Anna Van Hooft

#Xmas

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#fakehusband #fakebaby #funnymother

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

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

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

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Holiday Date

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And for Something a Little Different…

This is a genuinely amusing little variation on the usual Hallmark template. It starts off with all of the clichés in place: Nice girl gets dumped before the holidays when she is expected to bring the dumper to meet the family for the first time. she can’t bear the humiliation or to disappoint them so she falls in with a plan to substitute an actor to impersonate the architect “Mr. Christmas” ex-boyfriend. He is a born and bred New York City actor who is anxious to visit a small town to get a feel for a role he is up for. One problem. He is Jewish and far from being an architect, he can’t even build a gingerbread house. The chemistry between the charming leads was great, there was some ample support from veteran actors Bruce Boxleitner and Teri Rothery. And the talented Anna Van Hooft, who usually plays the villain in Hallmark movies, does a credible job in a throwaway part as the supportive sister, for a change. And let’s not forget the contribution by a Hallmark stalwart Peter Benson as the brother-in-law and all of his helpful advice.

This was a nice romance with some good laughs fueled by the tension of when will the truth come out, and what will happen then, and the cluelessness of fake fiancee Joel, played with aplomb by newcomer Matt Cohen.

One of the best this year. Hallmark Christmas movie fans: Don’t miss it!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

December 16, 2019

Sense, Sensibility, and Snowmen

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A Defiant 10

I’ve read all of Jane Austen’s books and seen all of the films and series based on her books numerous times. I’ve read a lot of Austen-based modern interpretations as well. I am drawn to the numerous modern riffs on Austen and enjoyed many of them. My favorites are Clueless and Bollywood’s Bride and Prejudice. So of course I’ve seen the previous attempts Hallmark has made to capitalize on Austen’s current popularity. They were shameless exploitations because neither the plot nor the characters had anything to do with Jane’s works.

This one was different. Like Sense and Sensibility, we have two sisters who have an “Us against the world” mentality. One is flighty and starry-eyed, and one is practical and down to earth. They run a party planning business together. They are a believable version of what a modern Marianne and Eleanor might be. The love interest is a reserved button-down and shy corporate head who is dominated by an over-bearing parent and romantically linked to a childhood sweetheart. There is also a secondary love interest called Brandon. But here’s where the scriptwriter wisely mixes it up. Instead of All-business practical Marianne (they also switch the names of the two sisters) being paired off with the Corporate stick-in-the-mud, It is the lively Ella who takes him by storm and shakes up his life and attitudes. It is very cute and more suitable for the modern Rom-com. The chemistry between the two couples and the sisters was romantic and touching. The acting was some of the best I have seen in a Hallmark lately. Erin Krakow was wide-eyed, energetic, and outgoing as her character called for. Erin surely has been doing these Hallmarks for 2 decades, but she hasn’t changed a bit. She was charming. Kimberley Sustad, a Hallmark stalwart, made Marianne likable and understandable despite her buzz-kill personality. Even though the two characters had conflicts and conflicting world-views, their love and loyalty to each other were touchingly done and affecting. Luke McFarlane was superb. He usually plays cardboard cut-out romantic heroes. In this one, he started out as a real pill who slowly and realistically melted and opened up. I was very impressed by the job he did with the Edward Ferrar personality. He was funny. I loved the chemistry between Luke and Erin, and couldn’t wait for the final chaste clinch.

So yes, I give this a 10. Overgenerous? Perhaps. But with this one, I’m grading on the Hallmark curve against a singularly lackluster couple of years of Hallmark Christmas movies. I’m amazed at some of the sour and overwrought reviews this one has gotten. I can only think that their experience with modern Austen takes is pretty limited.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

December 3, 2019

Love at First Bark

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Boring and Banal

Love at First Bark is one of Hallmark’s more mediocre offerings. Other than some cute dogs and the odd dog-training tutorial, this one has nothing at all to recommend it. It is a very lazy effort with a cookie-cutter script and unremarkable leads. Usually one can find something to like in these things: a little unexpected twist, appealing actors, some cute lines, an old favorite star in a secondary role, some genuine chemistry between the leads, a villain you love to hate, a heart-tugging moment, etc., etc. This one was a complete waste of time.

