are many other great Shakespearean lines in this movie (Ashland is famous for its Shakespeare Festival and Noelle is a college professor who teaches Shakespeare).

The plot device that starts the movie is a message, tied to a balloon, that Noelle and her daughter Toni released into the air. The message has the uplifting ending couplet from Shakespeare's otherwise very depressing Sonnet 30 that expresses the painful "remembrance of things past". I love the idea of a "message in a bottle" (Bottled With Love is one of my favorite Hallmark movies ) and this is a fun and eventually poignant variation of that.

Erica Tremblay is perfect in the well written role of 13 year old Grace. Hallmark should use her more often. Michael Rady is good and steady as Grace's father Jack ("I can't always relate to the struggles of a teenage girl but I'm trying"). But, c'mon dad, use Grace's phone as leverage. If she's not going to answer it when you call, or text you where she is, and her grades drop, the ultimate behavior modification strategy is phone access. Whenever I threatened to call the phone company to put my kids' lines on hold, they got with the program, fast. My daughter is now about to graduate Berkeley and my son graduated UCSB.

Kudos to the writers Mark Hefti and Eugenia Zukerman for a script that gave us some really beautiful and heartfelt moments, and some important conversations between Noelle and her colleague Chris played by the dependable Hallmark vet Vincent Gale ("Being young isn't easy. All those hormones and wide-open future, it's scary and exhilarating all at the same time."). Mark Hefti wrote 2 other very good Hallmark movies (A Dickens of a Holiday and My Family Christmas Tree).

Grace's interactions with her father and with Noelle were extraordinarily realistic and the tone and pacing of the movie was just right. And I could listen to Erica Durance read me Shakespeare all night, especially if she looked at me the way she looked at Jack. But I didn't like having her read an edited version of an already short but beautiful Sonnet 18 ("thy eternal summer shall not fade").

I also appreciated the well timed use of these 2 lines by Grace:

"Sometimes a girl just needs her Mom"

"Sometimes a girl just needs her Daddy"

Noelle and Jack had great chemistry, which was essential given the focus on Grace. But Noelle really needed a hug. She broke my heart when she talked about how she missed being part of a family and missed having Toni hold on to her. That's why I loved it when she told Jack:

"Thank you for this. I don't know what this is, but it's nice."

And I LOVED the scene where Grace eavesdropped on her father talking about all the things he loved doing with Grace.

In fact, the first 75% of the movie was a solid 10 stars. I didn't even mind the horrible dad jokes. But the basketball tryout was cringeworthy. And the plot conflict about a contract termination was unrealistic. Jack supposedly had a signed written 2 year contract to build a campus science center and moved from Colorado to Oregon for that contract. The plot suggests a new Governor could just terminate that contract. I've drafted construction contracts. They can't just be unilaterally terminated without severe penalties.

And I didn't buy the coincidence that was nearly 300 miles away in Portland. And that guy would have to have been extremely wealthy in order to agree to fund and do what happens at the end of the movie.

I also had a very small pet peeve about the Petition for Dissolution that appears on the screen for a few seconds. First, that document was "served" on her, which means it was filed with the Court; but it didn't even have her name on it, or anything essential filled out. And although the first page referred to Oregon, the second page referred to the State of Washington. And even though Noelle is shown to have been very friendly and cordial with her ex, he apparently felt it necessary to serve her with the Petition, when they could have worked out a stipulation without her being served.

But, otherwise, the movie was so extraordinarily moving, well acted, and very well done, that I think of it as being one of the best Hallmark movies that I've ever seen. Because I grade Hallmark movies on a curve, I'm giving this a 10, despite a few relatively minor flaws.

