Fake Dating

Adventures in Love & Birding

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Love Birds

Back to the Hallmark saltmines (I kid) after a three week hiatus while The Groomsmen trilogy was being shown instead of new premieres. I had already seen them thanks to a free trial of Hallmark+. They weren’t horrible or anything, but not particularly memorable either and I had no desire to see them again for reviewing purposes. 

This seemed like it could be a promising back to business movie as it paired two longtime Hallmark veterans for the very first time in a Hallmark (which was hard to believe). Predictably, they were very good together in this first of the “Fall Into Love” grouping. Only a few weeks until “Countdown to Christmas!” Yikes!  Rachel Boston was her usual very very animated self and Andrew Walker was Andrew Walker, which is a pretty good thing. It was about the hobby of birding which was different. They were age appropriate for their roles which caused the movie not to lose 1 (or sometimes 2) stars in my 1 to 10 star rating scale.

Rachel plays Celeste who was recently dumped by her husband of 22 years. She is fine though, other than the usual busybody friends who are trying to set her up with various men and are constantly hounding her to “get back out there” when all she wants to do is reorganize the garage. She is also a little verklempt because her high school senior daughter will be going away to college soon. She wants to spend more time with her but her daughter has her own busy life. Actually, her daughter is trying to distance herself a little to prepare for the wrench of leaving her home and Mom. Also she is nursing some doubts about going to college right away, but we don’t know that yet. Andrew plays John who was recently dumped by his long time girlfriend and birding partner. He quit pursuing his doctorate and left teaching for an office job which pissed her off. He likes the outdoors and wants to start his own birding guide business. (Add this one to the Hallmark Dubious Business list.) Celeste is recruited by a mutual friend to be John’s birding partner in the annual NorCal Ornithological Society’s Bird-a-Thon. And Celeste gets the idea that she is supposed to pretend like she is his fake girlfriend as well as mutual birding enthusiast to show up the cheating competitive b**ch who is also participating. She is mistaken in this extra assignment, which leads to an amusing first meeting with John in front of his Ex and her new partner/boyfriend. The stakes are a lot higher this year because a corporate sponsor has put up prize money to the tune of “5 figures”. So if he wins it, the 10,000 to 99,999 dollar prize (I’m guessing closer to the lower figure) will decide John’s path in life: risk going into the Bird guide business or staying on the corporate fast track at the office. By the way, the number of different birds each couple count in the 3 week long contest (the highest count wins), is run on the honor system. That seemed very naive to me especially this year since money was involved. They couldn’t take a picture of the birds they spot? Just to keep honest people honest? Sounds like Bad Business to me.

Anyway, bird montages and romance ensue. Besides the birding, Celeste and John also attend some outside functions together and the relationship building was good. Extra points for a rare mid-movie uninterrupted kiss. Rachel and Andrew had an easy rapport and really played well together. The secondary story of Celeste and her daughter Morgan’s changing relationship and Morgan’s doubts about her future played well also. I even had a little sniffle at  the end. Speaking of Morgan, the actress who played her, Talisa Mae Stewart looked awfully familiar. It turns out she is a dead ringer for similarly named Taissa Farmiga who played Gladys in The Gilded Age.

Talisa
Taisa

 

So that was pretty interesting. The last minute temporary break up was dumb as usual but at least it didn’t involve hearing one half of a private conversation while eavesdropping and totally getting everything ass-backwards. All in All, lots more good than bad. A respectable but unspectacular “7”.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Santa Tell Me

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Hallmark Christmas meets Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

For a long time, I wasn’t all that much of a fan of Erin Krakow, but in her last several movie she has really won me over. When the script has been good, she has delivered her lines with aplomb, and handled both the comedy and the little dramatic moments with expertise. At times she has been downright hilarious. I don’t notice her resting face, which I think of as “wholesome placidity” too much anymore. And she really won me over when, in the last Hallmark she was in, she washed off all of her makeup before going to bed. The last few Saturday night #CountdownToChristmas premiers have been very good, and this one was no exception. The script was amusing with some good lines and good physical comedy, a little mystery and tension, and a bit of paranormal activity, otherwise know as Christmas Magic. The acting was excellent from the whole cast. Although I am not a “Heartie” (fan of the long running Hallmark series, When Calls the Heart) I know that the reunion of Elizabeth, played by Ms. Krakow, and her late and, lately, very lamented Mountie/husband, Jack, played by the male lead in this one, Daniel Lissing, has been much ballyhooed.

