Hallmark Movies

Love Under the Mistletoe (a.k.a. Operation Mistletoe)

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Hair and Holly

Last night’s (07/25/2026) Christmas in July premiere, the last of them for this year, thankfully, did not disappoint. It met my expectations, set up by the 3 preceding offerings in the series, as basic and only minimally entertaining at best. And it was not so bad as to be deliciously awful. Even the presence of Jen Lilly, my least favorite Hallmark actress, could not push it that low. Like the others, this is one that could not quite cut the fruitcake as a bona fide Hallmark premiere as an original new movie. Like the first in the series, Christmas Under Construction, this is a movie that Hallmark purchased from Hulu and is still being aired there. The other two C in J movies were ones that were wrapped up and sitting on the shelf for two years until Hallmark rescued them and put them on the air.

Ryan (Nick Bateman), a successful financier, returns to his hometown to sell his beloved deceased Grandmother’s (Nan’s) house. He becomes reacquainted with his former high-school crush, Grace (Jen Lilley), an interior decorator. Yes, it was just basic. Plot-wise it was as routine as Snowbound for The Holidays without the talents and appeal of Vanessa Lengies or real snow.  The Christmas decorations were scene stealing and a little tacky but not as over-the-top as Christmas Under Construction. The decorations in that one were so bad they actually constituted a highlight. This one featured a real estate guy that wanted to tear down “Nan’s” home, but he was not evil or powerful enough like in O Little Christmas Market, to be a focus of hissing and booing. This guy is kind of pitiful and ineffectual. When he was trying to get Ryan to sign on the dotted line, he turns around and disrespects and insults him to our heroine while he is standing right there. Yeah, that’ll work. We find out later that our hero (shocker!) didn’t sell to this bozo, but we are deprived of the pleasure of seeing the poor sap getting his comeuppance or even a telling off. (followed by the standard Hallmark change of heart/first step to redemption, of course)

Most of the negativity towards this movie in its first incarnation on Hulu seems to be focused on Nick Bateman’s hair style and whether the eponymous plant is actually mistletoe. Nick Bateman is very handsome and likable in this movie and he has always combed his hair that way, so I am not going to jump on that train. As for whether the plant that Jen Lilley’s best friend is randomly attaching to the ceilings of the town in hopes that Ryan and Grace will kiss, is really mistletoe, I think that the jury is out. It is certainly not holly, as some critics claim. In some scenes it does look like mistletoe, and really, why would they risk not using mistletoe in a movie that mistletoe is such an integral part of the plot? Can you imagine? “The Mistletoe” is played by…”Holly” ? I think it is mistletoe in most scenes albeit probably plastic. As for my main prejudice against this movie, the lead actress, she was a non-issue. Her character was neither despicable nor TSTL* and her portrayal was just fine. Although she and her best friend acted like giddy high-schoolers rather than mature adults, that is just par for the course. Her hair was firmly under control in this one. She still talks too fast and I needed the closed captions when she put more than two sentences together. To end on a positive note, I did like Lisa Michelle Cornelius as “Mayor Sami”.

*Too Stupid to Live

Rating: 5 out of 10.

Snowbound for the Holidays

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The Ski Lodge One

This was the one about the Ski Lodge. You know, the struggling old fashioned family one which is about to be taken over by the multinational resort developer, which will erase everything that made it special with its hateful updates? Like Wi-Fi and indoor plumbing? Haha, I kid. But you get the idea. My goodness this year’s “Christmas in July” offerings have been lame and run-of-the-the-mill. Have they always been like that? Or is it just me? This one starred Vanessa Lengies who has been in some very good Hallmarks which were very good mainly because of her. She plays Cassie Evergreen (last name is Christmas-y instead of first, for a change of pace. The only.) She is  the daughter of the owner of a small chain of boutique hotels who is visiting from the big city to assess the value of Linden Lodge to determine its fair market value. Her mother is an old friend of the owner and if Cassidy does a good job, she will give her a big promotion. She hates the cold. The original owner’s widowed son-in-law, Trey, has equal shares in the lodge which is interesting. He is trying to fight off his father-in-law’s plans to sell. He is a single Dad and technology averse. He still listens to his music on a Sony Walkman and “Could you print that out for me?” All hopes rest on “The Christmas Fest” which will benefit from Cassidy’s computer skills while she drags Trey (Marcus Rosner) kicking and screaming into the 21st century. The big deadline of Christmas Eve (of course) looms, but they do everything but worry about the deadline.

I had a glimmer of hope for this one because of the talents of Vanessa Lengies and a cute scene in the preview with Skywalker Hughes, who plays Lily, Marcus Rosner’s daughter. But not even Vanessa could raise this one above the mundane. I was not surprised to learn that this one is also a movie that has been sitting on the shelf for two years, waiting for Hallmark or someone else to air it. I’m giving it a generous 6 because there wasn’t anything blatantly dumb about it and didn’t make me too mad. It also had real snow (I think). To answer my original question posed in the previous paragraph, Yes, Hallmark “Christmas in July” movies have been pretty much second stringers, at least for the last two years. Last year was the unremarkable “Unwrapping Christmas” quartet. And before that, the only one that rose above the fray was the delightful Rescuing Christmas, which was actually featured on the Hallmark streaming service prior to the Network premiere. So. Next Week’s offering does not look promising either “for reasons.”

