about Time

Anything dealing with time: time travel, seeing into the future, alternate life, etc.

Junebug

/ Rebekahrox / 12 Comments

Inner Childish

I thought this one had some promise. Autumn Reeser has consistently starred in some of the better Hallmarks. Her presence alone insures a certain level of credibility. Not a huge fan of Aaron O’Connell but he was well cast and perfect in Made for Each Other. The plot had a fantasy element that I usually welcome. Juniper (Reeser) is visited by her 8-year-old self that only she can see. “Junebug” has come out of her childhood “wish box” to help her almost 40-year-old (birthday imminent) self out of a rut professionally and personally. But ultimately it was a big disappointment, I’m very sorry to say.

Juniper dreamed of being a writer as a child. One compromise after another led her off that path but she is a big success as a well-respected editor for a boutique publisher of YA and children’s books. Now this seems like a pretty cool career to me, but what do I know? Juniper is vaguely dissatisfied and bored by her job. And also her stable predictable boyfriend. When Junebug appears she calls Juniper out on her boring wardrobe, her boring duties at work, and her boring boyfriend whose idea of a hot date is a home-cooked pasta dinner every Wednesday night. Again sounds nice to me, but when Juniper asks that he bring any other pasta other than their traditional penne, and he shows up with penne anyway, she breaks up her 3-year relationship with him. At work, her boss, Paula, has tasked the team with finding fresh new illustrators for their children’s line. Juniper, guided by Junebug,  finds one in a mysterious and hot muralist, Alex Ripley (O’Connell). Research reveals that he is an icon of the art world who shot straight to the top after his first show. But he disappeared when his second show was savaged by critics. Now he travels from city to city doing unsigned murals. Red flag. Inspired by Junebug, Juniper has decided to get back to her writing. After her meet cute with Alex (she destroys the mural he is working on and he is very nice about it) they decide to work together on a children’s book.

From then on the movie is all about Alex and Juniper talking about doing the book and dealing with Juniper’s writer’s block. They go on a road trip, eat raspberry swirl ice cream (a lot), walk on the beach, shop for clothes, flirt, and kiss chastely. (Very chastely considering they are two attractive single 40-year-olds who might be in love.) Not exactly compelling viewing. No, not a lot of excitement, but there was quite a bit of comedic potential in a 40-year-old sophisticate being followed around by her interfering 8-year-old self that only she can see. But nada. Other than a few quizzical looks and an occasional “Are you all right?” when Juniper is apparently having conversations with herself, it’s just wasted. It’s all just Juniper and Junebug talking boringly mostly by themselves.

The big crisis is when Alex and Juniper’s book is rejected by her boss as being too much of a risk for the company. But why? It made zero sense, unless her boss was just being nice and the book was really awful. She points out that Alex’s muralistic illustrations were “on too large a scale” for a kid’s book, which makes sense and seems like a fair criticism. I guess, because we never actually get to see his work.  But Alex is highly insulted and flounces off petulantly. “This is not why I make my work-To have someone tell me what market it’s right for!” Boo-de-hoo-hoo. Grow. Up. Juniper quits her job without notice the next day. “Is this because I passed on your project? No it really isn’t, Paula” Right. Juniper wins Alex back by hoisting a boombox in the air a la one of my favorite movies, Say Anything. Lots of tributes to that movie in this one. For the happy ending, Alex and Juniper, together for her birthday, open a box of their newly published (by another publisher or self-published-we never know) book. The cover is really bad. Maybe Paula was right.

I won’t be watching this one again, but I might give Say Anything another go. Now that’s a good movie with a lot of heart.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

P.S. I was just reminded by a user review on IMDb that there is a 25 year old movie that is very similar to this one, only done right, with real drama and bite. Its called If You Believe, and I highly recommend it. I thought there was something familiar about this.

An American in Austen

/ Rebekahrox / 10 Comments

There’s No Place Like Home

Spoilers

Going by the premise, the previews, and that I just rewatched Lost in Austen, this didn’t go the way I expected. And because of that, it was so much better than I expected, even though my expectations were very high indeed. Harriet is a librarian, loves Jane Austen, and is also trying to write a novel but alas, like all authors in Hallmarks, she has writer’s block.  When her boyfriend of 3 years proposes very romantically in front of her friends she responds with a resounding “Maybe.” She feels bad for breaking his heart, but, as she tells her friends, she has always dreamed of a hero (like Mr. Darcy for example) riding up on a horse taking her in his arms, and carrying her off into the sunset. Not that Mr. Darcy would ever do such a thing, and as her friends point out, she has just described a kidnapping. Because Ethan is not exactly a romantic hero. In fact, he is kind of a dorky loser. She falls asleep in the cab on the way home, and wakes up in a carriage wondering “What’s that smell?”. She has been transported into Pride and Prejudice, her favorite novel. At first, she thinks it’s an elaborate gag and plays along as best she can, exclaiming over the authenticity of the sets. But inevitably she realizes (no power lines or planes) that she really is the Bennet’s old maid (she’s over 30, horrors) cousin visiting from America. Which explains her strange ways, speech, and attitudes.