Olivia is an interior designer who works behind the scenes on the “Style Home Network.” Classic Hallmark female profession. She is tapped to host a Christmas Special, and if she pulls it off successfully, she will get her own series. Again, classic. However, to her dismay they are putting the creator of a raunchy reality show, “Model Home”, (about many fashion models living together in one house) in charge. His name is Chris, and they immediately get off on the wrong foot and rub each other the wrong way from the get go. Enemies to Lovers. Check. He has the bright idea of choosing Olivia’s dilapidated childhood home for the big makeover, and Olivia reluctantly goes along with it after much protest. While doing some preliminary work on her old home with her sister, i.e. drinking wine (favorite Hallmark drink other than hot cocoa), they see a strange glow coming from a kind of cupboard and hear the tinkling of bells. When they investigate, they find an envelope addressed to Olivia and inside a childhood letter she wrote asking Santa for the name of her one true love. Also enclosed is a blank sheet of paper,  and to her shock words start magically writing themselves in gold saying that her true love’s name is “Nick.” Santa is writing back 25 years later! Remember Harry Potter opening Tom Riddle’s diary and seeing the writing spookily form by itself? That’s exactly what it looked like! Or the writing inside the One Ring to Rule Them All. Or Dolores Umbridge’s blood quill writing on the back of Harry’s hand, for that matter. Olivia declares it poppycock, and throws the magical letter in the garbage! Can you imagine? That’s when I knew that this, despite the cliches, might go purposely just far enough off the rails to be interesting. Because seriously? A glowing tinkling self-writing letter right out of Chamber of Secrets only from Santa, and she throws it in the trash? (Twice?!)

Right off the bat, she “meets cute” with three guys named Nick, two of which are big Hallmark stars in their own right. This is another thing Hallmark has been doing lately. All three are instantaneously smitten, lucky for her. One is a pediatric surgeon with Doctors Without Borders who once had to tame a reindeer to get medicine to sick children (really), and the other is a master carpenter whose work Olivia has always admired. The other one is a hot fireman calendar dude (never a serious contender.) While she is dating all 3 secretly (because now she believes one of them is her soulmate-she just needs to figure out which one) she and Chris get to know each other better and start to fall for each other. But Chris’s name is not Nick so that’s a problem, especially since she has realized that none of the three Nicks is really right for her. It all comes to a disastrous head on live TV during her Christmas Special.

Virtually everyone in the  supporting cast seemed to have a lot of fun with their roles, especially Benjamin Ayers and Christopher Russell as Nick A and Nick B. Jess Brown as Olivia’s sister had some nice moments as did Russell Roberts as a subtle Santa figure. When Hallmark shows they don’t take themselves too seriously by injecting some self-deprecating humor and inside jokes into the proceedings, it always plays well with me. And this one includes a healthy amount of that with the Magic Santa, the names of the male characters, their professions, the meet-cutes (coffee spillage!), and all sorts of little details. **Spoiler Alert** Chris’s real first name is Nick. Chris is his middle name. **End spoiler** No cliche is left by the wayside, but in a fun way. I give this one an “8” and that’s 7 in a row, if I round one up, which is some kind of record.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Holiday Mismatch

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Witchy Women

This is a comedy of misunderstandings and I loved it. Beth Broderick and Caroline Rhea were hilarious in their roles of two meddling mothers who find themselves working together on their town’s Christmas committee but who have completely opposite approaches to life. Barb is a recently retired head of accounting and a new volunteer. She is the  consummate professional: always organized, formal, and controlling- in fact, she is everything that goes along with that personality type. She finds her complete opposite in Kath, a employee of the chamber of commerce and longtime head of the committee.  She is loud and friendly, slap-dash and fun-loving. She gets the job done every Christmas, but always, one imagines, within an inch from disaster. When Barb (A-RAH, thank you very much) meets Kath the sparks of dislike and disapproval immediately fly. But they do have one thing in common. They love their children and think that their meddling in their lives is the only path by which the two grown children can achieve happiness. Rebelling against their mothers, Barbara’s son is the opposite of her, adventurous and impractical, and Kath’s daughter is a serious and hard working perfectionist. Shane is an actor who owns a tumbledown theatre, and Lauren is an architect who bears a strong resemblance to old Hallmark regular Jen Lilley

