Magic

Love Finds You

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“Woo-Woo” Wooing

Although there were some good things about this movie, it was pretty much sabotaged by the premise, which was contrived and absurd. It’s like the writers had the idea for the male and female to fall in love on a delivery truck while on a quest for the owner of a mysterious package who is someone on the driver’s route.  But since they couldn’t think of a reason to get her on the truck, they decided to put fantasy and magic in there so no one would question how the plot didn’t make sense because it had fantasy and magic in it. It’s magic. It’s fantasy. It isn’t reality. So it does not have to make sense. Right? Wrong. Magic always makes sense, even in a Hallmark. Magic is the doing of a magical person like Santa Claus, or an elf, an angel, or a ghost of a loved one. Or it comes from a magical object, like a magic dreidel, or lemon drop, or comet, or baked goods (so, so many). There are probably others, but the point is, it always has a reason for being. Not in this one. All we get is a musical chord one time, a bar code scanner that is behaving mysteriously,  and some shout outs to “fate” and “destiny ” to try to explain the unexplainable.

Alex Brown (Aimee Teagarden) is a Jewelry Designer who has a knack for customizing jewelry to reflect in some way the personality and history of her clients. They or the loved one fills out a questionnaire about themselves or the giftee and she designs a piece that is exactly right.  She also has had a string of unhappy love affairs which we hear all about. Thanks to one of her best friends, she has too much wine and does a new age type ceremony that is going viral, called “Fire and Aspire.” This involves burning the artifacts left by old boyfriends (Alex conveniently has a whole box full) and saying out loud or “manifesting” the qualities she really wants in a boyfriend. The next day, she receives a purple box delivered by Jack, her regular delivery guy (Chris McNally) who is a grumpy curmudgeon who also has an unhappy romantic history. Alex has been unable to befriend him with her cutesy post-it notes and cupcakes. She does not have a romantic interest in him per se, she just wanted to be friendly and get him to unbend a little because she is the perky sunshine type. It’s the “Grumpy-Sunshine” trope. He only cares about delivering his packages in good condition and on time and has no interest in “customer service,” i.e. being friendly and pleasant. He is also one of two top runners in a contest his employer is having, the prize being enough money to pay off the remainder of his sister’s college loan.

Back to the purple package. When Alex opens it, every item in there reflects an aspect of every quality she wished for in a man during the ceremony the night before. So the other “Alex Brown” this package is meant for must be her soulmate. She and her friends confront Jack with the package that was delivered to her by mistake but won’t give it back to him because they want to find and meet the Alex Brown it was meant for. They force Jack’s hand, but when Jack scans the barcode on the label,  no address comes up. The scanner is being spooky. To make a long and annoying episode short, this is how Alex gets to wheedle herself aboard Jack’s delivery truck. Where she procedes to whine, make demands, and stick her nose in his business. There are several other Alex Browns on his route, (what are the chances?) but none of them are the right guy. Meanwhile, Jack displays by his words and actions that he  actually possesses all of the qualities she wished for in a man. Alex shows him how being more personable can win him the contest, and they fall in love. The romance wasn’t bad, but other than that, it was just one stupid thing after another.

So what were the good things about this movie I mentioned? I really liked Chris McNally in this. He made a great curmudgeon. Even when he transformed into the typical Hallmark hero (all too soon), he was still good. I thought Aimee Teagarden was kind of miscast as the perky sunshine type, but she ended up being just fine, even though her character was super irritating. The side characters were positives and the pacing was good. Despite the stupidities and the annoyances with the plot elements themselves, the dialogue and conversations were smart and had some wit. Most importantly, it did not rely on the usual Hallmark core plot elements, like saving a beloved institution or the last minute misunderstanding to hang the story on.