We start revisiting Pride and Prejudice. Except with Harriet there, things go a little bit awry. And first on the agenda is the assembly in Meryton (“Oh, great, more corsets”). When Mr. Darcy insults Elizabeth like in the book, Harriet marches up to him and tells him off. Not in the book. Mr. Darcy’s attention is diverted from Elizabeth to Harriet and soon becomes smitten with the “strange creature.” Mr. Collins proposes to Mary instead of Charlotte and Mary accepts. Elizabeth falls for Mr. Wickham because all of Darcy’s attention is focused on Harriet. Harriet realizes she is “destroying Jane Austen!” and, using her knowledge of the book, is determined to get things back on track. But things keep getting worse. When Darcy proposes to her (one of the things he is attracted to is her “remarkably white teeth.”), it is her wake-up call. She realizes that she has only been in love with the idea of a Romantic Hero, not a real person, and it is Ethan that she truly loves and misses terribly. “This is the moment I’ve always dreamed of but now that it is for real, this is not the feeling I have always dreamed of.” When Elizabeth elopes with Wickham it is Darcy and Harriet to the rescue. Wickham is exposed as the cad he is, and to Harriet’s relief, Darcy and Elizabeth start falling in love in the carriage on the way back home to Longbourne. “Awwwh” Harriet sighs, and then gets out of the carriage to leave them alone.

This movie was a real charmer. All of the actors made the most of the script, but the fortuitously named Eliza Bennett as Harriet really was a star. Most of the humor, even laugh-out-loud moments, are due to her delivery, especially when she comes out with her modern irreverent asides under her breath on what is happening in front of her. Trying to talk Elizabeth out of walking to Netherfield to visit sick Jane “Okay, so I can’t rewrite the walking part,” she sighs. “I adore you!” proclaims  Darcy. “Do you though?”, she responds quizzically. When Elizabeth elopes,  “Don’t worry, I got this!”

I was amazed at just how much of Pride and Prejudice they were able to get into 84 minutes. Crazy how much plot you can fit in without the usual time-sucking tentpole scenes and montages. But what makes this a 10-star Hallmark rather than a 9 or 9 1/2 are the thoughtful and serious moments. When Harriet tries to talk Mary out of marrying “that weirdo” Mr. Collins, Mary reminds her that though she doesn’t love him, she doesn’t have the luxury of a choice. But don’t worry, this is one of the things that Harriet “fixes”, though it certainly doesn’t endear her to the Bennets. In a touching tête-à-tête with Mrs. Bennet, she explains to Harriet that of course she loves her daughters and wants them to be happy. But safety and security come before love. And safety and security are inextricably intertwined with love. I loved that Harriet learns the difference between romance and real love. When Harriet gets back to her real life, the reunion with Ethan is romantic and touching because it is based on a firm foundation. One of the more romantic scenes I remember in a Hallmark, actually. Ethan really steps up to the plate. We skip forward in time, and Harriet is in a bookstore promoting her completed novel. Guess what the title is.

Rating: 10 out of 10.

Round and Round

/ Rebekahrox / 5 Comments

A New Spin

**Spoilers**

As an unabashed Tribute? Homage? Knock-off? of the classic movie, Groundhog Day, this one really works. One can hardly do a time loop movie without embracing and acknowledging that film, and it is referred to often. In fact, it is why our victim, Rachel, knows what is happening to her. And how she describes her dilemma to others. “It’s like I’m in…Groundhog Day! I’m in Groundhog Day!” The movie was full of other pop-culture references as well, which was fun. The fast-paced script sparkles with self-aware humor and clever dialog. But this version of a time loop movie has enough twists and divergences to take it off on unexpected and entertaining paths. It goes its own way.