Rating: 6 out of 10.

O Little Christmas Market

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Rinky Dink

“Christmas in July” does seem to be the season for unambitious efforts and not breaking out of the tried and true. This one was made in 2024 and I guess has been on the shelf until Hallmark pulled it out this year for their “Poor Man’s Countdown to Christmas”. This one features Katherine Barrell, who has given some nice performances, going for it. She is stars with Hallmark mainstay, Stephen Huzsar. Their pairing was OK. I didn’t have a problem with it.

 I’m not going to go over the plot in detail. Suffice it to say it’s about saving a small town Christmas Market from a big city developer. He was as “bad guy” as these characters usually are, putting the demands of “the board”, and profits ahead of everything, including his son Grayson (Huszar). Unlike his father, Grayson yearns to be creative and to use his architect skills for good to bring communities together and to go outside of the box with his building designs. Unfortunately he is firmly under his father’s thumb and won’t stand up to him or just leave. Katherine Barrell plays Olivia, who is still grieving her Dead Father. Her first priority is saving the Christmas Market he founded as a way to hold on to him. Her hobby is making miniature scenes or dioramas. This plays a pretty big part of the plot as it turns out to be the key to selling the solution that will make Grayson’s father happy and save the market at the same time. Also, she must learn to spend more time with the hobby that she loves, and make her “art” a serious business. She does nothing with her creations when she could be selling her work online or in her own shop. Instead she busies herself with prioritizing everyone else’s business over herself. 

There were a quite few things about this movie that I couldn’t buy into. First of all, I am sorry to say that Olivia’s miniatures seemed pretty rinky dink to me. Other than painting a rock a strange shade of blue (for a rock) and putting teeny tiny little miniature Christmas ornaments on a pre-fabricated tree, we do not see her actually doing any art. At one point, she goes to a hobby shop to buy the little miniature accessories which she arranges on the base. We  should have seen her actually making her miniature buildings from raw materials, or her making the molds of the real people she puts in there. I mean my late mother-in-law put a Hallmark miniature Christmas scene on her mantel every year but that did not make her an artist. She would have hooted at that idea. And it looked much better than these creations.

The merchants or vendors we see selling stuff at the market seem to be very uninvested in doing anything to help themselves or in keeping the (also rinky dink) market afloat. We are never given a good reason why they don’t have the market all year round to make more money. Something about the stalls being old and decrepit? Well, couldn’t they invest a little of their own time and money to fix them up? For their own good? And what’s wrong with a tent and a table? That’s what the food, farm, and craft vendors in our city do at our “Soda City Market”. It takes up 2 to 3 blocks on our Main Street every Saturday all year long. 200+ dealers every week. It’s quite the draw. It looked like there were about 12 at this market. I didn’t see anything that needed any “infrastructure” to sell, except for some guy selling hot soup along with his homemade fudge (!). “Infrastructure” being an electrical outlet. At end they do rally, starting with with a jar for their customers to put change in. Way to go all out, guys! They come through with a huge wad of cash from somewhere to pay for the transport of free metal shipping containers some company was trying to off load. These containers were to be the new stalls for the vendors and my goodness were they ugly. This whole idea seemed pretty spurious to me.

My sympathies were all with the guy wanting to sell the vacant lot to the developer. He was an old guy with grandchildren and all of his money was tied up in that property. He had to sell. But he had to endure the scowls and guilt trips that everyone (especially Olivia) were trying to lay on him. When you’re rooting for the opposition, that’s not a good sign.

Lastly, our hero, Grayson, came across as pretty weak for not standing up to his father or striking out on his own as their values and philosophies were so diametrically opposed. He finally did at the end (about 15 years too late), but before Olivia had to pitch her solution for his development to his scary father, he actually left town! Without a word to her. Olivia had to chase after him. Not a good look. 

One of the themes of this movie is the importance of creativity and willingness to go outside of the box rather than resisting change at every turn. This movie’s showrunners could certainly have taken a page out of their own book because in every aspect, this effort was firmly stuck right there in that Hallmark box.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Renovation Romance (a.k.a Christmas Under Construction)

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It’s an Old Story

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This movie which premiered on the Hallmark Channel last night is actually one from 2024 which has been running over on Hulu ever since. It reunites stars Daniel Lissing and Jessica Lowndes who were last paired together in an old Christmas movie from almost 10 years ago called A December Bride that many remember fondly. If you are a Jessica Lowndes fan, don’t read my review. Although the talented Ms. Lowndes is beautiful if not stunning, I was not a fan of her acting back then, and I still am not despite her conquering at least one of her distracting quirks. Daniel Lissing will always have a place in Hallmarkies hearts for his role of Jack, Elizabeth’s dead Mountie husband, in the popular series When Calls the Heart, a show that I have never been interested in personally. Anyway, the nostalgia factor of the pairing surely accounts for Hallmark acquiring this movie from Hulu for its kick-off to this year’s Christmas in July. It can’t have been anything else.