A Picture of Her (2023 TV Movie)

A flawed but very cozy romance

[7/10 · 13 April 2023]

Some reviewers didn't buy it, but I thought Rhiannon Fish and Tyler Hynes had plenty of chemistry as Beth and Jake. I was pleasantly surprised by all their easy breezy romantic moments together, and by all the scenes with actual kissing and intimacy in the MIDDLE of the movie, instead of saving the first Big Kiss for the very end (although there was an early "almost kiss"- one of my least favorite tropes). Their dates seemed very real and natural and I would've preferred a movie that was focused on just that without any serious conflict between them (but Hallmark writers seem locked into the meet, like, fight, reunite formula)

Hynes seemed comfortable with a camera and the Flower Girl photo of Beth really was quite beautiful. Unfortunately, the movie's depiction of Beth's instant fame was wildly unrealistic. The scene with a dozen people crowding her and trying to take photos and selfies with her after a free "Los Angeles Culture" regional magazine just came out, was beyond ridiculous. As I write this, Taylor Swift was just seen coming out of a NYC restaurant after her breakup and she didn't get half as much crowding in the street. That said, social media can make formerly unknown individuals into short term sensations. As I write this, a head shot of a beautiful woman spotted at the Masters golf tournament just went viral, and she became known as the "Masters Girl". Of course, that was a nationally televised event, watched by millions (compared to a free local newspaper cover).

Also, the movie's representation of the modeling industry (which has its problems) was also wildly unrealistic. My daughter was an international model (which helped pay for the Berkeley college degree that she is about to receive). First, we did a LOT of research into the agencies that were interested in her. And we met their representatives in their offices, not in some stairway landing. And we carefully reviewed her contracts. We also made sure to get all the details of where she was going and for what before she went anywhere (like a Coca-Cola ad shot at Venice beach). Models are hired to promote products, as part of carefully planned marketing campaigns. But it was unclear what Beth's sleazy agent (a plot line that was just abandoned) had lined up for her. She certainly wouldn't have been given her own trailer. And she wouldn't be dressed up in some ugly awards show gown that made her look like Ursula from the Little Mermaid for whatever "shoot" she was hired to do. Heck, any agent who knew what they were doing, would have approached a florist or flower grower to hire her for some marketing campaign that played off of her "famous" photo. Plus, there's usually at least several weeks of lead time for photo shoots (and auditions). No one gets an agent (without an office) and a big production photo shoot in a couple of days.

There's more. Aunt Dody suffers a compound leg fracture and says she'll be laid up for a few weeks (hence Beth's visit to help out). And, sure enough, a few days later she's walking around in a walking boot. I suffered a compound leg fracture during a football game and I was in a cast for nearly 6 months. Aunt Dody was far too mobile. And the only help that I noticed was when Beth loaded up a couple of flowers from her Aunt's fancy She Shed and put them in a box to take to the Farmers Market to a guy who mentioned selling some flowers back to Aunt Dody (??). Aunt Dody didn't seem to have much of a business and didn't seem to get much help from Beth.

It was also very unclear what Beth was planning to do with her Environmental Sciences degree. My son obtained one of those from UCSB and now works for a solar power financing company. There's nothing wrong with her working on boats but, when I was a bartender at a local Harbor, I met a lot of fishermen who used to get up at four in the morning and lead very rugged and difficult lives. There were a few women who did that kind of work, but the ones I met could've played football in college. Beth as a fisherman? Seemed like quite a stretch.

And what sort of work does Beth expect Jake to do to support himself? He's a photojournalist. No one buys photo albums and paparazzi shots can pay well (It's not as though he was badgering the people that he was photographing). And what's so terrible about him taking a picture of her before he even met her? The worst part of his behavior was that he wasn't completely honest about what he did, but that's easily resolved with one honest conversation.

But the movie got a few things right. Beth was upset that her photo was used on the cover of a local magazine without her permission, but that magazine's rep gave her a surprisingly good explanation. Hallmark movies notoriously get the law completely wrong (I'm a lawyer) but they got it right here. In California, under Civil Code Section 3344, the Right of Publicity protects against uses of a person's likeness "for purposes of advertising or selling, or soliciting purchases of, products, merchandise, goods or services, without such person's prior consent." If her photo had been placed in an ad for flowers, she would have had a claim, but being put on the cover of a "news" paper is not actionable.