Rachel is an assistant editor at a major publishing house but who once dreamed of being a writer herself. She is in a relationship with an assistant professor at Columbia University. But the first time we see him he is on the phone with her lying to get out of spending the seventh night of Hanukkah with her and her family at their traditional party celebrating the night her parents met. Loser. On the way to the party, Rachel is crashed into by a cute guy spilling all of the traditional jelly donuts she was tasked with bringing to the party. When she gets to her home, there he is again! I think we have a winner. Her grandma Rosie (Paula Shaw) has brought Zach along from the assisted living facility where he teaches art as her driver. (But really to set him up with Rachel). In the course of the evening, Grandma Rosie gives her an antique dreidel that has been in the family for generations. She tells her that “it brings light into the lives of those who spin it.” But when Rachel spins it during the dreidel game the curtains catch on fire. Due to the faulty wiring of their strand of dreidel lights, or so says the fire department. The next morning, Rachel wakes up and immediately realizes the day is repeating itself, setting her on a mission to break the cycle. In doing so, she enlists the help of Zach who is a fantasy role play nerd. He believes her after she predicts everything that is going to happen at the party. He in turn enlists the help of his buddy Seth who is even more of a fantasy nerd. Each day she gets Zach and Seth up to speed and on board to help her. Kind of like a 50 First Dates situation. On the third repeat day, they start to try to find the “inciting incident” that triggered the time loop.  As “experts” in the “field”, Zach and Seth point out that there must be something off in her life and she has to fix it in order to resolve her little problem. In the course of their mission, Rachel dumps her bad boyfriend, shares a Young Adult Fantasy novel she wrote years ago with her new friends, opening herself up to the feedback she has been afraid of, and Zack and Rachel fall in love. Seth is with them through it all and meets his own unlikely soulmate.

Finally, on the 7th night of Hanukkah, Grandma Rosie, and later her family, share a secret with Rachel. With all of the changes Rachel has made in her life and the understanding she has gained, this time when she spins the dreidel, the curtains do not catch on fire and the cycle is broken. But she and Zach have a misunderstanding that part them. The next day is the 8th and last day of Hanukkah, and Rachel must resolve the problem with Zach. We learn that Rachel is not the only one who has been hiding her light under a bushel.

This movie was, for me, the perfect mix of romance and story and full of funny, lovable, and well-crafted characters. The whole cast did an excellent job including the leads who are new fresh faces for Hallmark and veteran actors Paula Shaw and Ric Hoffman as Rachel’s father. It was a warm and wonderful little gem and one that will only improve upon re-watching because of the fun script.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Christmas on Cherry Lane

/ Rebekahrox / 8 Comments

Pass the Advil, Please.

Ohhhh my head!  This one made my brain hurt.  I love ensembles, and movies with multiple stories that tie together in some way are favorites of mine, so I was really looking forward to this one. It did not get off to an auspicious start. We are introduced to 3 different sets of people and their stories. Right off the bat, I hated either the people or what was happening with them. The first featured Erin Cahill and John Brotherton as Lizzie and John, a happy couple expecting their first baby. These two are not my favorite actors, although it may be because of the parts in which I have seen them in the past more than anything personal against their talent. Actually, I was kind of looking forward to having this one change my attitude towards them as Ms. Cahill is a Hallmark mainstay, and John Brotherton looks to become one. And they were fine in this. The two are looking forward to enjoying a quiet Christmas together nesting in their brand-new house and waiting for their baby, when Hell descends upon them in the form of her mother and father. They barge in uninvited and unwelcome announcing they are intruding staying for the holidays. And they have the gall to have invited more members of the family to overflow our couple’s modest little home. And the gall continues. The mother and father start insulting their housekeeping (they haven’t even unpacked the moving boxes yet), implying they are incompetent at everything, and needling John about his job, which is owning a struggling gas station/body shop, unlike Lizzie’s brothers who make a lot of money as professionals. The father even reminds them that he had to help them buy their house. So strike one. I was filled with rage.

In the second story, we meet Regina (a radiant Catherine Bell), who is expecting her two adult children for Christmas Eve dinner. She plans to tell them that she is engaged to be married to her boyfriend Nelson (James Denton), selling their childhood home, retiring, and moving to Florida. The kids do not take it well. At All. They worshipped their late father and love their old home. In fact, they (especially the son) act like petulant brats about it. The son informs his mother that he does not approve of her plans. Regina responds that it is none of his business, they are her and Nelson’s decisions, and he can get on board or….Not. Yay for Regina. Loved it. The son storms out in a self-pitying huff and takes off for a friend’s house. Strike two. So far, all I am getting out of this movie is rage and disgust.