Chelsea and Jake, who have become “America’s Sweethearts” are the hosts of a reality show called “Renovation Romance” in which the pair guide a couple through their relationship challenges while renovating their home. After filming the last show of the season, Chelsea is looking forward to a vacation with Jake to repair some cracks in their own relationship. Jake is not as enthusiastic and when their boss, Don, proposes to cap their season off with a Christmas Special, he is all for it. Chelsea relents because of a huge check to her favorite charity and because she is a people pleaser. Enter Janice, Cooper, and Cooper’s “country cabin” that he inherited from his grandpa. Their relationship is confusing. I thought they were engaged because the idea is that Cooper wants the renovation so they can live in it together, but later in the movie Don wants Cooper to propose to her live on the air. Anyway, Cooper wants to maintain his grandfather’s old world rustic charm and Janice wants to make it sleek, modern, and re-sellable. Chelsea and Jake have their work cut out for them as the couple’s differing taste in architecture extends to their lifestyle choices as well. Cooper is the proverbial country mouse and Janice is the proverbial city mouse. And the proverb is sited in so many words. In case we don’t get it. To make the project even more complicated, the Cabin is decorated for Christmas within an inch of it’s life even though some demolition will be involved. There are a lot of bows which turn out to be very significant at the end. In the middle of the movie they decide that the cabin needs even more Christmas and they add even more Christmas trees and bows. There are at least 15 trees in one room of the cabin at final count.

After the first episode of the show, Jake and a disgruntled Janice suspiciously go off to New York together on supposedly separate business which leaves Cooper and Chelsea to film the renovation project and work on Cooper and Janice’s relationship all by themselves. This was as awkward as it sounds with them flirting shamelessly, having lots of laughs and chemistry together and being deliriously happy without their partners all in front of the camera. After a lot of Christmas-y shenanigans, carpentry, heartfelt discussions, longing gazes, and futile attempts to communicate with their supposed loved ones, Jake and Janice finally return from New York. Don has decided that nothing would be better than a live reunion and reveal of the newly renovated cabin capped off by the previously mentioned marriage proposal! To her credit, Chelsea puts the kabosh on that notion, but a few minutes before the live show, Chelsea decides to break up with a more than willing Jake. During the live filming, Janice, although she is pleased with the cabin, decides she is not so pleased with living there and breaks up with Cooper even though she still loves him but just has to live in the city. For some reason, at this point, Daniel Lissing decides to look totally heartbroken even though we know that his character Cooper could not have been more pleased and relieved since he is totally in love with Chelsea. It was a very odd acting choice. To save the show, Jake decides that this is a fine time to propose to Chelsea live on the air even though she has just broken up with him. Now this dumpster fire, in the right hands, could have been absolutely hilarious, but the whole thing just comes across as cringe. Foregoing her people pleasing ways, after a tense inner struggle, Chelsea turns him down, turns to the camera, and gives a fine speech to their live audience all about knowing that they would prefer honesty to having everything wrapped up with a big happy, but phony, bow. She walks off and then ruins the whole thing by kicking herself off camera for being an idiot for sacrificing the ratings by all of her silly honesty and authenticity and wishing she had just gone along with Jake’s proposal on the air! But don’t worry, Cooper swoops in with words of wisdom and a big kiss. And just to put another big bow on it, all of the drama has resulted in the live special being a massive hit after all, so she’s happy again. Do Janice and Jake get together? No bows tying up that story, I’m afraid.

Almost everything in this movie missed the mark with me by a little or a lot. But frankly, I think the worst thing about it was the Christmas Decorations. Also, at the end, the cabin looks exactly the same as it did before the so-called renovation.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

A Castle of Our Own

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Castles in the Sand

After last week’s super special movie offering, we conclude Hallmark’s Summer Nights line up with a shrug, and a “not bad, actually.” The most notable thing about it was the return of Brennan Elliot as the co-lead in a Hallmark premiere. As a Hallmark mainstay and an old favorite of mine, he has been missed. Playing opposite him is a beautiful and age-appropriate Erica Cerra, who has only been in one Hallmark prior to this one. She plays Marley, the single mother of a teenager who is also a very talented and in-demand architect. After her divorce from Lily’s father, she left their own firm, gave up her first love of designing homes, and started working for another firm designing commercial real estate i.e. shopping malls. Although this kind of work is unfulfilling, she has become a victim of her own success and popularity. The owner of the firm, Joan, seemingly cannot get along without her. She is in constant demand and is overworked and tied to her cell phone, always at Joan’s beck and call. Her personal life is non-existent and has exacted a toll on her relationship with her teenage daughter, Lily. In an early scene, she asks Lily how her chemistry exam went, and instead of listening to her answer, she calls her IT department. The whole mess is epitomized by a mother-daughter trip to Paris which never happens because work always gets in the way. Marley tries to explain to Lily that she has to work so hard in order to afford to go to Paris which is why they never go to Paris. Not surprisingly, Lily, no dummy, doesn’t buy it. Thank goodness she does not have an overbearing mother or best friend constantly badgering her to “get out there” and find herself a new man in her spare time. When her ex-husband is prevented from taking Lily on a promised beach vacation due to his own work demands, Marley, finally determined to re-establish connection with her daughter, takes his place. And off to Cannon Cove they go for “Sand Fest”, which features a big sand castle building competition.  But the bad news is she also takes along her laptop and phone so she can work on her current project for the needy Joan. It never ceases to amaze me when Hallmark heroines are powerful in the workplace because they are so irreplaceable but never put their foot down.