**Major Spoilers**

So do we ever get to the bottom of what was behind the appearance of the magical box? Yes we do! It turns out it was all a big coincidence! There really was an Alex Brown who ordered all of the items that pointed to him being the other Alex’s soulmate. And his order was mistakenly delivered to the one and only of the many other Alex Browns in the area who had just “manifested” everything the box contained. It was just that his delivery area was just annexed. Coincidence! But too bad for him,  Alex was already in love with Jack, so he ends up with Megan, Alex’s best friend. Also, Jack ends up winning the contest even though he dropped out the day before. So many unanswered “But-What-About???s”. Even though many probably don’t, I didn’t like the way Hallmark just took for granted that their viewership wouldn’t notice or care about so many nonsensical things in this movie. And this includes how Megan is going to navigate having both the love of her life and her best friend having the same name. I guess it’s better than a match between Alex Brown and Alex Brown.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

Because of Cupid

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Stupid Eros

I was looking forward to this one because I like the lead actress, Amy Groening. And though I have not really liked most of the characters that young whippersnapper (30 years old) Evan Roderick has played (much like Tyler Hynes) he was very good in A Make or Break Christmas. This one didn’t work for me mostly because I just didn’t believe Groening and Roderick as a romantic couple. Who knows why or how one person sees a certain chemistry and another does not? It’s a mystery. The story was pretty cute, I thought, and the dialogue was good too. There was a little mystery there (Is Hal really THE Cupid in human form?) And it certainly was appropriate for Valentine’s day. It seemed a pretty fresh take on the old Hallmark standby of magical love-related consumables.

Naomi and Marcus are workmates at a wine bar. They are good friends except, as Marcus confesses to Hal (Cupid) whom he meets when he is working as a bartender at a party, he has been head over heels with “Nomes” from their first meeting. Naomi had a boyfriend at the time and Marcus, as we learn, lacks confidence that he is good enough for her. She has a degree in biochemistry and is very responsible and mature and he has never been one to buckle down or be serious about much of anything. Whenever Hallmark writes a male character with that kind of personality, Evan Roderick is always their number 1 choice. Naomi and Marcus are trying to win a contest for best Mocktail which comes with a 30,000 dollar prize which they need to hopefully buy the wine bar they work at. Lisa, the owner, is planning to sell it to a parking lot company. Wow, Lisa. You are not a villain, but that’s a classic villain move. Hal invites the pair to his tea shop to sample some rare teas they can incorporate into the mocktails. On day one of the contest, Marcus samples the drink along with 3 other couples that the pair know. The relationships of the 3 couples immediately change to being head over heels in love with each other and Marcus, although he has always been in love with “Nomes”, immediately has the courage to declare himself to her publicly. On their way back from the party Marcus tells Naomi that the syrup she used to make their winning mocktail was a love potion. Naomi does not believe in magic and attributes the elixir’s effect on the couples (and Marcus) to a scientifically based chemical reaction to the mix of ingredients in the drink. Together, they go on a mission to find an antidote to the mixture and have the three couples drink it. They believe, especially Naomi, that the pairs are making major life decisions based on love that is only temporary and not real. That’s all I’ll say about the plot, except that when the couples finally all take the antidote, they all react differently to it.

In addition to Marcus and Naomi’s story, there were theoretically plenty of other things to keep interest up. Will Marcus be able to prove himself as a mature human being? Trying to decode and put together an antidote. Wondering if it would work and what the effect would be. The 3 couples stories, at least two of whom we are really rooting for. Do we even want the antidote to work? The mocktail contest. The fate of the wine bar. Also there were a lot of literary and mythological references added to the mix. So a lot of good ingredients, but somehow for me, it kind of dragged in places. Maybe there was too much going on? And it didn’t help that Naomi never seemed that interested in Marcus as a romantic partner. Just didn’t feel the attraction there. And that’s pretty fatal to a romance.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

The Wish Swap

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If Wishes were Chickens

Emily Tennant, fresh from her role as an adversarial sister in a Countdown to Christmas movie, is back in the saddle as the main girl In The Wish Swap. She is paired with Jake Foy, who has worked in Hallmark movies before, but not in quite awhile. I really liked him and would like to see him cast in more lead roles. And ones that require flannel. Casey is an executive recruiter for a large company and her fatal flaw is that she carries self sufficiency too far. She wants to do everything herself and won’t ask for help when she could use it. Henry manages a large farm and doesn’t really have a fatal flaw, except he is kind of reserved, likes to stay in the background, and won’t “put himself out there” as they say. They first meet at a restaurant where they are meeting friends (Casey) and family (Henry) to celebrate their birthdays. The two parties are seated next to each other and the sparks fly immediately. When Casey’s friends bring out a birthday cake, Casey offers to share it with Henry’s party. Casey is very open and outgoing, the opposite of Henry. They make their birthday wishes and blow out the candles together. And that’s where the title of this movie comes in. Somehow (we are never told why or how) their wishes come true, but Casey gets Henry’s wish of owning his own farm, and Henry gets Casey’s wish of being on “Dancing Your Heart Out,” a reality show like Dancing with the Stars but with ordinary people.