In the third story, we meet Zian and Michael, a gay couple who are hosting a Christmas Eve dinner party for 12 guests, are waiting to be approved as foster parents, and whose kitchen, where Michael, a chef, is cooking the fancy dinner, is still not finished and a wreck. The contractor who is doing the remodel does not inspire confidence (“How badly do you need your oven?”) and is too busy chatting and doing anything else except working on the cabinets, appliances, and countertops. The turkey has to be in by 5pm and it is not looking good. In the midst of the chaos, the couple learns that they have been approved for their first foster child and the little girl will be arriving that very evening. Strike 3. I was angry at the contractor and full of tension over the turkey deadline and the nice couple having to redecorate the little girl’s room, buy her some presents, and prepare for a 15-person dinner party in a matter of hours. And Jonathan Bennett, who plays Michael, gets on my last nerve sometimes.

In fact, these 3 stories take place in the same house, but approximately 25 years apart, in 1973, 1999, and 2023. We learn this about 20 minutes in, in a blink and you might miss them fade-in/fade-out pictures of the house through the years. I knew something of the sort was going on, but I didn’t fully grasp all of the implications until way over halfway through the movie. For some reason, I thought we were only looking at 1973 and 50 years later, and was very confused.  I didn’t get right away that they were all in the same house, but around 25 years apart. Were they members of the same family? Yes? No? Are their ages right though? No. Is this like This is Us? Not Really, but Kinda. I knew that the 3 couples were somehow connected but trying to figure it all out took second place to my anger and disgust with Lizzie’s parents, Regina’s son, and the contractor for the gay couple.

There were some things that I kept seeing that were in all 3 stories besides the house. A helpful neighbor, Daisy, a car, which sometimes looked brand new, and sometimes looked like a beater, and a Christmas ornament. In the end, all of the stories were resolved satisfactorily (if a little too patly) and tears even came to my eyes…even though I wasn’t quite sure why! I understood most of the connections but there were still so many loose ends and links between the 3 families I didn’t comprehend that I had to go through and replay the movie a second time. Thank heavens for fast forward. I’m the type of person that has to understand and fully grasp what is going on. I can’t stand aspects of a story slipping through my fingers. After the second go-round and with the help of Twitter (Ok, Ok, “X”) and Reddit things were clarified considerably. And I also learned that I was not the only one who was tearing their hair out. Once I got all the ins and outs of the timeline and between the characters, I have to say that this was, indeed, a very clever, well-plotted, and touching story with a great message. I even cried a little at the end again, and this time I knew why. But though I loved the ambitiousness, points off for being so worrisome and confusing. That is something I don’t need in a Hallmark movie. More clarity early on would not have been hard to provide. Call me. And we never find out who Linda and Emily are. Do we?

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

A Biltmore Christmas

/ Rebekahrox / 17 Comments

Back to the Golden Age of Hollywood but in North Carolina

I am so relieved that this movie did not disappoint me, which is kind of a miracle. My hopes and expectations were sky-high as soon as I started to read about it almost a year ago. It stars two of my favorite Hallmark actors, who have never been paired together before: the most charismatic Kristoffer Polaha and the most talented actress, Bethany Joy Lenz. It is filmed at Biltmore which I have visited more than several times and love . The production values matched the glamour and distinction of the location. Everything was staged with imagination and attention to detail. The fashions were wonderful which I would expect from any movie starring Ms. Lenz. She is always stylish and her wardrobe always seems to be a cut above the usual you see in a Hallmark production. The whole cast was excellent. Everything was first class, and it looked like no expense was spared.

It’s a time-travel movie. Lucy Hardgrove is a screenwriter who has been hired to write a remake of a 1947 Christmas Classic, His Merry Wife!. The plot of the movie within a movie reminded me of The Bishop’s Wife, starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven. It’s a favorite. Because Lucy is kind of cynical about love, she changes the ending from a happy one to a more somber bittersweet one where the Angel figure chooses to get his wings over sacrificing them to ensure the lovers remain together. The head of the studio does not approve and he sends her to Biltmore House where the movie was originally filmed with hopes that it will inspire her to buy into the original happy ending. While touring with a group, led by Winston, the head tour guide, she comes across an hourglass which was also used in the movie. When she turns it over to start the sand she goes back in time to the 1947 movie set. When the sand runs out she is automatically returned to the present. The first time she travels back she meets the cast and gets a bit part in the movie. Most importantly, she meets the actor Jake Huston, Kristoffer Polaha, who plays The Angel Charlie in the production. It was a star-making role, but he unfortunately died on Christmas Eve, a year after the production was wrapped. Lucy learns there was an alternate ending to the movie (a sad one) that was never filmed. She feels she needs to know more and why the ending was changed to a happy one. On her second trip into the past, she accidentally breaks the hourglass, and until it can be repaired she is stuck in the past. Over the next several days, she and Jake fall in love (good) and she inadvertently changes the future (bad). Before she can get back to her life in the here and now, she has to fix things. Otherwise, disaster, as it is with time travel.