Enter Brennan Elliot as Adam. He is a successful general contractor and the owner of the house next door to where Lily and Marley are staying in Cannon Cove. Marley mistakes him for the plumber she called to fix a faucet and is amazed when his phone keeps beeping with text messages but he doesn’t feel obliged to answer it or even look at them. She almost blows a gasket right there in the kitchen! Adam is not only there to be Marley’s love interest but also to teach her that sacrificing her personal life and her relationship with her daughter for work is a choice, not an imperative. She is an apt pupil, leaving Joan unanswered and dangling throughout the whole movie. But we soon learn that Adam has his own problems. He was dumped by his ex, and he has a problem letting their life together go.  This is symbolized by their old house, which he is constantly updating and working on instead of selling it and moving forward from his past dreams. Adam has a niece who is Lily’s age, and along with his sister, they form a temporary found family with Adam and Marley quickly (very quickly) falling into a romantic relationship. They enter the sand castle building contest as a team of 4, which serves as one of the means by which they will learn their necessary life lessons. One of which, needless to say, is the ever-popular Work/Life Balance.

Besides the lack of a badgering mother, there are several things I liked about this movie. The inside look at sand castle building added some interest. One of the competitors was an old rival of Adam’s which added some tension. I liked the final outcome of the contest. I liked that although Marley was incommunicado with Joan, she still completed her project successfully and on time. Yay for professional responsibility and loyalty. I was quite amused when poor Joan calls Marley’s ex-husband as her emergency contact (next-of-kin?) when she can’t get her on the phone. The ex-husband, played by occasional Hallmark actor, David James Lewis (formerly known as David Lewis, lol) was a bright spot. He was not only not a threat, but was a good guy and instrumental in smoothing over the roadblocks to Marley escaping from Joan’s clutches and getting back to her first love, designing homes not strip malls. He also rendered Marley and Lily’s trip to Paris an upcoming reality, not just a dream. He was also instrumental in getting Adam to move to Seattle so he and Marley could continue their promising romance. Come to think of it, ol’ ex-husband Dan was quite the hero and a deus ex machina par excellence. That new wife of his is a lucky woman. Unexplained is how the newly liberated Marley is going to find the time to start and run her own architectural firm and still be an involved mother. 7 stars.

And we bid good-bye to “Summer Nights.” Hello “Christmas in July!”

Rating: 7 out of 10.

The Love Heist

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A Fashion Fairy Tale

This was a big city one. In this case, Chicago. And I don’t know what it is, but those always seem to be a cut above the usual small town save grandma’s farm with a festival romances. Maybe they’re aiming towards a slightly more sophisticated faction of their audience, I don’t know. But one thing I do know is that when Lyndsy Fonseca is the main girl, there is a good chance that it will be one of the “good” Hallmarks. I’ve now seen 8 with her in the starring role and 6 of them I’ve rated 8 or higher and the other 2 were solid 7s. It’s not all her though. For some reason, the scripts and other production values just seem to be a cut above. Her partner in crime in this one (no pun intended) was Peter Porte. I’ve never been a huge fan of his, but the actor and his character, Mills, were very likable and charming in this story. It doesn’t hurt one bit that he is so undeniably gorgeous that whenever he came on the screen, I found myself just gazing at him. I may have even hit the pause button. Note: He’s not short like in the poster. The romance and chemistry between them was on point and their relationship was built around a plot that kept my interest. It was different, and was not just one big cliché surrounded by a dozen little clichés.