 The two mothers, meddling as usual, fix the two up on a blind date, not knowing that they are each others kids. When they find out, they are horrified, and immediately start working together to bust them up. Meanwhile Shane and Lauren conspire to “fake date” to keep their respective mothers off their backs about going on dates. The more the two mothers work together the more they learn to like each other and the more the young couple fake dates, the more they start to fall for each other for real. The mothers’ gradual bonding was very fun.

Of course everything gets messed up. The two mothers end up at loggerheads again, the young couple deciding not to see each other for real or fake, and both mothers end up in their children’s black books for interfering in their lives.

Of course happy endings abound professionally and personally for the two young lovers and the two mothers, proving once and for all (NOT!) that opposites really do attract.

This movie is a hoot from beginning to end, and I never ever even saw one episode of Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. To my fellow ignoramuses, Beth Broderick and Caroline Rhea used to star in the old Melissa Joan Hart vehicle together as sister witches, and there were many easter eggs and homages to the sitcom embedded in the script (apparently.)

Sorry, I can’t leave this review without pointing out that the actor who played Shane, Jon McLaren, looks exactly like the actor Patrick Wilson.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

The Christmas Charade

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Charade…A Nod to a Classic Caper Flick?

Whitney is an elementary school librarian who has always been wrapped in a cocoon of safety by her parents who own a home security firm. Reading a Christmas story to the kids, she concludes with a lecture on the dangers of using incandescent bulbs on a Christmas tree. The kids look at her quizzically. Rachel Skarsten is as appealing as heck in this role. She is single of course, and doesn’t use an online dating app because, you know, Murderers! And she has the stats to back it up. Plus, she is timid and shy, though one senses she wants to break out of her shell.

While on a blind date set up by a trusted friend, she sits down in front of the wrong guy in a green sweater and gets roped into an FBI sting operation. Corey Sevier is Josh, the FBI agent who does not act at all like a blind date should. When she is put in the picture she plays along and gets invited to help plan a Christmas Ball by the FBI target’s girlfriend. The very party that Josh needs to get into to trap his man! Unable to extricate herself without endangering the operation, Whitney agrees to be a part of the sting,  much to Josh’s consternation and objections. Josh is a surly lone wolf type who grew up in foster care, does not have a family, and is not a Christmas fan. “It’s just another day to me”. Cue montage of Josh “training” Whitney in basic FBI survival skills. Since Whitney learned how to defend herself at an early age thanks to her parents, during the martial arts tutorial she whips Josh’s butt. Whitney starts to enjoy herself. In fact, throughout the movie, Whitney proves to be much better at Josh’s job than Josh is. He is played by Corey Sevier, who is as good in his role as Rachel is in hers.  The chemistry between the two was terrific, as it has to be between the two leads in a caper movie. Or was this a parody of a caper movie? When I think about it, I’m going to go with parody. Nothing concerning their mission is grounded in reality and they are laughably inept at everything they do to catch the bad guys. But they never get caught out because the bad guys are even more inept. This theory also covers some inexplicable plot holes that I would have to blame someone for. It was helmed by the directing and writing team of  Corey, who is a favorite of mine, and his writing partner and real-life wife, Kate Pragnell.  What was with that Tango scene that dropped into the movie out of nowhere? And the magic rope that formed a loop in midair? The script was cute and clever. At one point when Whitney and Josh are crawling through the ventilation system, Whitney quotes from Die Hard, “the best Christmas movie ever.” Yes, they went there.

The one strike against this movie, for me, was Whitney’s parents. They made me feel very stabby, especially her controlling father, who smothered her with over-protectiveness for most of the movie. I don’t want to spoil anything (this time) but in a very funny twist at the end, their whole schtick led to the best scene in the movie. All was forgiven by me, (but not Whitney.) That is, until the inevitable reconciliation scene which concludes the story. Of course we also have the kiss at the very end when Whitney and Josh decide to be girlfriend and boyfriend for reals.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

‘Twas the Date Before Christmas

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A Blind Date Christmas

**spoilers**😉

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate and enjoy the fact that Amy Groening, seemingly forever relegated to the role of best friend, co-worker, sister, colleague, etc. Has been finally promoted to main girl in a Hallmark Romance? Hopefully this is a trend not a blip. Of course she was wonderful and authentic as usual. And she hit the jackpot drawing Robert Buckley as her leading man. The two had a great natural chemistry.