That is the bare bones of the plot, but the movie was layered and complex with interesting side stories and characters, humor, and drama. One of the characters I enjoyed the most was actually in the present. When Lucy first pops back from the past, Margaret, a very southern woman and big fan of His Merry Wife! sees her and of course, being southern, thinks she is a ghost. I can say that because I’m Southern. Lucy is forced to tell her the truth, and Margaret becomes her backup and safety net in case something goes wrong.

The movie ends with a “One Year Later” on Christmas Eve and Lucy is back at Biltmore consulting on the new remake of the classic Christmas movie. Which, based on Lucy’s experiences in the past, now ends happily like the original. Yes, it is the day Jake died 80 years ago and Lucy is saying goodbye to Jake in her heart. Of course, in a Hallmark movie Jake and Lucy cannot remain parted. How they are brought back together was pretty smart and did make sense. Mostly. Of course, there are always questions, but not ones I couldn’t deal with.

The last scene was the perfect cap for the movie. Lucy and Margaret’s tour guide, Winston, who has been the source of much history of the old classic film and Biltmore House itself, ensures that the hourglass will never see the light of day again so Jake and Lucy will never be parted by mistake. Apparently, he knew more than he was letting on a year ago. It was poignant how he did that and it was definitely an “Awwh” moment. The perfect ending.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Where Are You, Christmas?

/ Rebekahrox / 1 Comment

It’s Not Always Black and White

This movie is based on a good premise and cleverly executed with a nice Christmas message that unfortunately kind of didn’t quite live up to my high expectations. Lyndsy Fonseca is splendid as our heroine, Addy. I’ve been a fan since 2021’s Next Stop, Christmas. Addy lives and works in Chicago and has not been home for Christmas in 6 years. She works in the Christmas industry year-round and at Christmas, she takes off for the Maldives. The last thing cynical and overworked Addy wants is to be surrounded by her Christmassy family in her Christmassy town at Christmas time. She has agreed to finally come home because her brother called with the news that he is going to propose to his girlfriend on Christmas Eve and he wants her to be there. (Why??? Is that a thing???) Anyway, she agrees. When she gets home, everything is fine with her family on the surface, but she senses that something is a little off. They seem distant,  especially her father. He is constantly making little digs at his daughter and her past absences at Christmas time, if not in body, as usual, then, this Christmas, in spirit. Her mother gives her a list of Christmas errands to run around town. Everyone is super jolly and happy to see her. All Addy wants to do is decompress by herself in her room. She looks at the Christmas app on her phone and wishes there was no Christmas.  She apparently has never seen a Hallmark Christmas movie before because if she had she never would have done that.  Making a Christmas wish can be very dangerous in a Hallmark movie.

Driving around, she has a car wreck and hits her head. When she wakes up, everything is in black and white and her wish has been granted. Hunter, the owner of the auto repair shop rescues her. No one knows what she means by the term “Christmas.”  All the Christmas decorations are gone. All the Cookies and Charity events are gone. Christmas has been wiped out, as well as all of the color in the town and from its citizens. In an amusing meta moment, her Mom mentions “the New Year’s movie marathon”: “Every year they make like a hundred New Year’s movies and they start airing them in June!” Addy, at the end of her rope, declares, “New Year’s movies are NOT a thing! Christmas movies are a thing!!” She runs around town freaked out and trying to figure out what is going on and why. Everyone is really cold and grouchy. It turns out that no one remembers Christmas until they can remember a happy Christmas memory. Hunter is the first to remember when Lyndsey returns his “Pop’s” Military service ring that fell off in her wrecked car. He regains his color and they are now a team determined to get everyone back to remembering Christmas and turn from black and white back to living color. Michael Rady, a favorite of mine, plays Hunter, a veteran of Afghanistan who seems to be suffering from a mild case of PTSD. The promising romance between him and Addy was not engaging to me. Maybe because he was so sad all of the time.  Or maybe because there was too much other more urgent stuff going on. Eventually, starting with a few people and multiplying slowly and surely, the town starts to remember happy Christmas moments and Christmas is well on the way to coming back. At last, there are only two holdouts: Addy and her father.

