Ashley Williams

To Barcelona, Forever

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Part II. Just Add Saffron.

Ok so now it’s Anna’s turn to find her soulmate in Barcelona (or vicinity). In the first movie of this two-parter an author (Anna) and the translator of her book (Erica) met in Barcelona and became best friends. Erica found true love with her best friend (No, not Anna-another one-a guy) and Anna found her true calling, which was not a novelist but a food writer. Erica is the true novelist. Or is she? A publisher has given her a book deal without her even having to submit a proposal or even a vague idea for a novel, and she has not written a word. Yes, it’s the dreaded Hallmark Writer’s Block. But we’ll put a pin in that one because this movie is about Anna who has spent the last 5 months traveling around Europe blogging about food. She has attracted the interest of a food magazine who is willing to give her a real job if she can blow off their socks with a groundbreaking article on something to do with food.

Anna visits a gourmet shop and the shop owner suggests a teeny tiny jar of the world famous saffron that he is the exclusive purveyor of. When she finds out the price, she laughs in his face “Does it come with its own private chef?” and makes another sarcastic remark or two. Unfortunately, the owner of the saffron farm, Javier Estrella, is standing right behind her. Meet Cute Alert!  He is very offended and she is very abashed. She wants to write about his saffron and his family who for generations have been producing the world’s finest example of the venerated spice. That’s a big nope. Besides the disdain he feels for Anna, his family takes privacy to an almost pathological level. Even the village they live in is so secret, no one can find it, “unless they want you to. And they don’t.” We’ll put a pin in that one too. Well, one thing leads to another, the disdain does not last long, and the sparks just fly off these two. They have a magical evening which ends with a kiss. On her way to Portugal the next morning, Anna’s car breaks down right outside Javier’s secret village (What are the odds?-It must be fate). Javier is horrified to find her lugging her luggage down the street, thinking she followed him. As it turns out, Javier was in Barcelona to meet a matchmaker his mother set him up with. He promised her he would get married before the next harvest in a couple of weeks and start having babies to continue the family legacy. His family will think Anna is his fiancée (they work fast in this neck of the woods). Instead of telling his mother the truth they decide to compound the problem and have Anna pose as his fiancée so his mother will have her heart broken later rather than sooner, and broken worse by getting her hopes up and of course she will grow to love the super charming Anna. In turn, Javier will let Anna publish her article about the family business, on the condition he approves of it once it’s written. Orphan Anna grows to feel a part of the warm tradition-loving family and romance, conflict, misunderstandings, hurt feelings, drama, comedy, and a festival ensue. And Erica and Nico from the first movie show up adding to both the fun and the tribulations which follow.

Thanks to the performances of Ashley Williams and Miguel Bracco, who played Javier, this movie won me over pretty quickly with their first scene together. Their chemistry (hate that word, but what can you do?) between the two really made the romance work. Their banter was funny, thanks to both their delivery and the writer (Julie Sherman Wolfe). Ashley brought her Golden Retriever puppy dog personality somewhat to heel, and nailed her character’s vulnerable introspective side. The easy rapport between Ashley Williams and Alison Sweeney was a natural. What took them so long?  The saffron aspect was interesting and educational.

It was not problem free, of course. Few Hallmarks are. There were the usual cliches, nonsensical decisions, and other questionable occurrences only for the sake of plot and drama. And the casting was a little off the wall. This included the actor playing Javier’s father being the same age as Ashley Williams, his future daughter-in-law (presumably). The Mom was also very youthful and hip looking for such an old-fashioned character. And other things we won’t dwell on. It will be a banner day when Hallmark embraces the real ages of their talented and popular lead actresses and gives them roles which acknowledge that yes, even women in their 40s and 50s can find romance and adventure. Which I would guess is their target market, by the way. Insert “shrug” emoji.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