More importantly, for Hallmark movie addicts like me, I liked the romance. Hynes has an easy going charm that has made him a Hallmark superstar. Last year's Three Wise Men and a Baby was the most watched movie of the year and he's been in a lot of other Hallmark movies. For good reason. This was my second exposure to Rhiannon Fish as a lead (her parents must have really liked Fleetwood Mac). I liked her in A Splash of Love and her performance there and here reminded me a little bit of Hailee Steinfeld. But I can see why some may have been put off a bit by her somewhat childish mannerisms (I'd call them endearing).

The thing I liked best about the movie was how it depicted their time together. There were no competing boyfriends, girlfriends, fiancés, schemes, failing businesses, or festivals, and all their dates were really enjoyable to watch- a nice meet cute at the dog park, a couple of bike rides, walking the streets, stopping for ice cream, stargazing, talking, and sharing home-cooked meals. It was all very cozy and comforting. Unfortunately, the movie makers decided they needed to add a conflict for the leads to overcome, as usual, in the fourth quarter.

I would've preferred a nice breezy happy ending without the contrived conflict.

My favorite line:

"That's ancient water under a very distant bridge."

Love in the Maldives (2023 TV Movie)

Visually Stunning; the location is the real star, but Jocelyn Hudon also shines. And yet...

[8/10 · 2 April 2023]

I really like Jocelyn Hudon (Rae) and she's perfectly cast here in a role that requires her character to spend a lot of time in flattering swim suits. But she's not just a beautiful actress; she also convincingly conveys Rae's joy, confusion, anxiety and frustration. And she has a megawatt smile that shines bright when she's happy (that smile reminded me of Hallmark vet Ashley Williams).

Jake Manley (Jared) was a bit muted as a former med school student (really?) who looks like a California surfer. I didn't see much emotional range in his performance but he certainly looks the part of a resort diving and yoga instructor. And as the real life husband of Jocelyn Hudon, chemistry was a given.

For those of us who love Hallmark movies, but are a bit tired of nearly every one of their movies being filmed in Canada, even when set in the U. S., this gorgeous location was a very nice change of pace. The movie was actually filmed on Rangali Island, one of nearly 1,200 islands in the Maldives, which is in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It was set at the 151 room Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort, which has been voted one of the best hotels in the world and is famous for its underwater restaurant.

Rae reminded me of the travel writer (Poppy) in Emily Henry's wonderful "People We Meet on Vacation", but the movie started with a scene that seemed very unlikely:

Boss: I need you to spend a week at a luxury resort in the Maldives. The fancy suite that I want you to stay in costs $15,000 a night, and it costs more than $2,000 just to get there, but we'll pay for everything.

Rae: Nah, that's not really me.

What????

And when she gets there, she basically blows off her boss' express instructions despite being informed that her print magazine (not many of those left) was merging with another magazine and going online (a little late). Such mergers typically result in job cuts and yet Rae was initially a bit blasé about her situation.

But she bonds with another solo traveler in a place where virtually all the guests are couples. I liked that relationship, which tied in nicely to Rae's column, and her relationship with Jared was light and breezy. In real life, these unattached singles would likely have just "hooked up". I though the escalation from introduction, to like, to love, in just a week, seemed... unlikely. But that's not uncommon in Hallmark movies.

Also, these kinds of geographically challenged relationships always have me asking what Drew Barrymore once asked in "Ever After": "A fish may love a bird, but where would they live?" And I certainly wasn't sold on the marketability, viability and value of Jared's Clarity Connection program.

But there were some clever dream sequences (including a fun transition to reality) that really worked for me and the location was beautifully filmed. Especially the many underwater scenes.

Still, if there's a line that shows up in more Hallmark movies than any other it might be "I haven't seen him this happy in a long time." It's a legitimate observation, but it is just soooooooo overused.

I liked this exchange though:

Jared's friend: "He's been a bit adrift" Rae: "Like the wandering shipwreck." Jared's friend: "And just like it, Jared has a heart of gold."