 There were so many good things about this movie.  The performances were great, especially by Lyndsy Fonseca and Jim O’Heir, Jerry (or Garry ???) of Parks and Recreation who plays her father.   Lyndsy makes her character likable and funny, as we empathize with her frustration both with Christmas and the lack of it. We admire her determination to bring Christmas back. She even made her quick turn from hating Christmas to missing it believable. Addy could well have been too unsympathetic, especially at the beginning. O’Heir takes her father from mild hurt and petulance over Addy’s absence to hostility and even rage as he sees everyone in town remembering Christmas and regaining their joy except him. As the movie goes on, the people who are still in black and white and still don’t get the whole Christmas thing, get more and more hostile and frustrated with being left behind. It was good writing and thought-provoking. The special effects were on point in the tiniest detail. There would be a town scene almost all in black and white but with a few touches of red and green indicating change. There was good balance between comedy and drama, but the emotion wasn’t there for me. I didn’t like the way the romance part was overshadowed (Maybe I like Michael Rady too much?) I think that it’s the type of movie that will definitely improve upon re-watching though.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost

/ Rebekahrox / 4 Comments

Wooooo Wooooo

Hallmark tried something different here and they pretty much pulled it off. Anna is a newly minted real estate agent who has just unenthusiastically joined her Dad’s firm. She has recently broken up with her fiance, Elliot, and is still hurting from that and the failure of their home restoration business. Elliot, who will soon be moving to Boston to reestablish his business, is still in town in a last-ditch effort to get a historical designation for a house he still wants to restore.

 Anna’s Dad has given her a prime property to sell, which has angered jealous Terrence who thinks he should have gotten it as he has been the firm’s top salesman for 15 years. Terrence is a creepy bad guy, but I saw his point. This is nepotism pure and simple, and is another strike against her toxic father who is domineering and controlling with his princess, Anna.

Although a beautiful old historical mansion, it has never sold or been occupied since the original owners passed away in the 1950s. It is “jinxed.” And we soon find out why. In the introduction, set 100 years prior, we met Ruby, a 1923 flapper and socialite who was having her birthday party at the house. The set decoration and costumes are very well done, bravo Hallmark. She leaves the party briefly to break up with her long-time love who is the chauffeur. They live in two different worlds and are not meant to be. No Sybil and Tom from Downtown Abbey here. We learn that Ruby was killed in an auto accident shortly thereafter, and died regretting her break up and still loving Charlie the Chauffeur. How do we know this? From Ruby! She is a ghost, still lives in the house, and has been scaring off potential new owners ever since her parents died. But something has changed. For the first time, someone can see and interact with her, and it is Anna. Why? What is going on?

The women go from antagonists to friends, working together to get the house into the right hands, i.e. buyers who will not tear it down. Ruby determines to help Anna reunite with Elliot because she senses that if that can happen she can pass over to be with Charlie. But is he waiting for her on the other side or did he move on and find new love after her death?

Humor is provided by Ruby’s first appearances to Anna, her matchmaking efforts, and her introduction and reactions to life in the 21st century. There is some drama with Anna trying to overcome her issues with her relationships with Elliot and her father and trying to save the beautiful house from destruction that selling it would guarantee, thanks to her overbearing and money-grubbing parent. The friendship between ghost and girl is the main focus of this movie. After everything comes to a head, the rather touching and romantic ending reveals why Anna and Ruby had a special connection.

This was a pretty good one, but had some weaknesses that were worrisome to me.

**Spoilers ahead**

Anna does a lot of research into Ruby’s life, but why did she not go back to the library to help Ruby find out what became of Charlie? Anna finds some valuable letters in the attic written to Ruby from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Josephine Baker which help her save the house in the end. But who owns them? I assume her father’s real estate company owns the house since they mentioned just wanting to flip it. But how and from whom did they get it and with all those valuable letters, not to mention antiques still moldering away inside undiscovered? It is never explained why Anna had emotional problems that caused her relationship with Elliot to fizzle and to let her father run roughshod over her. The connection between Charlie and Elliot was nicely done, but the conclusion would have been more effective if there had been a secret familial connection between Anna and Ruby as well. Connecting the two couples more completely would have added a real “Wow” factor to that ending. As always with Hallmark, bothersome plot holes and unanswered questions could have been easily fixed with a few easy tweaks.