Kayli is the assistant to a famous and elite fashion stylist. It took me a minute to get a handle on what Kaylie and her boss, Celine, did exactly. Celine is not a designer with her own creations, but finds dresses from all over to create looks for her high profile famous clients for special occasions. Kayli arrives in Chicago with the fashions that her boss and her client, Rini-Jean, have selected for the Cosmo Fashion Week leading up to the climactic Gala. Unfortunately Celine can not be there to take charge of volatile Rini, because she has to go to a last minute family wedding in Paris. So of course she puts her trusted assistant in charge. Kayli is appalled: Due to a mysterious traumatic fashion-based incident in her past, she just likes to stay in the background in a supporting role, not be the in-charge decision maker for her client. But the gowns for Rini-Jean have already been chosen and agreed on, so what could go wrong? Well, plenty, as it turns out. Rini doesn’t like the gowns anymore and has a melt down. The only one she wants to keep is the very valuable vintage gown that Elizabeth Taylor wore to the 1970 Academy Awards which is slated to be worn at the end-of-week big Gala. And you had better believe I researched (Googled) it and the gown in the movie does bear more than a passing resemblance to the real one. So props, Hallmark, for authenticity.  Rini’s dresses need to be redone so Kayli goes shopping at a vintage fashion shop, which is the kind of  fashion that is her first love, not new couture. When she gets back from her shopping trip, the priceless Elizabeth Taylor dress has been stolen! Enter Peter Porte, who is head of security for the exclusive hotel. Actually he has already entered. In the first scene he had confronted Kayli over her use of a luggage cart, insisting unsuccessfully that she let a porter help her because she doesn’t have the required special license to operate the cart. It’s a joke. There is an immediate spark between them as they engage in lighthearted banter. A minute later, he spots a drone zipping around the hotel to spy on the famous guests. He takes immediate action by leaping on her luggage cart and, with her steering madly, grabs the drone mid-flight to the applause of all the guests and employees.  So when he shows up in Kayli’s suite and discovers the missing dress, we are prone to really like this guy. Plus he is ex-Delta Force. It turns out that the vintage dress is not the only valuable that has been stolen during Cosmo Week, and Kayli is the number one suspect! To save Kayli and the promotion he is up for (as head of security for the entire global chain of hotels), he and Kayli team up to investigate. They retrace Kayli’s steps, go to several parties, go shopping for clothes, have a dance lesson, go to a diner and a historic bar, meet with Rini’s even more famous almost-fiancé, and fall in love. Their adventures were amusing, engaging, and advanced the plot. At one party Kayli  runs into famous actress Vivian Thorpe whose career she almost ruined with a bad choice of gown. That incident is the source of Kayli’s lack of confidence in herself. But Vivian is glad to see her and tells her that the setback to her career was actually a blessing in disguise, and credits Kayli! She’s cured! 

 So up to now, with the talented and attractive leads, the sparkling and amusing banter, the mystery, and the entertaining adventures in the sophisticated Chicago setting, the movie had settled in at a solid 7 ½ at least. A couple of very refreshing things brought it to a 9 in my book.

  • Kayli is honest with her boss Celine about the disasters that have occurred on her watch and Celine is unfailingly supportive and encouraging. A nice boss. Imagine that. She tells her to eat a hot dog and have fun.
  • When the dreaded interrupted kiss that is one of Hallmark’s most reliable (and irritating) features occurs,  Mills actually goes back to complete the smooch. Usually the couple awkwardly parts ways after the interruption like nothing happened. Mills pulls her back into his arms saying, “If you think a little interruption like that is going to stop me…”. I mean Wow. He makes all of his Hallmark predecessors look like under-sexed wimps.
  • Mills and Kayli capture the thief after he steals Vivian Thorp’s bedazzled vintage Dolly Parton scarf and Rini’s engagement ring. But there are two thieves (!) and the whereabouts of the Elizabeth Taylor gown is still a mystery.  When that robber is revealed, it was, for me, a real twist and a surprise. No kidding. I gasped.
  • There is no stupid unnecessary misunderstanding that part the couple close to the end. Mills mysteriously disappears without saying goodby to Kayli, but she quickly tracks him down and the explanation leads to unveiling the surprising villain.

There was none of the recent trend of the couple kissing at the end with no clue how they are going to manage a (“we’ll figure it out later”) viable relationship. The ending was very satisfying and happy with both of our leads’ pursuing their dreams together. It was quite the fairy tale.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Texas Two-Step

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Attention Country Dancing and Honky-tonk Fans!

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I love the movie Shane, but Urban Cowboy was never a favorite. And somehow, I really don’t cotton to cowboy romances these days. Especially when the cowboy is played by Brendan Penny. Now don’t get me wrong, I like Brendan Penny very much, but as a cowboy, he didn’t look right in the hat. And it’s not even like he was one of those urban poser cowboys, because his business did have something to do with horses. Eventually though, he managed to inhabit his role credibly like the good actor he is and the scruffy beard didn’t hurt. The actors were not the problem here at all. Heather Hemmens is always such a lady, and I mean that as a compliment. Her characters never seem to put a step wrong and are always super competent at whatever they do. Heather has even done comedy well although this movie did not give her much of an opportunity for that. BJ Harrison as the elderly nurturing wise-woman, was as authentic and warm as usual. And I liked Heather’s best friend, Hallmark newcomer, Kaylah Zander. 