The heroine is particularly annoying. She stubbornly refuses a handsome and sweet dog-trainer’s help in getting her new pooch under control until she finally changes her mind. She is very immature about her business and her love life. When she sees her new boyfriend who is obviously and unaccountably in love with her being nice to his ex-wife, she goes to pieces. He has outright told her he no longer has any interest in his ex and why. She sees his ex give him a smooch in the middle of a crowded party. Not a hidden alcove, a crowded party. This is so upsetting to her that she offends a valuable and much-needed client and petulantly breaks up with the dog trainer on the spot. She shuts him down when he literally begs her to listen. Very mean and unreasonable. He is very confused and doesn’t understand. She passive-aggressively tells him that she needs to focus on her new business (after she just dissed a potential client, mind you) and doesn’t have time for a relationship. Unfortunately for him, she apologizes soon after and he stupidly takes her back. That is all. As another reviewer noted, and adding to the irritating nature of this Hallmance, are Julia’s false eyelashes. They are so thick and long that she could literally sweep the floor with them. They deserve a cast credit of their very own. It gets 3 stars from me because the dog trainer/love interest (Kevin McGarry) was a super nice guy and very good-looking. The rest of the cast, including Leanne Lapp, was also very competent. **3 stars out of 10**

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

April 13, 2017

A Gift Wrapped Christmas

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The Best of the Season

I gave this one a “10” on my special scale for Hallmark movies. This one is set apart by the writing, the enjoyable characters, and most especially, the casting. There are probably 5 or 6 basic plots for these things. This one is the closed down/sad widower with a child who needs our heroine (Gwen) to reawaken him and save his relationship with his kid. No the plot is not original, but I judge the good writing in the little details. The relationship between our heroine’s sister (the wonderful Beverley Mitchell-so glad to see her again!) and her husband was fleshed out and added to the enjoyment. The appearance of the Mom at the end was a nice touch and added to the depth (don’t laugh) of the story. Gwen was cute, funny, charming, quirky, and so very likable. The actress(Meredith Hagner) was another Meg Ryan at the height of her romantic comedy powers. She was an absolute delight. Don’t ever change. The Dad was handsome and appealing, making his journey from cold and hostile to warm and open fun to watch. The villainess Anna Van Hooft) was very scary. What more could one ask for? Great chemistry between the two leads, that’s what. And yes, it delivers there as well. **10 stars out of 10**

Rating: 5 out of 5.

December 12, 2015

Bridal Wave

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Dynamic Duo in a Valentine’s Treat

Spoiler alert to follow the letter of the law only. Come on, this is Hallmark: We all know how this is going to go down.

Arielle Kebbel and Andrew Walker team up again for another Hallmark Romance after 2012’s highly rated (for a Hallmark!) “A Bride for Christmas.” I didn’t think I’d like this at first because the heroine was too gorgeous and the story was crazy predictable. The characters were even more so. Stodgy but successful workaholic fiancé? Check. Snobby disapproving future mother-in-law? check. Cute rebel outside the lines rival for her hand? Check. Nice middle-class family of the bride worried that their oldest daughter is going to become an “Old Maid”? Check. Arielle, however, proved to be down-to-earth, irreverent, and funny. The script served her well. She was surprisingly relatable despite her beauty. The hero was very attractive with a lot of charm. Jaclyn Smyth added nothing. Still beautiful, she obviously has had some work done, but still looks fairly natural. She should have been more evil to get that tension and suspense ratcheted up a bit . Nice “One Year Later” epilogue: Very Sweet with some amusing little touches.**8 out of 10 stars**

Rating: 4 out of 5.

January 20, 2015