**End spoilers**

All of the actors were fine, but special kudos to William Vaughn who played slimy Terrence and Madeleine Arthur who played Ruby. She is a dead ringer for Christina Ricci who recently portrayed Zelda Fitzgerald in an Amazon Prime series. I can’t believe that was a coincidence and did lend a certain something to her portrayal.

This was a 7-star movie for entertainment value (on my special Hallmark scale), but I’m adding an extra star for Hallmark’s effort in trying something new and making a pretty darn good job of it.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Take Me Back for Christmas

/ Rebekahrox / 3 Comments

When You are Granted a Wish, Don’t be Vague.

I was looking forward to this because time travel or alternate reality plots are almost always interesting and involving. I liked the two leads.  Vanessa Lengies handled the comedy and the drama (there is always comedy and drama in Alternate Reality plot lines) like a champ and her quirky beauty was a big plus. In fact, all the actors in this one did a great job. No weak links at all. Corey Sevier has only grown in my estimation in the last little while. He has always been appealing looks-wise, but his performance in Noel Next Door as a slightly disabled stroke victim really sealed the deal for me. I also liked his performance in Love in Translation an UPtv production, as a somewhat nerdy academic. It was kind of obscure and not really very popular, but it’s always stuck with me for some reason. I also noticed that he directed this one as well, and in my opinion, did a fantastic job. I am no expert in cinema by any means, but he made some interesting choices that really stood out for me, from the choice of family photos, to filming one emotional scene at the end showing only the back of Vanessa’s head against the night sky. I don’t know why, but as someone who doesn’t really notice “direction” per se unless it is really bad, I was impressed.

Anyway, enough about Corey. Vanessa plays Renee, a happily married store clerk hoping for a promotion that is never coming and still grieving for her dead mother. The couple is struggling financially because they can’t really afford the house that her mother left her. Her husband Aaron (Corey) wants to sell up and move to New York City to pursue their dreams in the food industry, but Renee is “stuck.” She is afraid of change and does not want to leave her childhood home.

After a particularly bad day at work, she takes a mysterious elf’s offer of a new life by ringing a magic bell. Kimberly-Ann Truong as the elf gives a funny and eccentric performance and was a highlight (Thank-you, no magic Santa in this one). Suddenly Renee is living her dream life. She is the head of a national meal kit company with a very fancy office and a fabulous wardrobe. Sometimes, I swear, you can tell Hallmark’s enthusiasm for a particular project by the female lead’s wardrobe. If so, Hallmark was very enthusiastic about this movie. Vanessa looked fabulous in her very sophisticated and fashion-forward outfits. Or again, maybe it was the director. And then her mother walks into her very sumptuous penthouse. Her mother is alive in this new life and her old cheerful cancer-free self. The only fly in the ointment is that she is no longer married to Aaron. She dumped him in favor of her career. She tracks him down and he has also prospered as the chef and part owner of a restaurant and he is very surprised and not thrilled to see her. If only she can woo him back, save her company (yes, there’s that), save his restaurant (and that), she will really truly have the perfect life now that her mom is now in the land of the living. The only other person who is in both her old life and this new one is her old best friend. They are strangers in this new life, but they meet up and she gives Renee support and kindness in her hour of need. It was kind of random how that worked out. Maybe I need to watch this one again. It won’t be a hardship.

But I digress. Uh oh. Here comes that elf again with some bad news. It all works out in some predictable and unpredictable ways. It really kept me guessing and even worrying. While most of the movie is light-hearted and humorous, it does not shy away from sadness and poignancy toward the end. And yes, lessons are learned. Here’s one free of charge: “When you’ve met your person, home becomes less of a place and more of a feeling.”

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Family for Christmas

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What About the Children?

This is a 2015 movie that I have seen a couple of times. It was on again last night and it got my attention again. This review is more of a rant. And not about the sexist patriarchal message it sends. No, this is one of those time travel movies with children in it and as usual, that makes it very problematic. A career-oriented Lacey Chabert meets a magical Santa who whisks her into another version of her life. One in which, if, 10 years earlier, she had stayed with her college boyfriend and not gone to San Francisco for an internship. In the version of her life she is thrust into, she is a suburban mom happily married to said boyfriend. She has two children she doesn’t know, and we are shown photos of them as babies and growing up with the alternate version of Lacey. Jumping to the end, when she wakes up again back to her “real life” as a career-oriented journalist, she wants to go back to her husband and children she has come to love. She finds that same Santa, and he tells her that she can’t go back, she can only make other choices going forward. The husband is alive and well with another life. But what about the children? They have been wiped off the face of the earth. They had personalities, thoughts, fears, love, friends, and even souls if you will, and they are just gone. They never even existed. That is horrific and tragic. Never have even existed is even worse than dying too young. At one point, if I interpreted it correctly, she goes to their school and they never come out after dismissal. In a Richard Curtis time travel movie, About Time, the hero could go back in time and make other decisions to get it right, only as long as he had no children. Then there were rules and restrictions. The only other way this trope can work is if it is crispy clear that the whole other life experience is only a dream. That is not the case in this one. At the end, she meets up with her old boyfriend who is still available 10 years later, to live her life going forward but this time including love and family with this guy. She still remembers her alternate life and her kids. I don’t even want to think of the effect these memories will have on her life and decisions going forward. Mind. Boggled.