No, it was, as usual, the tired plot that is responsible for my indifference towards this movie. Olivia (Heather Hemmens), or “Livvy” as Luke (Brendan Penny)  persists in calling her against her wishes, leaves her photography job in the city, in this case, Austin TX, to help her widowed aunt who-raised-her. Her cousin Mason (Nathan Witte), the local vet, calls her because Ruby (BJ Harrison in a new hairstyle) has been having “spells.” Olivia travels back to her home town, Blue Creek, with her BFF, June, to check out the situation. It soon becomes evident that her aunt and late uncle’s iconic country bar, Sweetwater’s,  is struggling, despite its popularity. Sidebar. Mason and Olivia’s friend provide the secondary romance. There’s also a cute doggy.  It isn’t long before Luke, her former high school sweetheart, strides into the bar (in slow motion, as cowboys do) to win Olivia’s heart back. Olivia broke up with him to pursue her dreams, the long-distance thing didn’t work for her, but he recovered faster than she did and started dating other women more quickly than suited her.  Olivia figures out what is going on with the bar (Spoiler Alert-Beloved Uncle Pete was averse to paying his taxes and the chickens have come home to roost to the tune of $48,000.) Fortunately, there is an offer on the table to buy Sweetwater’s for mucho dinero from another high school friend who made it big in the Tech business (Dating App). Problems solved. Not. Naturally, Aunt Ruby does not want to sell because it will destroy the character of the town and neighborhood. Plus, more importantly, she has fun running the bar. Queue project to raise money. In this case it is happily not a festival, but an Online Dance Marathon. The unlikely fundraiser is successful. Olivia’s needy and annoying boss shows up at the end. Olivia and Luke, now in love again, have a dance and resolve to “figure it out” this time.

 Although the set decoration, costuming, hair and make-up, and all that other stuff that contributes to a good or bad movie were all good, there was nothing else there to spark any interest. But if you’re into honky-tonks, country music,  and country dancing, you were probably in hog heaven. Next week, we have a Lyndsy Fonseca movie that I am actually looking forward to. Her movies are always really good at the very least. She is paired with famously gay actor Peter Porte, which adds another layer of interest. I’m betting they will be great together.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

The Greek Aisle

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Who Ate the Baklava?

This was set on the beautiful Island of Corfu, Greece. There was not much of a plot because the gorgeous photography of not only the countryside, but the picturesque little seaside town held center stage. And The Food. Many scenes took place in a family restaurant or in the kitchen and the director and his crew took full advantage to make sure plenty of time was spent celebrating all manner of Greek cuisine. The only thing missing was the Baklava. Now usually the lack of action and tomfoolery might be considered a negative in a Hallmark movie, but in this case, I didn’t miss it. As I usually don’t. There were no silly and frustrating episodes of characters acting stupidly or unreasonably to create tension and stretch out 60 minutes of movie to fit 84 minutes of airtime. It was just a nice peaceful romance between two nice people in a beautiful setting.

Georgia, along with her partner and friend Rose, owns a small newly established marketing company which helps businesses with promoting and branding. A letter arrives and it turns out that our heroine is in danger of forfeiting her inheritance of a Greek property that she had used to secure a business loan. She’s had a year to go to Greece and sign the papers, never went, and this letter is her last warning. Now she has just 5 days to secure her assets. Her loan is coming due shortly and she needs to sell the property to pay it off, or else. Did I say there were no dumb plot devices to move the plot forward and create tension? I take that back. But after these first 5 minutes, we’re good. Her partner hustles her off to Greece and Georgia bravely chooses a pair of loose-knit white pants with horizontal red stripes for her traveling outfit. My alternate title for this review was “Pants of Courage.” She had spent a summer on Corfu with her late aunt and hung out in a little Greek taverna where she made friends with Elena, the owner, and her son, Alex. It is her first stop once she gets to her aunt’s seaside home town and she scores a feta salad and Moussaka. She quickly learns that Alex, now a police officer, is the co-inheritor of her aunt’s estate. Georgia must not only have ignored all the letters from her aunt’s lawyer, but not even opened them. But no squabbling, motive for murder, or enemies-to-lovers here. Even Alex’s jealous girlfriend, Cassandra, turns out to be his pet cat. Alex happily agrees to buy Georgia out of her share but first, to avoid the red tape of Greek laws against foreigners, they have to get married. The happy but (99% sure) platonic couple play out their romance against the stunning Corfiot landscape with a few little side plots to keep things interesting and the pace chugging along. Luckily, the 5 day trip is extended to a month and Alex’s police duties are extremely undemanding. Extremely.

**Spoilers**

In order to afford to buy out Georgia, Alex has to secure a position as a detective that he is being considered for. Alex is kind of endearingly shy and awkward and schmoozing to promote himself is not his thing. Luckily, it is Georgia’s thing, and she goes to town advancing Alex’s cause amusingly and sometimes cringingly (Whoo Hoo! my Husband is such a great cricket player and therefore what a great detective he would make!!). The couple needs to put up a good front so that the head of the detective agency (and the authorities) do not find out the marriage is fake. After a dinner that Georgia arranges at their beautiful home (I want it), Alex is offered the job. Being an honest guy, and against all of the usual Hallmark rules of communication, he puts everything out on Front Street and tells his new boss the whole truth. Also against all of the usual rules, his boss appreciates his honesty and Alex still gets the job. In a similar break from Hallmark business-as-usual, when the guy in charge of making sure Alex and Georgia are not trying to pull a fast one with their marriage shows up, all goes smoothly. Instead of having to jump through hoops and being put through the harsh interrogation they were expecting, the guy just gives them their papers and some Koufetas as a wedding gift. He explains that it has been obvious to the whole town that the marriage is loving and authentic. It was very sweet. Georgia also has some happy news from Rose  about an important client, and even establishes a business opportunity on Corfu by helping Elena with a cooking school. And Rose was very understanding when Georgia decides to stay in Corfu and help run their business remotely in order to explore her relationship with Alex.