To Barcelona, With Love

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The Ashley and Alison Show

This was almost really good. The plot was a fairly fresh take on the iconic Cyrano de Bergerac love triangle. Roxanne with Steve Martin was mentioned. Anna, played by Ashley Williams, is a romance writer whose latest book is a big flop. That is because she is not a good writer. Case in point. She sets the book in Barcelona, Spain and she has never even been to Barcelona. But that’s OK because “she walked the streets” courtesy of Google Maps Street View. Her first book was successful only because she had a wonderful editor who fixed it. Her publisher does not want to have anything more to do with her. Until the soaring sales figures from Barcelona come in. Shockingly, instead of being exposed there as being phony and inauthentic to the native Catalans, it is a big hit. That’s because of…Erica. Erica, played by Alison Sweeney, is an expat American who has lived and worked in Barcelona for 10 years. She is a literary translator who is the one who translated Anna’s book into Spanish. Except she didn’t just translate it she rewrote it completely. “I didn’t mean to!” Her knowledge and love for the city shown through and she put in a lot of symbolism and other stuff, making it an almost instant modern classic in Catalonia. She is best friends with a very handsome bookseller, Nico, with whom she is secretly in love. He absolutely loves the book and invites the “author”, Anna, to Barcelona to promote it at his bookstore. Anna is thrilled, especially when she gets to Spain and gets a load of handsome and sexy Nico. They start crushing on each other.  Erica and Anna become friends and it isn’t long before Anna realizes, humorously, that the Spanish version of the book is nothing like the English version that she wrote. “Dolphins? I don’t remember writing anything about Dolphins?!”. The whole truth comes out and Anna and Erica decide to keep the secret so as not to ruin the bookstore event. And all of this is with the full blessing of the publisher, as long as Erica keeps to her non-disclosure agreement. I was relieved not to have to deal with a lot of faffing around with zero communication, lies, or threats of exposure. Well OK, Nico was out of the loop, but that was necessary to the romance, and the women’s efforts to keep up the deception were amusing. And although not realistic, Anna did not get cranky about Erica taking over her book. It only made her realize that she was not that kind of writer. Besides, she still got credit for it.

As Anna, Erica, and Nico tour around Barcelona, it becomes more and more clear to everyone that Erica is the one who should be with Nico, not Anna, with whom he has nothing in common. It was a slow burn romance and nicely done. What makes this movie, beside the beautiful setting, is the character of Anna and the performance of Ashley Williams. While her super-smiley perky sparkles personality and acting style can wear thin very quickly, she was perfectly cast as the exuberant extrovert Anna to whom no one is a stranger. Williams really leans into her signature acting style in what is almost a self-parody. She attacks people she sees reading her book, introduces herself as the author, holds up her photo on the book jacket to prove it, and insists on signing it for them. It was funny. She is more interested in food and eating than sight-seeing. It isn’t long before she knows more about where to eat in Barcelona than the natives do. As it turns out, Anna may not be able to write romantic fiction, but she’s a genius at writing about food. How will Anna and Erica, who is the true novelist, get their careers and love lives on the right paths? 

This movie was fun because the veteran Hallmark writer, Julie Sherman Wolfe,  kept it light-hearted and romantic, avoiding stupid misunderstandings, festering secrets, and hostile threats from bullying bosses that this type of plot could very well have fallen into. A case could be made that the two talented actresses were too old for their parts. At one point Erica hints that she is still looking to start a family. And Ashley’s part as a budding writer who still hasn’t found her niche is more suitable for someone in their 20s or early 30s. But these were minor points and easily pushed to the side. And, we are in good hands with the two talented Hallmark veterans. Plus Alison Sweeney and Alejandro Tous were a good match. The only thing that brought the movie down was Erica taking way too long to claim what she deserved in her career and personal life. She made hiding and denying practically an art form. Not my favorite.

As it turns out this was the first part of a movie duo. Next week it’s Anna’s turn to get the guy in Barcelona. I’m looking forward to it.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Jingle Bell Run

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Candy Canes and Cruciverbalism for the Win.

Besides starring two of their most popular and high profile leads in this “fun-type” Hallmark, This one did not have a lot to offer other than a tepid romance and high jinks. And I am not a fan of high jinks.

Avery, played by vivacious Ashley Williams is an elementary school teacher whose life, in her sister’s opinion, is too boring. Also, I think there is some mention of a recent romantic heartbreak situation. Or I could be mixing this one up with every other Hallmark ever made. Since she and the rest of her family are going away for Christmas, she has signed Avery up for “The Great Holiday Dash,” a national TV show where the chosen contestants are paired off and compete with the other couples in a series of games in cities across the country. The last couple standing wins a million dollars each. Avery is paired off with hunky Wes, a recently retired Hockey Player played by Andrew Walker. She being the brains and he being the brawn. We know he’s not the brains because he tries to argue 2 of the other contestants out of their airplane seats E and F on the way to Boston, their first location, because his and Avery’s tickets says C and D. And, according to Wes, Cs and Ds look like Es and Fs. At first I thought this might be a learning disability situation which might have been interesting. But No.

I will say that the script had some cute lines and humorous banter in the beginning while the two were at odds. But as they start to be a team and fall in love, it starts to get boring and repetitive. They get to know the hopes and dreams, and in one case, the tragic past, of the individuals on 2 of the other teams, which is how we know which of the 8 or so teams will be the final ones to be eliminated. As for Wes and Avery, we find out that Wes is vaguely estranged from his brother and his family, and Avery was a shy kid whose teacher let her spend her recesses in the library reading books. And now she loves being a school teacher where she too can help shy bookworms avoid recess.