Casey figures out what happened right away, doesn’t even freak out like any normal person would, but finds Henry and explains what happened. He doesn’t freak out either. She makes a deal with him. If she can be his partner on the national dance contest, she will let him run her farm for a whole year part time as a second job so he can save up enough money to buy his own place. Being on a nationwide dance show is Henry’s worse nightmare, but he agrees. What she doesn’t tell him is that her birthday wish is actually three wishes. What could be worse for a reserved somewhat shy person like Henry than being on a nationwide dance show? How about doing a stand up comedy routine in front of a club full of people? In order to get Henry to agree to be her partner in comedy she ups the ante by promising Henry part ownership of her farm. That is his dream and he cannot refuse. Casey’s third wish is a secret.

This was a cute movie with a better than average script. The banter between the various characters was amusing and everyone was likable. Nary a bad guy in the bunch which can be refreshing. What with Henry being forced out of his comfort zone with the dancing and having to do a comedy routine (which wasn’t half bad) with Casey, there was plenty of opportunity for situational comedy as well as romance. And of course the same goes for city girl Casey’s struggles working with Henry doing the usual Farm duties on the most darling little farm ever.

Henry’s sister Charlotte (Molly Saunders-possible Hallmark lead in training?) who helped out on the farm added value and a nice way with a line. Along with her wannabe boyfriend she provided the secondary romance. The last minute conflict was on the lame side, but in order for the couple to have their happy ending,  they had to prove they had learned their life lessons once and for all as well as seal the deal on their love story. But do they win the dance contest? I thought the writers had left a loose end, but the very last scene provides the answer.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

The Santa Class

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Campy Christmas Camp

Kimberly Sustad plays Kate North who has inherited North Star Academy, a school for Santas from her recently retired father. “What is a Santa School?” you may well ask. Well, it’s just what it sounds like. It’s for the training of those aspiring to be “picture perfect” Santa Clauses in order nab the most prestigious Santa jobs at the best malls, department stores, and parades. After her father retired, most of her clients have left for the competition (more on that later) and she, already only reluctantly trying to run this school, is left with 6 trainees which on the surface could only be described as pretty hopeless. We have a Jewish hippie Santa, a very intense  woman Santa with a chip on her shoulder (for some  reason), A Santa who speaks through a hand puppet-excuse me- “figure” aka “ “a talking piece of felt,” an elderly cool black Santa who wants to prove himself to his grandkids, a young skinny Santa who is only there to research his doctoral thesis on Santa Mythology, and an actor named “Paul Campbell”, up for a part in a Christmas Movie and played by my and many others’ favorite Hallmark actor, Paul Campbell.

Things are not going well. To add to her woes, we have the aforementioned competition, the Saint Nicholas School, “America’s Top Santa School,” which has been has been sucking the life out of North Star Academy for years. Back in 2013, North Star Academy’s business manager Blaise left to set up his own school, because Kate’s father, a legend in the business, was too focused on turning out wonderful Santas and not making as much profit as he could. Blaise has built a very profitable corporate-backed school and is now about to branch out into training Cupids, Leprechauns, and Easter Bunnies. Kate is on the verge of selling out to the owner of many malls who has offered to buy the school. He is actually nice and not a bad guy. Kate’s love interest is a hot shot Santa trainer (voted the best in America), played by Hallmark mainstay Ben Ayers, who was recently fired from St. Nicholas by Blaise because his high salary was eating into the board members’ Christmas bonuses. Kate and Dan went on a date once but Kate dumped him when she found out he worked for money-grubbing Blaise. Now fired Dan comes to Kate begging her for a job, and she agrees to take him on as her Santa trainer for the current session. Ben and Kimberley’s chemistry was excellent. She is such a presence that she needs a strong actor as a partner, and they both shine in these goofball roles.

Can we just say that  this movie is not thoroughly grounded in reality?  And this is not solely due to the fantasy element which is introduced when, driving back to Kate’s school,  they almost run over an old fat man in a red suit who is stumbling down  the middle of the road. It’s the real Santa Claus! But he has hit his head somehow and has amnesia. Kate and Dan know he is the real one because they both see his sleigh with his 8 reindeer flying away back home. They decide to take him back to her school to take care of him and help him regain his memory of who he is before it’s too late for all of the little boys and girls of the world to get their presents.