As for that shipwreck, well, a blind sailor could probably have found it.

My final quibble is, in fairness, about an annoying trope that shows up in most Hallmark movies: the 4th quarter conflict that is based on a misunderstanding that could have been cleared up in 30 seconds if anyone had made the slightest effort.

But this was such a visually appealing movie (including the gorgeous Jocelyn Hudon) that I gave it a relatively high (and probably undeserved) 8 stars.

If this has been filmed in Vancouver, as usual, and without Hudon, I doubt I would have given it more than a 5.

Game of Love (2023)

Game of Love has some good moments, but the two stars just don't shine as one

[6/10 · 21 March 2023]

I'm a big fan of Kimberly Sustad who plays Audrey. But her damaged character is really self absorbed. She's always buried in her phone, wears headphones in public around other people, and wears a hoodie on a date to a fancy restaurant. She's really oblivious. And at one point there's a weird shift in tone when Audrey gets manic at work.

Brooks Darnell is very smooth as Matthew. He has a great line about "brands" in which he describes himself as a "savvy professional" and Audrey as a "stubborn, indie creative". Both descriptions are spot on. Matthew also had a good line about the "thousand years of solitude" that he spent waiting for Audrey. It reminded me of the classic Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel of a similar name.

There's also some good direction and editing. For example, right after Matthew notes that love releases the same endorphins as eating chocolate, there's some fun scenes from the refrigerator POV. And there's an amusing early scene where Audrey tries to think about love:

"Love love, love love love; Love is codependency; Sacrificing one's sense of self, that's for sure; Jealousy, distortion of reality; Loss of control."

There's also a groan funny Dad "Joke of the week" featured on the board at work:

"I want to become a chess player, but I have too much of a checkered past."

The writing may seem cheesy at times to some, but most of us Hallmark fans have a high tolerance for cheesy love lines like this one:

"I kinda like the idea that two different stars can collide and make something so different and beautiful".

I also thought the Indigo seminar was really well done. I expected to be making fun of it but, instead, I found it to be rather insightful and a clever way to reveal things about Matthew and Audrey. But then the movie slogs through an annoying and implausible conflict in the 4th quarter (an all too frequent problem with some Hallmark movies). The initial assignment (to create a market ready board game and submit it to a "tabletop" competition in just 4 weeks) was ridiculous and all too typical of Hallmark's tendency to feature plots driven by artificial and unrealistic deadlines. And there is an equally ridiculous "business" decision by The Board in the 4th quarter that makes no sense (and annoys everybody, including the audience).

It was also unclear to me why the company hired a marketing consultant to help design a board game in the first place. Plus, I never got any kind of idea about what was actually in the board game. I just saw circles on a board with some huge player pieces. We saw Evie (a customer who never leaves) playing it with a stranger and some random people playing it at Boardwalk Café and Games (which is in Abbotsford, British Columbia, not Seattle) but we never hear any of the questions they presumably ask each other or see any interaction whatsoever.

But worst of all, I just didn't buy the love story. At best, this seemed like a movie about colleagues learning to work together (although the eager beaver co-workers seemed like caricatures). They were pleasant together, but I just didn't feel the sparks. And those sparks are kinda the key to making a romance work.

There's a much better "game developers to lovers" story in "On the 12th Date of Christmas" with Mallory Jansen and Tyler Hynes.

Made for Each Other (2023 TV Movie)

Pygmalion and Galatea with the gender roles reversed. Unfortunately, the few bright spots are overshadowed by ludicrous writing and a VERY annoying mother

[5/10 · 3 March 2023]

I was stunned at how bad this movie seemed during the first half hour. And despite recovering with occasional flashes of heart, bits of interesting and amusing "be careful what you wish for" moments, and a few glimpses of a relationship that had some chemistry, Made For Each Other ends up being really bonkers- and not in a good way.