Lacey Chabert is funny and touching in this, and the movie, if you just ignore all of the metaphysical and existential dilemmas is a good fish out of water story. I like time travel tropes. This one is often compared with Tea Leonie and Nick Cage’s Family Man. I need to watch that movie again to see how the children thing is handled. I can ignore all of the other paradoxes the time travel tropes present and just enjoy the movies for the interesting situations they present, both funny, dramatic, touching, and uplifting., But not if they involve children being erased. That is a bridge too far. I don’t know how to rate this. I’ll just give it a 5.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

Five More Minutes: Moments Like These

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Five More Minutes: Take Two. Will there be Three?

This is one of those dramatic heartfelt Hallmarks that show on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. It is a follow-up to last year’s production based on the country song, Five More Minutes. In both, a grieving person gets 5 more minutes with a dead loved one. It looks like it may be an annual thing. I gave the first one 8 out of 10 stars, and I gave this one the same rating.

Ashley Williams is on a roll with me. She plays Kaitlin, a still-grieving widow of a 10-year-old boy, her husband having died 4 years earlier in a car wreck. Her performance was considerably toned down from her old Miss Perky McSparkles energy. She should play brave grieving widows more often. She still flashes that killer smile, but you know what? The girl can’t help it. There is some concern about her son, who though a nice kid, has become more and more withdrawn and introverted since his father’s death. Kaitlin goes home to Colorado from Los Angeles to spend Christmas with her husband’s family and decide what to do with her beloved home which has been vacant for the last 4 years.  She has received a very tempting job offer from a regular client but she would have to relocate to London.

While at a local Christmas fair, she meets a nice handsome man, Matthew, who it turns out was an old schoolmate and friend of her husband. They really hit it off, but the relationship suffers a blow when he fails to disclose that he is the representative of a huge corporation that covets her house and land. Luckily for their budding romance/friendship, her trust is restored with his explanation, apology, contrition, and his very positive relationship with her son. Also, in a clear conflict of interest, he is helping her to fix up the house in order for her to get the best price possible from his employer or another party. This seemed very shady to me.  His employer, who is also a friend and kind of worships the ground he walks on because of his honesty and integrity (?!) lets this go for some reason and in fact wants to hire him for his New York office.

Meanwhile, her son is having short encounters with progressively older boys every few days. They disappear mysteriously but not before leading him to friendship, community involvement, and finding his hidden talents.  He is finally healing and blossoming in this new community of Hollowford. Cameo Alert: Nikki Deloach as Clara Bingham, the art teacher and lead in the first Five More Minutes.

Everything comes to a head when she decides to sell the house to Matthew’s business partner for a ton of money and move to London. Things start to fall apart with her relationship with her son, who wants to stay in Hollowford,  the sale of the house, and her relationship with Matthew. She goes down to the basement in despair and what she sees there shows her that the boys her son has mentioned are none other than her dead husband coming back to help their son and who, in a  kind of spooky jump scare, then appears to her. They talk for 5 minutes.

The kid actor was fantastic with a layered, touching, and authentic performance in a part that could have been annoying. I can take or leave Lucas Bryant, but he made a good match with Ashley Williams.  I liked that when Matthew and Kaitlin felt that surge of sexual attraction, they actually admit and knowledge that to each other openly. That is actually quite unusual for Hallmark couples to do. Usually, they just gaze soulfully or have an almost kiss which is not attempted again until the very end. The owner of the development company that had a signed contract on Kaitlin’s house, did something at the end for no good reason. It was weird and made no sense. Nevertheless, I could watch another one of these Five More Minutes movies with no hesitation whatsoever. It’s a good concept, and so far they have been well done.

Rating: 8 out of 10.