Falling Peacefully to Sleep.

This was the same, yet different. It included all of the usual Hallmark clichés and plot points that loyal watchers have come to expect and even rely on for their weekly dose of cozy happy romance. Yet this one took it to a whole other level of comfort and tranquility. We have the successful city girl, Kaia (Alvina August) going back to her small hometown. But she is not on any kind of mission. She is not there to stage a takeover of a beloved institution or recover from a failed romance. Nope. She is just taking a weeks vacation to attend her High School reunion and to visit her Gigi:  BJ Harrison, Hallmark’s go-to when a wise elderly black woman is required. Don’t get me wrong, I love her. She’s great. There were a lot of comforting familiar faces in this one. Kaia’s boss is demanding and always calling her on her phone, but she is not a bully, she’s nice. Kaia’s career is at a turning point, but there is no deadline she has to meet to secure the promotion she has worked for all her life, or to not be fired. In fact, she gets the promotion halfway through the movie. Her boss keeps calling her because Kaia is hesitant to accept, as this is taking her even further away from what she originally loved about the job: helping the little people rather than big corporations.

She meets old high school best friend, James (Nathan Witte), who has a back-to-nature type career, in contrast to her own. They fall in love while reconnecting trying to complete their High School bucket list. Is a bucket list for 18-year-olds a thing? I don’t think so. But it is Hallmark, after all. Their mission is to check off such aspirational endeavors such as “Win the Maplecrest Scarecrow Contest,” “Obtain the Super-Secret Recipe for the Apple Cider Doughnuts at the Mill,” “Make Mr. Winters Smile,” and “Win King and Queen of the Harvest.” The easy stuff, like “Jump into a Pile of Leaves,” had already been checked off 20 years ago. Like Kaia, James has no tragic romantic history to explain why he is still single at 38 when he is so eligible as far as looks, character, and professional success. There are not even any interested townswomen waiting to swoop down upon him like birds of prey. They just have a nice rekindling of their relationship with a few almost kisses. No lies, conflicts of interest, or secrets to complicate things. The only roadblock is that James lives in Maplecrest and Kaia life so far is in the city.

Kaia has a pregnant best friend of contrasting ethnicity who owns some kind of old-timey store with so many autumn flavored tchotchkes and decorations that I couldn’t really figure out what she sold there. Gigi is selling her house and set to move into an assisted living facility, but it is not against her will. In fact, she can’t wait to get to there with all its fancy amenities. The real estate agent is not greedy and looking to rip her off, but is the husband of Kaia’s best friend. So no stress there either.

There is a flirty baking scene. And there is a Fall Festival! But it doesn’t need to be saved, nor to raise money to save something else. There was that reliable little last minute drama in Kaia and James’ relationship but it was very little and not a stupid misunderstanding. James declares himself and wants to take their friendship to the next level but Kaia is still set on returning to the big city and her promotion (kinda), and is afraid of losing her friendship with James if something goes wrong in their romance. That was pretty weak, because no history of romantic disappointments had been established that might justify her fear of commitment.

Thanks to her best friend and her wise grandmother, Kaia does see the light and takes another position in her company that allows her to work remotely so she can stay in Maplecrest. And, Bonus! She can get back to helping needy small businesses instead of unappreciative Big Businesses. So Handy!

Anyway, this was an 84 minute masterpiece of calm, stress-free, and predictable viewing, amply decorated (but not too tackily) with Fall embellishments. James even wears at least one flannel shirt. Unfortunately it was so calm that I kept falling asleep. It took me hours to get through the whole thing, and even so, in my re-winding and fast forwarding I may have missed some important points. If this is the case, I apologize. I prefer the Hallmarks that are more out of the box and with a little suspense and drama. But I can certainly appreciate the appeal of ones like these. It didn’t make me mad or trigger contempt or disdain, so I’m giving it 7 stars.