Alexandra Turshen plays Rachel who went to an Ivy League college, but now teaches sculpture (do you really need to go to an Ivy League school to learn how to be a sculptor?). And, somehow, she apparently makes enough as an art teacher to afford to live in a nice apartment in Manhattan (there are several levels of fantasy at play in this movie). She's also not much of a teacher. When she isn't sending students away to explore the city after they show up for class, she teaches sculpture by merely encouraging her students without actually teaching them anything remotely resembling technique. Heck, at one point, she actually takes over a student's project and does it herself while ignoring the rest of the class.

The movie begins with Rachel as a child sculpting her ideal future husband and then, after a quick time jump, she's shown to have sculpted a larger version of her ideal man ("couldn't find a perfect boyfriend, so I made one"). Unlike all the famous sculptures, Rachel's sculpture is modest and shown wearing a towel. OK, that's ridiculous, but this is Hallmark. Viewers would no doubt clutch their pearls, faint and switch to GAF if the sculpture looked anything like Michelangelo's David.

But the most annoying thing about this movie is Rachel's mother, played by reliable veteran Hallmark actress Teryl Rothery. Unfortunately, she was given a thankless role (blame the writing and direction, don't blame the actress). Her character is written as an overbearing, intrusive, and meddling stereotype. Her public embarrassment of her daughter Rachel at her class' showcase was cringeworthy, as was the foisting of another potential date on her while she and the group looked on awkwardly as creepy spectators.

Earlier, Rachel had understandably expressed her disappointment with some guy who showed up late and then ordered for her. Suggestions are one thing, but unilaterally ordering for a woman in 2023? On a first date (or any date)? Ugh. Hardly "picky" to find that unacceptable. And the guy at the showcase came across as a complete dweeb (he literally insulted one of the kids' sculptures). Again, hardly "picky" as her sister claimed: "Rachel's ideal man is a complete fantasy". Maybe, but when asked what Rachel looked for in a man, she said somebody who is "kind, smart, loyal, and dedicated." Yeah, why would any woman want to hold out for someone like that?

I like Hallmark movies and tuned in after seeing a commercial that made me think of the old Pygmalion and Galatea Greek myth (I love the Jean-Leon Gerome painting of Galatea). But this movie is supposedly based on the Legend of the Golem, an old Jewish folklore story about a sculpture made by rabbis that comes to life (I do give credit to increasingly inclusive and diverse Hallmark for making yet another very Jewish movie). Rachel's friend Doris tells her the story and then just happened to be carrying an amulet (that's hundreds of years old) which her "bubbe" told her could bring a statue to life. Doesn't everybody just wander around town with magical family heirlooms that are hundreds of years old?

Doris (played in trademark fashion by veteran character actress Ileana Douglas) tells Rachel to think of her ideal man, put the amulet around her sculpture's neck, and wait for "The Universe" to bring her that ideal man. She calls it a "manifestation exercise".

Rachel, who has longed for the perfect man to come into her life, responds: "a sculpture that does dishes; a girl can dream" (admittedly, there are a few good lines in the movie).

Aaron O'Connell is great as the statue that comes to life. He's an extraordinary physical specimen and his earnest fish out of water character is actually the best thing about the movie. His "perfect" qualities are meant to seem silly and unrealistic, but there's a lot to like about someone so kind, thoughtful and supportive.

Matt Cohen plays David Cohen, the best friend of Rachel's brother in law. His performance is fine, and he plays a nice guy, but the fact that David used to be a lawyer before trying his luck as as a stand up comic reminded me of that old comic insult: "Hey, don't quit your day job." He's just not funny. The first time we see him on stage, he finishes up his act with some unfunny introductory lines that should've been used at the start of his act. Again, that's bad writing, not bad acting.

And despite giving up his career as a lawyer, for a career where his best opportunity (Laugh Fest) pays him nothing, David is somehow, like Rachel, also able to afford a beautiful Manhattan apartment. That's a bigger fantasy than a statue that comes to life.

