Food or Drink-based

The Christmas Secret

/ Rebekahrox / 19 Comments

Great Acting Makes this One Shine

The main attraction for me, in deciding to re-watch this Hallmark Christmas movie from way back in 2014 was Bethany Joy Lenz. She is a very talented actress, very likable in all of her efforts with Hallmark, and is an excellent comedienne. She didn’t have too much of an opportunity in this one to show off her great comic timing, but she really touched my heart in this portrayal as a down-and-out single mother who is being harassed by her heinous ex-husband. He was credibly played by Greyston Holt, who we usually see as a Hallmark hero these days-I really hated his guts.

Actually, she is only down and out for the first 20 minutes or so, because as soon as she gets fired from her job as a waitress for being late for work, it is all uphill from there. She’s late because she saved a woman’s life(Susan Hogan).  She loses her beloved locket in the process, but magically, good things start to happen. She gets a much better job in a bakery with a nice lady, Betty. She meets a nice handsome man who is looking for the woman who saved his step-mother’s life. (Guess who?) Due to mistaken identity, he does not find her until the end. Her daughter has a fall and is concussed, but she’s OK and it leads to her meeting the lady that her mother rescued. Through coincidences and magical doings, everything bad turns into good for our lovable brave heroine.

I do want to especially give kudos to the two actors who played Christine’s children. They were both great, but Jaeda Lily Miller is a treasure. She is probably the most talented Hallmark child actress ever, and in this one, one of her first efforts, she is absolutely adorable. She steals every scene she is in.

And the icing on the cake that really sets this one apart is that Christine gets a big romantic kiss from her nice handsome man well before the last scene. No tentative interrupted at the last second chaste tender one either, but a real seal-the-deal sexy kiss.

I gave this one a 10 back in 2014. Yep, still a 10.

Rating: 10 out of 10.

June 29, 2021

Season for Love

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Follows the Usual Recipe

With the preponderance of food-related careers among our Hallmark protagonists, I suppose it was only a matter of time before we entered the world of competition Barbecue. This one was not bad due to the presence of Autumn Reeser, one of the better Hallmark Actresses. In fact, everyone did a good job of getting the most out of their lines. Otherwise, it was strictly by the Hallmark cookbook, and totally predictable. Noteworthy, however, in this entry, was a nice ex-husband with whom our heroine had no conflict whatsoever. He was a good father, and even the new love interest, an excellent Marc Blucas, liked him, and visa versa.**6 stars out of 10**

Rating: 6 out of 10.

August 28, 2018

Cooking With Love

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This should Cement Ali Liebert’s Place in the Hallmark Pantheon of Female Leads

After several turns as “the best friend” of the heroine, where she has all but out shown the leads, Ali Liebert has finally been getting much deserved leading roles in these Hallmark seasonal romances. This one is the best yet. Kudos to Hallmark for recognizing her appeal and giving her prominent roles. I hope she becomes as ubiquitous as Chabert, Reiser, Boston, McKellar, and several others.

This one is also helped by a tightly woven plot, good character development, and an attractive leading man who has a real arc into becoming (or being revealed as) a good guy after all. I must quibble at this point over one plot hole. Our hero, a diva chef, has his career almost ruined by a viral video of him throwing food on a restaurant critic in a fit of temper. He reveals later that the video edited out the fact that prior to the food on the lap incident, the victim had made his waitress cry by being so mean to her. Why didn’t he just explain that on Facebook or Twitter? Instead of needing an image rehabilitation, he becomes a hero. It is also absent some of the overdone stupid gimmicks that most of these Hallmarks seem to hinge on. No angels, City bad, country good, factory shuttings, time travel, nor I Hate (just fill in the holiday). What keeps it from getting a higher rating from me is the lack of depth, suspense, pathos, or super hot chemistry between the leads. But it’s good. Really good.

Ali has the super nice girl who is maybe a little too nice role down pat. Plus she has the most energetic eyebrows I’ve ever seen. Very cute, if a bit distracting. Couldn’t take my eyes off of them.**8 out of 10 stars**

Rating: 8 out of 10.

February 26, 2018

Autumn in the Vineyard

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Cheers!

One of the better productions in a long time. Set in beautiful wine country, the countryside was gorgeous. Rachel Leigh Cook makes a great Hallmark heroine and her chemistry with the love interest was very good. It started out with some good conflict with her father who not only took her for granted but figuratively slapped her in the face by denying her her rightful place in his business. She rightly struck out on her own by buying her own vineyard, much to his dismay. I love a good comeuppance story. The plot moved on nicely, forcing the h/h to co-manage their vineyard which was somehow sold to both of them at the same time. They had a history and a rivalry already, which added interest to their romance and the development of their relationship. There was a little hint of a secondary romance of an older couple (the hero and heroine’s parents and the heads of competing vineyards.) and a younger couple. There were plenty of interesting secondary characters to keep things moving along. I really like the actress who played the friend. (Ali Leibert) And it was interesting that his family was kind of sketchy. They avoided a real T.V. remote throwing potential plot twist by avoiding the trap of having her save her dad from bankruptcy by giving up her own successful venture. That would have been a terrible message to send. So thank-you. **8 out of 10 stars**

Rating: 8 out of 10.

October 11, 2016

Mix Up In the Mediterranean

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A Tour de Force Performance by Jeremy Jordan

I can’t think of too many Hallmark actors who could have pulled off the tricky challenge of playing two brothers, one straight and one gay, One a nice guy, one an arrogant jerk. Jeremy gives a nuanced and funny portrayal. He never overdoes the stereotypical gay mannerisms and voice inflections, yet the viewer knows immediately which brother is which. Even when the down-to-earth nice guy is impersonating the gay brother and then going back to his real self. He also makes the gay brother seem redeemable even when he is controlling and ungrateful. If Hallmark had their own Emmys Jeremy would win hands down for best lead actor. The script is good with some laugh-out-loud moments and some both amusing and tense situations. There were some sticky plot developments that I was not sure how were going to be resolved, but the happy ending was achieved very cleverly. I must say it is certainly refreshing for a Hallmark movie to have the small-town country boy end up in the big city rather than the big-city dude find his bliss in the country. It’s got to be a first for Hallmark.

Jessica Lowndes was adequate, but another actress could have mined comic gold as a girl who finds herself attracted to a married gay man and confused and hurt by his changing personality. As it was, a lot of their semi-flirtation was just awkward. She, unfortunately, has gone back to the over-the-top makeup that she does not need as she is so gorgeous. But I will give her a pass this time as it kind of fits the character.

Kudos all around. Great setting, nice acting (shout out to Callum Blue as Julian Northrup’s nice husband), good chemistry, and intriguing plotlines which stepped out of the Hallmark box on several fronts.**9 stars out of 10**

Rating: 9 out of 10.

January 22, 2021