We are asked to just ignore a lot of questionable or nonsensical plot elements. The main thing is that the action is set during Christmas season right on up to Christmas Day. Shouldn’t Santas be trained during the summer or early autumn? There they are at Santa school when they should be already fully trained and working at being Santa Clauses. Even though the ending is happy and full of hope, we are not sure why. Nothing is really resolved. Yes, our team won the “Christmas Cup” from their rival, but it really doesn’t solve any of their problems. The money-rich corporate backed competition is still there, even though bad Blaise’s heart grew a few sizes thanks to a special gift from Santa Claus. I wasn’t convinced Kate still didn’t feel trapped running the school. Is Dan really worthy of her? And other stuff.

But it was fine! The presence and performance of Kimberly Sustad and the rest of the cast of characters more than made up for any gaps in logic. The whole plot line was kind of brave and really outside the usual box. It just barreled along and just kind of dared the viewer to question what was going on with the details. It was really funny with lots of jokes (some inside jokes for Hallmark fans), snappy dialogue, snarky banter, and interesting well acted characters. Trevor Lerner was perfect as Santa Claus, whose magic keeps popping out as needed. The romance between Kate’s academic sister Bailey (Doctor of European Folklore) and the the doctoral candidate Santa was cute. As a parting gift, Santa gives Kate a beacon in the form of a magic whistle which she is to use if she ever needs Santa’s help again. So that solves everything. We don’t have to worry or question that the future success of Kate’s business or her love life will be anything but but guaranteed. And I feel like there was hint of a sequel on the horizon. So maybe the loose ends will be tied up eventually.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Naughty or Nice

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Or is it Nice or Naughty?

**Spoilers**

In 2023 and so far in 2024, I have neglected the Lifetime Christmas movies in favor of Hallmark. Perhaps I forgot that Lifetime’s “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” has produced  some of my favorite movies, often with Hallmark stars. Case in point is A Snowed Inn Christmas starring Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker. I had never even seen this ancient 2011 movie, Naughty or Nice, until just a couple of days ago, and it was just excellent. Well, it turns out that it was a Hallmark production after all but I could have sworn I found it on Lifetime-On-Demand. Dang. I guess not. More research is needed. Why is this gem not on Hallmarks regular rotation? But anyway, I will still be re-visiting the Lifetime channel this year for sure.

Unhappily named Krissy Kringle who, just as unhappily, lives on Christmas decoration-obsessed Candy Cane Lane (“They changed the name after I moved here!”), often gets mail addressed to Santa Claus. She has a very nice boyfriend but is having a very bad day. She has had to take a job as a Christmas Elf because she shockingly got fired from her important marketing job. Krissy is already somewhat of a Grinch and this temporary job has not helped. The only bright spot to her new circumstances is her new friendship with an equally cynical co-elf named Marco, a co-hater of their petty tyrant of a boss.  When she gets home from work and starts going through all the mail (throwing the Kris Kringle letters in the trash) she comes across a large fancy book titled Naughty or Nice. She soon finds out that when she says someone’s name out loud in front of the book, it opens and turns to their personal naughty page. She starts using the book to find out the guilty secrets of those who have crossed her in order to put things right exact revenge. She starts with her and Marco’s current boss who has been stealing the petty cash meant to buy the elves their daily lunch. She blackmails him into decorating her barren yard with all of the extra department store Christmas bling to get the neighbors, particularly one called Debbie, off her back.  Then she finds out she was fired due to the skullduggery of her office mate she thought was her friend, and that her neighbor, mean and snooty Debbie, has been stealing everyone else on Candy Cane Lane’s decorations to ensure she wins first prize in the annual contest. Finally, when her nice boyfriend, Lance, breaks still another date to work late, Marco talks her into checking him out in the Naughty or Nice book. What she finds out causes her to break up with him in a rage humiliating him in front of his boss and work colleagues. It was quite horrifying. Krissy has gotten her revenge, but now she is miserable.