We meet Jessie and Shelly, her friend and sister-in-law, discussing Jessie’s disappointing luck with dating apps. Jessie is trying to move forward after a mysterious broken engagement (I mean who would break up with Amy Groening?)  She gets a visit from her mother who tells  her that they are foregoing what would be the 23rd annual  traditional “Chamberlain Family Christmas Olympics” to avoid upsetting her and stirring up old memories of happier days. Jessie loves Christmas and their family traditions and is upset and guilty that it is being canceled because of her. On an impulse, she lies to  her mother that she was going to bring a date to the festivities so they can’t cancel and disappoint him. Her mother does a 180, thrilled and excited that her daughter is finally moving on from her romantic disappointment. But now Jessie has to find a guy that is willing to meet her family on their first date and embrace the Christmas fun for the whole day.

Meanwhile we meet Bryan whose company is about to build an innovative affordable housing complex, replacing existing retail shops. There is one candle shop that is the last hold out and his company is about to serve her an eviction notice to his discomfort. Even though Bryan’s father founded the company and he will eventually be the head honcho, he is not ready for that right now. His interests are more about the actual building and creating, not in being the lord of all he surveys. Bryan reluctantly agrees to the eviction however because the company cannot afford not to build, and he does not have a viable alternative plan.

When Bryan’s friends find out he will be spending Christmas alone and see Jessie’s dating profile which has been altered to make attendance at her family’s wacky Christmas Eve festivities mandatory, Bryan is intrigued. They start texting and then meet up. The two have an easy rapport and share the same sense of humor. It’s A Blind Date Christmas!

I love an ensemble movie and although this one was mostly focused on Jessie and Bryan it was chock full of quirky and amusing family members and warm interactions. The usual plot points crop up: lonely Bryan is fully embraced by the family, many Christmas games and other hijinks ensue including the usual cookie baking, gift wrapping, tree decorating, snow ball fighting, etc. Since no ice skating was involved I was able to tolerate all of the shenanigans. Plus, each event has its own offbeat spin. Some of the family figure out that the couple are not only not almost engaged (yes, that misunderstanding happens) but barely know each other thanks to the Couple’s Quiz.  And, as always, the big conflict/secret is always lurking in the wings. Soon after the Christmas Eve events commence, Bryan finds out out that the little candle shop that his company is about evict belongs to the aforementioned Shelly. What. Are. The. Chances?

It is soon clear that Jessie and Bryan are made for each other even though it is only their first date. Their relationship was fun and sweet, thanks to the two actors and their camaraderie. When  Jessie tells him about her sad broken engagement it brings them even closer together. When the whole truth comes out regarding the couples’ relationship and Bryan’s true identity, the fit really hits the shan. “Are you telling me that a complete stranger might win the Chamberlain Family Christmas Olympics!?” Bryan leaves but soon finds a solution that will benefit the whole community and allow Shelly to keep her store. The family is eager to welcome him back into their good graces. He finally takes control over the direction of his company and scores a second date with Jessie on New Year’s Eve, no less. “ Too Late. I accept.”

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Friends & Family Christmas

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Family Friendly

Hallmark has had at least several movies with lesbian romances playing a part as a side story, and in one case, as an equal share of the romance plot line. But this is the first one in which such a romance was the whole focus of the story. And it was really good and well done.