Unfortunately, once again this year, Hallmark has shoehorned two of their most beloved and seasoned stars into scripts that are not age appropriate. I really thought they had gotten away from that, but it seems like sometimes they just can’t resist. It’s not that people in their mid forties couldn’t do well in such a race, but the games once they got to their destinations seemed too silly and a few, downright awkward. Maybe I’m just a stick in the mud. How do I know this script was meant for a more youthful cast? 45 year old Andrew Walker’s character retired last year and is struggling to find what he wants to do with the rest of his life. When Avery asks him why he retired, he tells her that when a Hockey player gets to age 30, it starts to take a toll on his body. So probably 31 or 32, scriptwise? A case could possibly be made for 35 at the oldest. It was kind of weird, because he could have said 37 or 38 instead of 30. And as attractive as Ashley Williams usually is, she is no 35 year old.

I was very disappointed that the last minute bust up happened due to the ol’ overheard conversation where the eavesdropper leaves before the whole story comes out trope. That dropped it a whole star. It had to do with some skullduggery on the part of the producer to increase viewership. Wes was complicit, until he wasn’t. No points for guessing what the scheme this entailed. I won’t say which couple wins the 2 million dollars, but be assured that no couple leaves devastated and with their dreams crushed.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

Falling Together

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A Worthy Cause, A Good Message, But a Not So Great Movie.

No one does cheerful and energetic like Ashley Williams and boy oh boy they picked the right girl for this role.  She plays Natalie who is moving from Miami to Pittsburgh to manage admissions at Carnegie Mellon University. Natalie loves to “get involved”  and fix things. In other people’s lives. She finds fertile ground in her new digs, a condominium of 25 units in the heart of the city. It seems that half of the residents are either at each other’s throats and the other half don’t give a rat’s derriere about what’s going on around them unless it affects their lives. Natalie isn’t having any of that. She is all about community, making friends with the neighbors, and helping. She lives for it.

But she gives a party that no one comes to and parks herself outside the building trying to give her neighbors free muffins to no avail. They sense a trap and don’t fall victim. Not helping matters is her exact opposite, the super of the building, Mark (Paul Campbell). He is good at fixing the plumbing, but fixing the personal lives of the residents, his employers, is above his pay grade. He takes his religion of “not getting involved” very seriously in all aspects of his life. Now you would think this dynamic between the two would result in a sweet romance, witty banter, and comedy. Unfortunately, the lack of chemistry between the two actors put paid to that hope very early on. But Of course, these two are fated to be together forever making each other miserable. Just kidding, they are fated to fall in love and find a happy medium between the two extremes. Thanks to a mutual friend, the owner of a neighborhood diner, Mark starts spending some time with the human steam roller that is Natalie and he is helpless in her path. With his help and advice, she eventually makes progress with her neighbors, mending fences and fostering community and such. And Mark’s protective walls start to crumble.

Meanwhile, since Natalie’s actual job does not start for 6 weeks she has lots and lots of time on her hands. This could have been very dangerous for Pittsburgh, but she finds a grateful and enthusiastic embrace from Carnegie Mellon’s Alzheimer’s association. Their current project is Walk to End Alzheimer’s to shine a light on this disease and raise money for the cause. Natalie could not have found a more worthy channel for her talents and energy. She makes friends with the head organizer of The Walk, Linda. Highlighting the tragedy of this disease, Linda candidly reveals to Natalie that she is a victim of early-onset Alzheimer’s. Vivacious and capable, Linda is played by Linda Kash, who is particularly affecting when she stands with Natalie in front of a photo of herself and wonders who that woman is, because she looks very familiar. Surprisingly, Linda’s advice to Natalie is similar to Mark’s: Stop every so often and take time to care for yourself, find what gives you joy, and do that. Help others, but find fulfillment within, not in investing all of your energy in other people and their business. Stop and smell the roses, or in this case, appreciate the beauty of the autumn leaves. Of course, Mark learns from Natalie’s approach to life and is changed for the better in the other direction.