Her conscience getting to her, she talks things over with her mother and father (Meredith Baxter-Birney and Michael Gross!). Her mother reminds her that there is always two sides to any coin and encourages her to talk to Lance and get his side of the story because she knows him to be an honorable guy who really loves Krissy. Inspired by her mother’s words she goes home and turns the book upside down which reveals the Nice but Naughty side. Nice twist, that I probably should have seen coming.  Now she learns that several of the people whose shameful secrets she exposed and humiliated are really good hearted people who have done tons of nice things but who got off track a little. This includes neighbor Debbie and Lance, her boyfriend. But is it too late to make things right? Debbie has been run out of the neighborhood by a Christmas Lynch Mob (“Kill the Beast!”), and her boyfriend won’t speak to her.

This movie was just delightful thanks to the comic performance of Hilarie Burton Morgan and the many clever lines, that were probably quite original for 2011, and funny situations. At one point Krissy complains to her father, “He cheated on me with a girl that stabbed me in the back, got me fired, and took my job!” Dad rightly mumbles that she sounds like a Country-Western song. There were a lot of laughs but then it turns around and touches your heart and delivers a powerful for-Hallmark-lesson that good people can sometimes do bad things. No one is perfect. Do not be so quick to judge but be quick to forgive.

Krissy even gets her old job back, thanks to Lance and an important assist from the newly redeemed Debbie. The movie predictably concludes with the appearance of the owner of the book. The Hallmark-Perfect ending!

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Debbie Macomber’s Joyful Mrs. Miracle

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But She’s Not

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Angel in disguise, Mrs. Miracle descends to earth again to fix the lives of us humans. This year played by Rachel Boston, she takes on the persona of a real estate appraiser who enters the lives of three estranged siblings mourning the death of their grandmother, the chairman of the board of a large real estate firm. Her mansion is full of valuable antiques that  “Ann Merkle” is there to appraise and get on the market. Not a “Mrs.” in the movie. Each of the two brothers and one sister want to take over the chairmanship of the company. Charlotte is a single mother of a little boy who has some anxiety and perhaps other issues. She is a former lawyer who is recovering from a bad marriage and wants to prove herself. One of the brothers flies in from London where he is a financier and almost engaged to a nice woman. The youngest brother is a ne’er do well who is indebted to a threatening character, possibly mob-related, who is going to remove his fingers and other things unless he is paid. He wants the chairmanship for the money. They are at odds with each other due to an unfortunate business debacle mostly the fault of the youngest brother. Thanks to the magic, machinations and truisms of not-Mrs. Miracle they re-discover their love for each other and the importance of family just in time for Christmas. Meanwhile, Charlotte successfully navigates a second chance romance with the former stablehand, now estate manager. And the right person is chosen for the chairmanship.

Rachel Boston represents a new take on Debbie Macomber’s Mrs. Miracle character. The series is based on her books. The first Mrs Miracle (Mrs. Miracle and Call Me Mrs. Miracle-both terrific) was perfectly played by Doris Roberts who embodied the role for two years until she died. A decade later, (in A Mrs. Miracle Christmas ) the role was taken up by Caroline Rhea who was, in my view, just as great. Her movie added a new character, Mercy, who was a treat as Mrs. Miracle’s daughter, who, in a heart tugging touch, was also an angel. In between, there was a movie called Mr. Miracle, which didn’t work for me. This year, Mrs. Miracle, in a totally unneeded refresh, is a much younger woman. See above poster.

Rachel Boston embraces the role and her typical Rachel Boston (over the top cheerful, energetic, and animated) take on the character could have worked. But she was too overwhelming. She sucked all the air out of room. And this was partially the fault of the script. This Ms. Miracle was much too bossy and too intrusive into the business of the family she was sent to guide. Unlike the previous Mrs. Miracles, she comes across as a real busybody. Always hovering around night and day so very handy with her wise observations, unasked for (but good!, it must be admitted) advice, a sympathetic ear, and direct orders. She can not be ignored or avoided. They do ignore her magical purse however, never questioning how she can pull out crisp legal papers and folders, large toy horses, bunches of huge carrots, etc. like Mary Poppins and her carpet bag. Her references to dancing with Ted Williams, how they baked cookies in the 1890s and other references to her immortality earn a few quizzical looks, but are never challenged. They didn’t even google her. Ms. Boston’s performance and the script was totally lacking in subtlety, mystery, or the dawning sense of wonder of the other Mrs. Miracles. I think what happened was that Hallmark decided to go with a younger more energetic character, decided on Rachel Boston, and wrote the script with her in mind. It’s not the first time RB has played an angel. I don’t really blame the actress, but the casting, script and the direction. They would have done better to cast one of the many talented older actors to carry on the role. Wouldn’t Jane Eastwood, Teryl Rothery, or Barbara Niven have been great? Among many many others. Hallmark has motherly and grandmotherly actresses coming out the ying yang. For that matter, why didn’t they just recast Caroline Rhea? If they wanted a younger vibe, they could have expanded her young daughter Mercy’s role, perhaps laying the groundwork for a spin-off series. I’m ok with Hallmark going younger in their choice of actresses for many of their movies, but in this case, it just didn’t work as well as it could have. The movie as a whole was just OK, but to be fair, Rachel Boston did have her moments.