Ali Liebert, a Hallmark favorite in front of and behind the camera plays Amelia who is an attorney on the partnership track at her father’s firm. He is concerned about her because she suffered a broken engagement and is still sad and not ready for dating yet. But he keeps bugging her.  Dani is an aspiring professional photographer who has yet to make her mark. She works at an Artist’s Lab and is trying to live her dream in New York City. She cannot leave to visit her parents for Christmas because she is very busy working on a project that might lead to a Travel Grant.  Dani’s father and Amelia’s father are old friends and set the women up under false pretenses. They get off to a somewhat of a rocky start but have a friendly parting. But then Amelia’s Dad reminds her that she is expected to attend the annual firm Christmas party and bring a date. And Dani’s parents unexpectedly arrive on her doorstep for Christmas. Her mother has boundary issues, but thank goodness they are staying at a B&B, not with Dani in her little apartment. A quick note. Dani’s mother is a world-renowned novelist and her father is a preeminent mathematician. I loved that. It also explains how Dani can afford the very nice apartment. And that she has some insecurity issues to conquer. The women get together again because of a mix-up over their gloves. Things go great this time and they decide to Fake Date to keep their respective parents off their backs. Also, Dani will be Amelia’s plus-one at that confounded Christmas Party.

This is basically the standard fake dating turns-to-real love trope except that…you know. But it’s so sweet! The parents are nice and don’t do anything too dumb. They just love their daughters and heartily approve of the new love interests. Ali and Humberly Gonzales, who plays Dani, seem to have a great rapport. Both are gay in real life. The script is sparkly and witty, the plot and character development kept me interested and the production values are tops. The love between the two women evolves gradually and realistically which is not always the case in Hallmark movies. I really believed their relationship.

All of the actors were great, but Ali Liebert was fantastic. She starts off very stiff and comes off a little cold and intimidating, as she should. The gradual melting of her facade was done very effectively. When it looks like a breakup is imminent (yes, there is the tried and true last-minute misunderstanding based on failure to communicate), she conveys vulnerability and bravery with her nuanced performance. She was very touching and really commanded the screen. I liked that although they were a couple at the end, Dani did not give up her dream of travel (She won the grant). But it is made clear they will visit and Dani will always come home to Amelia.

I am betting that the title of this movie was a gibe at the Great American Family channel which was formed to provide a “family-friendly” alternative to Hallmark’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity. I am happy that the network and its movies are doing terribly while Hallmark goes from strength to strength ratings-wise while putting a quality product on the air.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

When Love Springs

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What Does that Title Even Mean?

Adorkableness is hard to do right and Rhiannon Fish was way over the top in this. No one acts this nutty, bubbly, and cute in real life without blowing a gasket. It was exhausting, but thank goodness she did manage to tone it down later in the movie.

Ms. Fish plays Rory, a “junior publicist” whose big dream is to become a partner in her firm. She works for the owner, a very angry and unpleasant task master who holds Rory’s ambition over her head to pile on the work. She and her goofy sister (she carries around a toaster) are joining her parents on vacation at the B&B where they first met to help them renew their vows. Rory has agreed to work while on vacation but continually misses deadline after deadline because she is so distracted by A) The handsome son of the Inn owner who is running the thing while his Dad is out of town, B) Her old boyfriend who dumped her and has shown up at the B&B with a beautiful new girlfriend, and C) Her scheme in which she gets Noah the B&B guy to pose as her new boyfriend to make old boyfriend jealous and save face. In return, she will use her expertise to rebrand the B&B to impress an important travel critic who can hopefully save the Inn with a good review.

Despite a towel shortage, no WiFi, no televisions in the rooms, no pool, and no employees, the big push to wow the travel critic is to ignore all that and have her sister design a new logo.

The fake boyfriend plan and the usual entertaining shenanigans that trope entails kind of fall by the wayside while Rory and Noah swan around the countryside falling for each other. I should say falling further because it was pretty much a coup de foudre for them both. No old boyfriend in sight. Rory is all set to ditch her job with her always-irate boss when Noah declares his undying…friendship. Rory is understandably confused as was I.  I guess it had something to do with Rory hugging her ex Jason after his new girlfriend dumped him. Seemed pretty obvious she was just being nice, but whatever. With Rory’s guidance, the B&B leans into the homey, no-frills, or fancy amenities vibe. When Penny the travel critic finally shows up she is impressed and writes a favorable article. Rory’s boss calls her (irate as usual) about the article because Rory has broken faith with her by neglecting her work and missing deadlines all the while working for someone else. I really couldn’t blame her for being angry. But Rory, Instead of just quitting because, Wow, her scary boss really really hates her, and her future with the company is now kaput anyway, she fights with Noah and ditches her parents’ ceremony in order to be back on the job Monday morning.