The movie was bookended by some truly cringeworthy moments. The Big Ending and the timing of the Grand Gestures were not only "imperfect" they were so bad and ridiculous it may be worth watching just to marvel at how insane it all was. The ending completely undercut the movie's message about following your dreams and respecting the dreams of others. One Big Moment was casually tossed aside, while another was ruined by a "hey, let me interrupt your Big Moment and make it about me".

No one involved in this production apparently believes that "timing is everything".

I'm open to the idea of a Pygmalion type fantasy. I like a good fantasy. In fact, there was a great one done a few years ago called Ruby Sparks that was 10 times better than this movie.

Watch Ruby Sparks instead.

Welcome to Valentine (2023 TV Movie)

It can't be fun being stuck in Nowhere, Nebraska in the cold of winter

[3/10 · 19 February 2023]

I'm a huge Hallmark movie fan but this movie was too weird and unsatisfying for me. I didn't have a problem with the leads, but their story was uninspiring.

As the movie opens, Olivia is a struggling artist who's been in New York City for two years but is still crashing on her friend's couch (??). She has a job at a catering company with that friend but she's a terrible employee. After being fired (shocker), she finds out that she's losing the couch that she's been crashing on (her friend is suddenly moving and tells her she only has the place for another week).

So she catches a ride home with George, a high flying "40 under 40" golden boy and future Big Company CEO who, bizarrely, is driving an old car 2,800 miles across the country during the winter. Huh? He agrees to drop off Olivia in her hometown of Valentine, Nebraska but his old car breaks down once they get there (shocker). After the town's only mechanic incompetently fried the entire electrical system of his car (by putting the jumper cables on the wrong battery posts), George becomes understandably frustrated and calls the town "Nowhere, Nebraska".

But that town is, in fact, literally located in the middle of nowhere and only has a population of 2,603. I love how Hallmark has become more diverse and inclusive but the real town of Valentine only has one Black person. Just one. And yet virtually everyone featured in the movie (Olivia, her sister Vanessa, Vanessa's son, the restaurant owner, the town's only mechanic, and some random people in the parade) were all people of color. It came across as well intentioned but unrealistic.

When I watched this movie's premiere in February when the movie supposedly takes place, it was literally 24 degrees in Valentine, Nebraska. But some little old lady name Mrs. Hacky spent most of the movie sitting on a little stool outside in the freezing cold, staring at a barn.

Everyone was acting like the annual Valentine's Day parade in this cold tiny town was a huge event. Really?

I hated George's unnecessary lying about Olivia's "success" .

I thought her art was unimpressive.

I thought George's career crisis was poorly set up ("I don't want to spend my time making money for my company, I just want to spend my time giving its money away").

It wasn't as though he had some other clear path or passion that he wanted to follow like Olivia.

Nothing in the movie rang true for me and it was hard to root for anybody in a movie that just didn't make any sense, especially the fantasy ending.

A Holiday Spectacular (2022 TV Movie)

The revisionist history was inexcusable, but the movie was, in all other respects, quite wonderful. Lots of Happy Tears.

[9/10 · 19 February 2023]

I thought this was a very well written and well acted period piece with impressive vintage sets, wardrobes, and hairstyles. And it was great to see former dancer Ann Margaret playing a former dancer. She was quite a big star in the 60s and once dated Elvis Presley. But, as others have noted, there were no women of color in the Rockettes in 1958. I applaud Hallmark's ongoing efforts to be more inclusive and diverse, but they shouldn't ignore historical reality.

Nevertheless, the movie seemed to otherwise capture the look and feel of the 50s. At one point, Maggie's mother says: "your father and I really don't like you wearing pants... and now you're parading around New York like some kind of beatnik." Ginna Claire Mason was wonderful as rich girl Maggie. And she had good chemistry with Derek Klena (as John). He seems like he'd be a great leading man to add to Hallmark's roster.

There's a lot to like in this movie. In so many other Hallmark movies, the main character's best friend serves no purpose other than to be the main character's cheerleader and confidante. But here, Sofia (really well played with spice by Sara Gallo) is a fleshed out character with her own life.