Rating: 6.5 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.

Haunted Wedding

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Scooby-Don’t

This one started out great but lost its way, got pretty confused, and floundered around aimlessly to the inevitable happy conclusion. It’s a shame because the premise was a fresh one for Hallmark, the two lead actors were good and likable as were the characters they played, and in the beginning, there were several cute lines in the script. It opened with a spoof of Ghost Hunter-type reality shows with which I am very familiar because a lot of reasons. Ghost hunting is our couple Jana and Brian’s hobby and the movie opens with them doing just that. They really nailed the usual lingo and crazy machines that all respectable ghost hunters would not be without. It turns out that on this occasion Brian has lured Jana into a haunted insane asylum to propose marriage. It was cute. I really liked their relationship and that they were so enthusiastic about the unusual hobby that they shared in common. 6 months later they arrive at the (3-tombstone rated!) Keystone Manor, a haunted inn that they have chosen as their wedding venue. And this is about where it all starts to go downhill.

The house is haunted by the bougiely named Angelique DeMorney whose revolutionary war-hero true-love was ambushed and killed the day before their wedding. The anniversary of their planned elopement is coming up on Brian and Jana’s wedding day and Angelique is determined that there will be no wedding in her house unless it is hers to Malcolm, her dead lover. Jana and Brian decide to find out whether Malcolm is out there somewhere in ghost form (he is) and reunite them so they can cross over into the great beyond together forever. After “research” they find him at a pub which used to be the old jailhouse where he died of his wounds. It turns out that Malcolm was an ancestor of Brian and they look exactly alike. This familial connection is why Brian and Jana can interact with the two ghosts. New-to-Hallmark Dominic Sherwood was effective in the dual role, distinguishing the slightly goofy Brian from the serious and sad Shakespeare-quoting Malcolm very nicely.

Hardly anything in this movie made sense. For over 200 years Angelique has not been able to communicate with or be seen by anyone until the arrival of Jana and Brian. They are her one chance to finally be reunited with Malcolm and they vow to help her do so. They are ghost hunters. Brian is an ancestor of Malcolm. What could be more coincidentally fortuitous?  Yet Angelique is spiteful and hostile off and on (mostly on) throughout the movie. She sabotages their wedding preparations and plays mean tricks like turning their wine into vinegar. This ghost has powers outside the realm of the usual poltergeist activities. She whines all the damn time. She would have been well served if Jana and Brian left and had their wedding at “The Radisson (like normal people)”.

Brian calls in a disgraced TV medium recently exposed as a total fraud. (Why does he do that?) It is immediately apparent that he is a big phony and is rude to Jana and her more scientific approach to boot. Why don’t they throw him out on his ear immediately? But they put up with him until his stupid scheme literally blows up in their faces.

Why does Jana continually bring up her former fiance who left her at the altar years ago and often in Brian’s presence? She and Brian are a solid couple but Jana starts to doubt him for no reason. The conflict did not make sense in the context of their otherwise loving and fun relationship. Plus it was hurtful to Brian. Brian accuses her of trying to purposely sabotage their relationship and he’s probably right. It was meaningless manufactured drama and unnecessary.

And most importantly of all, why do they send their parents on a hayride when Jana’s father has debilitating allergies?

The script is full of overused trendy catchphrases like “We got this!”, I finally felt “seen”, and “I really get you”. Some of which come out of 200-year-old Angelique’s mouth. The one they thankfully forgot was “It’s complicated.” I usually ignore this stuff but I am up to here with these lazy word crutches. The whole thing, once the ghosts got involved, was more like a Scooby-Doo episode than the promising self-aware comedy-romance it started out to be. It’s almost like they changed writers mid-stream. I’m not saying they did, but the thought occurred to me.