In short, the whole thing was very pleasant, nice, and just happy. Apostolis Totsikas, who played Alex was very appealing, Nikki Deloach was her usual likable (and very toned) self, and their romantic chemistry and kisses were on point. Andrew Walker, her usual co-star, should be jealous.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

All’s Fair in Love and Mahjong

/ Rebekahrox / 5 Comments
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Oy Vey!

This movie received a lot of backlash after the promotional poster was revealed last month (see left). There are 5 main cast members and only ½ of one of them is of Chinese extraction (Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, who is half Scottish and half Chinese). And non-traditional tiles. I will leave the outrage and accusations of cultural appropriation  to others who have more of a dog in the hunt. But it was jarring to say the least. And premiering during Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage month! Oooof, Hallmark. But I did read a little about it and this was inspired by the executive producer’s wife (white) and her path to becoming a well known and respected  teacher of the American variant of the game.  Frankly I’d always associated Mahjong with the Jewish community as much as the Chinese community. Didn’t appear to be any Jewish representation either, probably because it’s not Hanukkah time.  It’s fair to note that there is a scene set in a Chinese cultural center where Yan-kay does give a talk about the Chinese origin of the game and it’s importance to the culture. I do fault Hallmark for the lack of diversity in general lately. To me they do seem to be dialing back on that front. Just for one example, after featuring some really great movies centered round Chinese families at the beginning of the 2020’s there was a big gap between 2022 and this year’s Two for Tee. Thank goodness, just in time.

The movie opens with Roni ( the ever lovely and ageless Fiona Gublemann), our main character, playing Mahjong with her friend group and seeing her daughter off to college. The cast in this one is strong. Her 3 friends are played by the previously mentioned Lowe, Melissa Peterman, and Tamera Mowry-Housley. Her love interest is one of my favorites, Paul Campbell, who has lost the Botox, as have others amongst his Hallmark colleagues, thank goodness. Although the script didn’t give him a whole lot of opportunities to use his rightly acclaimed comic timing, he was charming as always. Roni has been divorced for 5 years and her ex comes by to remind her of their agreement to sell the house after their daughter goes off to college. The house has to have some minor repairs and a refresh before it goes on the market and he tells her to take all the time she needs (within reason.) When Roni is prevailed upon to give a Mahjong lesson for the school’s end of year fundraiser, she meets Ben, a contractor and the uncle of  one of the kids. Ben’s mother is in an assisted living community and is having trouble making friends. Ben thinks Mahjong is the answer and gets Roni to start a class there in exchange for him doing the repairs on Roni’s house. One thing leads to another and soon Roni has a fledgling side hustle being a Mahjong teacher. It’s timely because her job as a school nurse has been cut back to part time. Unfortunately Roni lives in the only community in the United States that has a glut of unemployed nurses because she can’t get a job elsewhere as any kind of nurse. At least we assume so, because we see her only unsuccessfully applying for one position in a hospital emergency room. Nevertheless, Roni, with Ben’s encouragement, has decided that she loves her house too much to move to a condo and is going to try to buy out her husband’s half despite her shaky financial status. After all, barring one disastrous experience with book club women, her mahjong classes are really taking off. She’s thinking maybe she can make a real career out of it. Unfortunately, her ex-husband’s loose goosey time line to get the house on the market changes to “You have 3 weeks!”, thanks to the house he and his new wife want finally coming up for sale. The change from reasonable ex-husband and co-parent to condescending stinker made me long for Roni to put him in his place by the end of the movie. 

Overall, this was a good one despite a weak plot. A lot of time was taken up with “Adventures in Mahjong”. But at least it was something different after the last several trope-filled offerings.  I had a few quibbles, as usual. When Ben made an appearance while Roni and her friends were playing their Mahjong game, the 3 women were very immature and obnoxious with the usual “ hello-o-o-o-o-o Roni’s got a boyfriend you’re hot” routine. They acted like 13-year-olds and it was embarrassing. Also after a night out Roni invites Ben in for a drink, and instead of romance, they end up playing Mahjong. I was rolling my eyes, but the situation was rescued by a kiss and a fade out. So who knows what ended up happening? Roni’s progress in her newfound possible career, securing a loan to buy her house,  and romance was well paced, made sense, and overall engaging.  Ben had some issues with his brother regarding his non-involvement in their mother’s life. Both Ben and Roni had to learn to ask for help, a frequent Hallmark roadblock to happiness and fulfillment. I liked that when Ben gave his brother a chance, he came through with flying colors and we have a nice clearing of the air scene between them with both apologizing to the other. Unfortunately the same closure  can not be said between Roni and her ex, which was a disappointment and kind of a loose end in my book. I really needed an acknowledgement of Roni’s success from him at the end of the movie. A little less Mahjong and more groveling. He really got on my bad side. I almost knocked it down a notch for that, but I’ll be nice and give it a 7.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Kentucky Roses

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Ups and Downs

What we have here is somewhat of a dual time line plot, but not really. The main event is definitely the present day story set around the Kentucky Derby. Certainly one of the most timely Hallmark movies ever. I mean, day of, and only an hour later than the actual event. Hallmark movies always premiere on Saturday which is always the day The Run for the Roses is held.  The upset winner of the real race this year, Golden Tempo, was the first horse trained by a woman to win the Derby. In a remarkable coincidence, the secondary story line in this one involved our heroine’s best friend, a woman who is training one of the contenders, also an over 20 to 1 long shot. No spoilers here. Back to the movie.