When next we see her, she is back at the B&B just in time for her parents’ celebration. She has seen the light, but we are cheated as the whole “Take this job and shove it, you crazy b***h” happens off-stage.

Even though the plot didn’t live up to expectations, there were some bright spots. Rhiannon Fish’s wardrobe was sophisticated and stylish. Loved the polka dot halter dress which was actually not the color in the above picture, but a very pretty eggplant purple. The scenery was gorgeous, although someone fell a little too much in love with the split screens. James William O’Halloran as Noah is a find. He is very attractive and really effective as the love interest. His appeal was enhanced by the actor who played Rory’s ex, who was fine, but looked like a kid next to him. It was never believable that Rory would be even mildly tempted to give him a second chance with Noah gazing at her hotly. Finally, Rory’s family was a plus. I liked her sister, who ditched the toaster, and her parents in particular were sweet, understanding, and sensible. Fun and odd fact: The entire cast is from Australia. A grumpy**6**.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

A Paris Proposal

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**spoilers**

Diamonds are Forever and Paris is Always a Good Idea

Going by the previews this had the feel of a placeholder-type Hallmark artificially bolstered by an exotic location.  They hope their loyal viewers won’t notice a mediocre plot, an unengaging romance, and the usual Hallmark set pieces (sight-seeing, festival attending, gala going, etc.) our attention being diverted by the on-location shooting, the foreign accents, and the scenery. And to be sure, we are not spared from a few of the above-mentioned activities. But it was better than that. Of course, the authentic scenery of Paris was a big plus. But the romance was good too and there was plenty of suspense and drama. And no frolicking in the kitchen! And child-free!

Anna and Sebastian are tasked by their boss to work together in Paris to reel in a huge client for their advertising agency.  The two colleagues are poles apart as far as their personalities and approach to their profession. But their boss feels that together, they will balance each other out. Sebastian will help Anna regain her creativity and think outside the box, and Anna will balance Sebastian’s swing for the fences approach to advertising campaigns that ignore such pedestrian things as budgets and other practical considerations. To wit: he once burned down the coat department of his family’s famous and elite department store by staging an indoor promotion that featured flame throwers. So Yeah. He was fired from the business and his family both. Anna is just a stick in the mud. To be fair, the one time she did something unplanned and impulsive was in Paris and it led to a disastrous 1-year marriage and a divorce.  In their initial meeting with their clients, Anna, in a slip of the tongue, inadvertently kinda sorta tells them that she and Sebastian are married. Their clients, the blissfully married owners of Durand Diamonds are charmed. It is A & S’s job to lose.

What follows is the usual keeping up the pretense of being married alternating with crises of conscience for lying to their very nice clients. The two walk around Paris, and despite their totally opposite personalities, they grow closer and start falling in love for reals. They also struggle to come up with a stellar advertising campaign with the added pressure of a rival agency head, who is a nasty piece of work, breathing down their necks. Adding to their guilt and pressure is Sebastian’s estranged family who welcomes Anna into the fold. Oh boy. Even the mean father,  who just can’t let the flame thrower incident go for some reason,  starts to soften toward his son.

Alexa PenaVega is not a Hallmark actress I go out of my way to watch, but I liked her in this. Nicholas Bishop as Sebastian was a charmer and very cute. They were well cast and worked well together. Other pluses were some amusing banter between the two leads and Anna’s fashions, which were quite bold and fashionable. I liked the diamond angle as well. Really tired of chocolate, wine, and baked goods. It all comes to a head during The Big Gala when the nasty rival publicly outs our couple as unmarried liars. They are not only humiliated and lose the account but get fired by their boss right then and there in front of all of the glittering gala guests and Sebastian’s family! They turn on him and basically kick him out of the family. Again.  Hallmark did not spare our couple one bit. Which I also liked. Poor Sebastian. Even Anna yelled at him and blamed him before having a change of heart.