Skipping through a lot of scenes, it all ends with a double wedding of the humans and the ghosts with the ghost couple going off together into the light. I strongly suspect that once Malcolm gets to know petulant and bitchy Angelique a little better they will be heading for Heavenly Divorce Court.

Rating: 4 out of 10.

The Magic of Lemon Drops

/ Rebekahrox / 2 Comments

The Roads Not Taken

**Spoilers**

Seems like there has been a lot of fantasy stories on Hallmark lately and this was another one. I was a little suspicious and the title did not set me at ease. But I really enjoyed it. It was well constructed with likable characters and sharp dialogue.  Lyndsy Fonseca and Ian Harding, the female and male leads were wonderful. In fact the whole cast and the characters they played were top-notch.  When Lyndsy does a Hallmark odds are (so far) that it will probably have a fantasy element. She has been nothing but appealing and likable. Stephanie Sly as The Best Friend, and Mariam Bernstein as The Eccentric Aunt were stand-outs. Ian Harding brought a real Paul Campbell vibe to his role which is about the highest compliment I can give him.  Honestly this role could have been written for Paul Campbell, one of my and many others’ favorite Hallmark regulars. Ian Harding played the love interest in Ghosts of Christmas Always. Enough said.

Lolly works with her father at their little restaurant, The Eatery. She is tired, sad, and frustrated. Her dreams of having her own fun and elegant restaurant in New York complete with love and her own family have almost faded away. John B. Lowe plays her father who  embodies my most disliked Hallmark type: A business owner who will sacrifice everything to save the business except take advice and make the changes needed to give his business a chance to survive. Not an auspicious start. To add to Lolly’s discontent, her ex-boyfriend is back in town. He is a successful doctor because he left her and their small town to pursue his own dream. He is a happily divorced and professionally satisfied single father now, and Lolly is full of regrets over their bad break-up which was her fault. When she voices her frustrations and doubts about how she can get her life back on track to her Aunt Gert, Aunt Gert, who is a truly wonderful character, ends up giving her 4 magic lemon drops.  If she eats one before she goes to sleep, her dream that night will be one whole day living a life she yearns for. When she wakes the next morning, she will remember the “dream,” which will help her choose the best path.  She gets 3 chances. The 4th drop, if she takes it, will allow her to pick one of the 3 lives she dreamed of, and her memories going forward will only be of that one life.

The first life she wants to experience is her professional and creative dream of her own restaurant in NYC. When she wakes up the next morning she reflects on the fact that despite having her Michelin-starred fantasy restaurant, her life was still full of creative frustration and financial troubles. She still had no love life, and in addition she was on the outs with her sister and her father. She is more confused and frustrated than ever, so the next night she wishes her wise and loving mother was still alive to support and advise her. That happens and it is wonderful but it also comes with unlooked for and unwelcome consequences. The last lemon drop is to peek into what her life would be like if she and Rory had not broken up, but are happily married with their own family. And it was lovely. But….

In between the nightly dreams of the alternate lives, We spend the days with Lolly as she starts a little side-hustle business of gourmet frozen fruit and herb pops (‘Lolly-Pops”) which gets off to a promising start. She mends her relationship with Rory and starts to see her Aunt Gert, her sister, her father, and even her late mother with new eyes. All these multi-layered stories weaving in and out of each other and each playing out in logical conflicting consequences yet with recurring themes in common could have been a hot mess. Just like that sentence. But it was done seamlessly. And I was not confused.  I was impressed with the detail incorporated into each dream life and its setting along with her “real” life interspersed in the daytime. Everything kept moving forward at a perfect pace and was tied together beautifully to the littlest detail. They even managed to incorporate a cute dog.

There was drama and surprises. Lessons are learned. And they are good ones. Life is a series of trade-offs both sweet and sour. Find your joy and happiness in what you chose. Best of all, the romance was compelling, fully developed, and mature without the usual silly Hallmark tropes. Gosh, I think I’ll have to give this one an almost 10.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.

Junebug

/ Rebekahrox / 12 Comments

Inner Childish

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

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

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

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

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

Rating: 5 out of 10.

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