The movie opens in muted colors because this is the part that is set back in the olden days of the 1930s. It is the story of the present day couple’s forebears: a great grandmother and a great uncle, Gloria (Gigi) and Charlie (Lefty). This is a little mixed up generation-wise and I was confused. He is the son of the rich owners of a horse farm near Louisville and she is a greenhouse worker. He wants to be a builder and go to New York to build skyscrapers and she also wants to pursue her dreams there. He gives her an expensive necklace and proposes marriage with his grandmother’s wedding ring. She accepts the ring, and reluctantly accepts the expensive necklace. Predictably and unfortunately, his parents oppose the match and “force” him to take another girl of his own class to a fancy ball.  Gloria reads about it in the paper and she breaks up with him, returning his ring, but he refuses to take the necklace back. He is also forced to give up his dream of being a builder in NYC and has to take over the horse farm and somehow is instrumental in establishing “Churchill Downs.” Lots of spurious history in this one, and I admit I was a little fuzzy about some points. The story passed down in his family is how poor Charlie almost got caught by a gold digger who all but stole an expensive necklace and other gifts and money from the family.  Great grandmother Gloria goes on to help establish the big important greenhouse at Churchill Downs. And you can bet the vicious lies  about her being a greedy seductress are going to figure pretty heavily in the inevitable “Big Misunderstanding” between Ash and Sadie.

Reliable Andrew Walker plays Ash, the son of the CEO of Churchill Downs, who unlike his great uncle, had the backbone to defy his father and become an architect and builder specializing in helping Non-Profit community projects. Or,  as his father calls them, “do-gooders” with a sniff and a sneer.  Newcomer Odette Annable plays Sadie who works part time for her mother, who runs the aforementioned greenhouse, while pursuing her dream of being a florist by working in an elite flower shop owned by a really difficult woman. A storm has damaged one of the spires of Churchill Downs, and dear old dad calls his son to come fix it. Ash is not inclined to accept the job because he is really busy and important in his own right. But his nice mother wants him to because it is an opportunity to ease the estrangement between her husband and her son. Sadie and Ash, both tending to their individual projects, meet on the grounds of Churchill Downs at night and the romance begins. Meanwhile, Sadie, who is struggling under the thumb of her terrifying boss, agrees to provide the flower arrangements for her pregnant best friend/horse trainer’s baby shower. Ash’s mother sees her work and, impressed, asks her to step in to provide the emergency arrangements for a prestigious fundraiser she is holding and, flattered, Sadie agrees. Ash’s mom then specifies that red roses must be present, which is impossible because, Hello!, all of the red roses have already been spoken for because of the Derby.  Sadie’s boss is irate and wants nothing to do with getting mixed up with such a high profile affair that is sure to fail, and threatens to fire Sadie. Sadie is on her own and Ash offers to help because his family’s land has a lot of wildflowers including some kind of rare red climbing Prairie Roses. Score! It is at this point that Sadie finds out that Ash, who goes by another name,  is the scion of the famous and important Reed family. This leads to a big fight because he wasn’t honest about his identity and it’s inappropriate for her to make flower arrangements with flowers that were picked from the client’s own field. I could see how that would be a little awkward, but the crisis is averted to make way for the big crisis:  The red roses for the famous Garland of Roses that is draped over the Kentucky Derby winner are stuck in South America! 

Needless to say, Sadie and social media save the day. It’s a Hallmark, so I won’t be spoiling things by divulging that the reputation of Sadie’s great grandmother is restored, the spire is fixed with tiles that will pass inspection with the historical committee, Ash and his Dad repair their relationship, Sadie is well on her way to being a florist under her own banner, and a certain horse wins The Kentucky Derby. This was all pretty standard stuff, plot wise and romance wise. I will say that Odette Annable, as Sadie, was a find, and I hope to see more of her. She and Andrew certainly got the memo about making the final Hallmark kisses more…”interesting.” The behind the scenes peeks of the Derby Week celebrations were nice if probably mostly fictional, going by the fast and loose treatment of the historical facts regarding the race track and The Garland of Roses. At least the setting was authentic, filmed right there at Churchill Downs. It was certainly much better then last years Kentucky Derby movie which was really really phony. It also managed to avoid my least favorite bone-tired Hallmark paradigms. And that was a welcome relief after many of  the recent movies.

Rating: 7 out of 10.