I also liked the photo of Maggie expressing pure joy in New York. Despite having a life others envy, she's less than fulfilled at home and understandably wants to follow her own path. I enjoyed watching her bravery during a time when women weren't exactly encouraged to follow their dreams. But I also found her deceit (and her uncertainty about what to do) realistic given the times.

Today, having a friend say "you don't have to marry someone you don't love" would be weird because duh, of course not. But back then, someone like Maggie really needed that advice. Maxwell wasn't a bad guy, but a guy who says "I don't believe true love exists at all" shouldn't be getting married.

The Big Scene in the restaurant is very well done. And I loved Maggie's announcement on the street afterwards. But I thought the response was ... unfair.

I grade Hallmark on a curve and I would normally give this a 10 but I was really annoyed by the fake history.

My Secret Valentine (2018 TV Movie)

Lacey Chabert and Andrew Walker at their best, with a fun twist on the "pen pal" trope.

[9/10 · 7 February 2023]

After watching this for a third time, I was surprised to learn that, as of early 2023, this was the first and only movie that starred Hallmark superstars Lacey Chabert and Andrew Walker together in the same movie. I loved them and the movie.

The anonymous "pen pal" storyline is one of my favorites. There's a great old black and white classic film about anonymous pen pals who know each other in real life (without realizing it) called The Shop Around The Corner starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan. That inspired the more recent rom-com classic, You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan ("I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly."). Compare that line with the one from My Secret Valentine ("I was secretly hoping it was you all along").

Hallmark successfully used a similar anonymous "pen pal" storyline in 2019 (the year after this movie was released) in Bottled With Love with Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker (one of my favorite Hallmark movies) and again in Love Always, Santa, and again in The Christmas Promise and again last year in Hanukkah on Rye. I actually don't have a problem with Hallmark reworking this kind of storyline, as long as it's well done. I really enjoy a romance based on the exchange of thoughtful letters (or emails or texts) and chalkboard messages struck me as a fun, clever variation of the trope. Kudos to the writer, Carrie Freedle.

Lacey Chabert was very spunky, feisty, fun and engaging as Chloe Grange. I can't think of her being in a better Hallmark movie and she's been in a lot. I loved scenes like the one where she's talking to herself when she goes into the cabin by herself.

Andrew Walker was solid as usual as Seth Anderson. I can't remember a bad performance by him and he's been in some classic Hallmark movies. I think Peter MacNeill as papa Truman Grange and Tara Yelland as local bestie Leanne Morrison deserve praise for their performances too (although Leanne's character only existed to talk to Chloe about Chloe).

Someone else noted the absence of "the other guy" or "the other girl". I usually prefer that unless the competition's screen time is kept to a bare minimum and they don't show up unexpectedly (I hate that trope).

Finally, I'm an avid Hallmark movie fan. I'm also a lawyer. And when someone waves around a contract or legal document (or a newspaper) I like to hit pause and take a closer look. I'd say most of the time it's gobbledygook nonsense but, occasionally, someone actually tries to create a plausible legal document. And, at a glance, the Big Contract at issue in this movie looked real.

But I took a closer look. The contract states at the top that it is an "Oregon Ownership Commission Contract" for a "Sale of Property and Copyright". That may sound OK, and I'm a California lawyer, but there is no such thing as the "Oregon Ownership Commission". And that reference is in conflict with the top right section of the contract which states that the form was created by the "Oklahoma Real Estate Contract Form Committee". There actually is such a committee- in Oklahoma. But this movie was set in Oregon and no one buying real estate in Oregon would use an Oklahoma contract.

Also, the line where the contract is supposed to describe the real estate is left blank. And the "legal description" section below that did not include a legal description of the property but, instead, included some handwritten contract terms. But it was marginally better than most fake Hallmark contracts.

To be clear, none of this affects my review or rating of the movie; I just find this aspect of movie making interesting.

Thumbs Up!