In the last 10 minutes, they start to scratch their way back to a happy ending by each taking the blame, Anna to his family and Sebastian to the Durands. In the “one year later” epilogue, they have opened their own Ad Agency in Paris, have two big accounts (guess who?), and are engaged. The ending montage was cute and clever.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

#Xmas

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#fakehusband #fakebaby #funnymother

Fake boyfriend is one of my favorite tropes. Ok, it is my favorite. And this one ups the ante by making it a fake husband and baby. A talented but struggling interior design and lifestyle store owner tries to boost her business by winning a social media contest. To increase her chances she needs a husband and a baby. Her best friend, Brant Daugherty, Max, who of course has been in love and longing for her for years is designated as the husband and her sister just happens to have a baby handy. Clare Bowen as the female lead was a bit of a mixed bag. She brought a lot of energy and commitment to the role, but at times she came across as over the top and a tad hammy. As Jen, she is commitment-averse due to her mother’s parenting. Mom is played by Karen Kruper who is a hoot. Her name is Liz Taylor and she lives up to that name. When Jen’s father died, instead of avoiding romance and focusing on her children like all good Hallmark widows and divorcees do, her mother went in the opposite direction and went looking for love in all the wrong places. By the time we meet her, she is on her 4th husband and 4 times is the charm, because he is a great guy and they are happy. But stability came too late for poor Jen. While on the way to the Bahamas with her sensible new husband, Jen’s mother sees her daughter’s video with her “husband” and “son”, and she is shocked and dismayed. “Honey, just give her some space.” “She got married and had a baby without telling me! How much space does she need? Outer space?!” Yes, there was plenty of sharp dialogue and funny lines. And she scraps her tropical Christmas getaway and returns home to bond with her daughter post haste.

Also adding some interest was the successful couple who are mega stars in the business and are holding the contest. Outwardly happy, they are struggling in their marriage. For a light-hearted and funny movie there’s a lot of angst in this one. In addition to Jen’s issues with her mother, and her issues with her relationship with Max, we have her guilt over the deception and her fear of exposure. When the inevitable happens, we have that drama as well.

I really enjoyed seeing Anna Van Hooft sporting a gorgeous new look in a “good guy” role for a change. She plays the happily married supportive sister instead of the evil girlfriend she often excels at. It all ends as it should with lessons learned, families reconciled, and a particularly great kiss. If I have a quibble, the ending was a little too abrupt. I’m probably getting a little too used to final wrap-up scenes or “One year later”s.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Wedding of a Lifetime

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A Breath of Fresh Air

**spoilers**

Jake and Darby have known each other for 15 years and engaged for 10. Yes, I know. But there was a career-derailing skiing accident and Nana ( the wonderful Paula Shaw) had health issues. It will be no surprise that they are in a rut and have lost that special spark. In fact, they are about ready to call it a day and break up when their parents and friends enter them in the “Wedding of a Lifetime” competition on national television. Rather than hurt their loved ones’ feelings they decide to enter and lose on purpose. Unfortunately, they both are pretty competitive and hate to lose.

This was a breath of fresh air.  Even though we all knew where this was going, the plot was new and fresh, not one of the usual in the Hallmark grab bag. The acting by Jonathan Bennett was top-notch both in comic scenes and dramatic scenes.  Brooke D’Orsay is always very appealing and lends sweetness and authenticity to any production, but this one gave her more to work with than usual.  Her scenes of heartbreak were very affecting and her comedic ones were amusing. She is one of the best criers at Hallmark, the other being Allison Sweeney.

The couple acted like rational mature adults. Even though they have an argument, they don’t flounce off in a snit.  Darby gets great news via text right in the middle of it, and the argument is forgotten and Jake is happy for her and supportive. The next day, they apologize to each other. What a concept!

Thanks to working together as a team they find their way back together and decide to give their relationship another chance. They win the competition, and “The Wedding of a Lifetime”. But it’s not over yet! When Darby has to deal with a hilarious wedding dress from hell (see picture but with braids like Heidi), and Jake is given fake groomsmen, they both quit in despair and walk out at the same time. Is it the notorious “Big Misunderstanding?” It’s about 15 minutes til the end, after all. NO! They embrace in solidarity in the middle of the street. Damned if it’s not the opposite of “Big Misunderstanding!”

With the gratifying side story of their failing businesses saved by the publicity from the show, this would be an 8 out of a 10. But I’m adding a point for the cute graphics, the funny bickering TV hosts, and the excellent cast of secondary characters. Not to mention a pretty hot scene on a balance beam.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

September 20, 2022