It is a good message and kudos to Hallmark for basing their movie around such a worthy cause. Unfortunately, they tried to pack in too much to do it with any depth or complexity. More time was needed to develop Natalie and Mark’s relationship and their individual arcs, the neighbors’ subplots and their characters’ journeys and arcs, and of course Linda’s. The romance was blah. Ashley Williams has managed to rein in her smiley ebullience in the last few movies she has starred in and I have really liked her. It all burst forth in this one and it was way too much. Hopefully, she’s gotten it all out of her system for a while.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Notes of Autumn

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Trading Places

This is a “trading places” romance wherein two long-distance friends exchange homes for a week or so to figure things out regarding their professional lives.  Ever smiley Ashley Williams plays Ellie, a former professional pianist, who just got fired from her event planner job because she kept getting distracted by pianos. She gave up her true vocation because, she says, she likes to eat, have a roof over her head, and wear clothes. But it’s really because her confidence was shattered by a mean conductor. One of her good friends in the hotel she worked at is Matt, the chef, who is using her apartment kitchen to create new recipes for a restaurant he hopes to open soon. The ever charming and adorable Luke McFarlane plays Leo, a romance writer with the curse of all Hallmark characters who write for a living: the dread Writer’s Block. His neighbor is Sam who is trying to whip a string quartet into shape for a charity event called a Piano Ball even though he is not a musician. Friends Leo and Ellie change places a la The Holiday Or Hallmark’s own Trading Christmas or last year’s Sister Swap movies. Yes, it’s been done before. And disappointingly a lot better in two of the cases.

To make a long story short, Ellie falls for Sam while getting her music mojo back, and Leo falls for Matt who inspires him to write something new as he is tired of writing his very popular series of historical romances. The fictional characters of Isabelle and Jack, amusingly played by Pascale Hutton and Kavan Smith,(who play a couple in Hallmark’s super popular series, When Calls the Heart) keep intruding in Leo’s real-life struggles writing on his computer. I kept getting distracted by Ashley’s smile and Marcus Rosner’s dimples, imagining what their children might look like. Can we make that happen?

Besides the cute gimmick of Pascale and Kavan’s occasional appearances, the writing was average but the actors made the most of their lines. All of them were likable and funny, although Ashley’s struggles made no sense whatsoever. The gay romance was well done and sweet. Their sexual preference was pretty much in deep cover. Even Leo was surprised Matt was gay even after they had spent a good bit of time together. Guess his writer’s block also broke his Gaydar. At the end though we get some pretty loving looks and a couple of kisses. They all end up in Pinewood, Leo’s and Sam’s picturesque Canadian hometown, the city where Ellie and Matt lived abandoned in true Hallmark fashion. The love lives and professional lives are destined for success.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Five More Minutes: Moments Like These

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Five More Minutes: Take Two. Will there be Three?

This is one of those dramatic heartfelt Hallmarks that show on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. It is a follow-up to last year’s production based on the country song, Five More Minutes. In both, a grieving person gets 5 more minutes with a dead loved one. It looks like it may be an annual thing. I gave the first one 8 out of 10 stars, and I gave this one the same rating.

Ashley Williams is on a roll with me. She plays Kaitlin, a still-grieving widow of a 10-year-old boy, her husband having died 4 years earlier in a car wreck. Her performance was considerably toned down from her old Miss Perky McSparkles energy. She should play brave grieving widows more often. She still flashes that killer smile, but you know what? The girl can’t help it. There is some concern about her son, who though a nice kid, has become more and more withdrawn and introverted since his father’s death. Kaitlin goes home to Colorado from Los Angeles to spend Christmas with her husband’s family and decide what to do with her beloved home which has been vacant for the last 4 years.  She has received a very tempting job offer from a regular client but she would have to relocate to London.

While at a local Christmas fair, she meets a nice handsome man, Matthew, who it turns out was an old schoolmate and friend of her husband. They really hit it off, but the relationship suffers a blow when he fails to disclose that he is the representative of a huge corporation that covets her house and land. Luckily for their budding romance/friendship, her trust is restored with his explanation, apology, contrition, and his very positive relationship with her son. Also, in a clear conflict of interest, he is helping her to fix up the house in order for her to get the best price possible from his employer or another party. This seemed very shady to me.  His employer, who is also a friend and kind of worships the ground he walks on because of his honesty and integrity (?!) lets this go for some reason and in fact wants to hire him for his New York office.

Meanwhile, her son is having short encounters with progressively older boys every few days. They disappear mysteriously but not before leading him to friendship, community involvement, and finding his hidden talents.  He is finally healing and blossoming in this new community of Hollowford. Cameo Alert: Nikki Deloach as Clara Bingham, the art teacher and lead in the first Five More Minutes.

Everything comes to a head when she decides to sell the house to Matthew’s business partner for a ton of money and move to London. Things start to fall apart with her relationship with her son, who wants to stay in Hollowford,  the sale of the house, and her relationship with Matthew. She goes down to the basement in despair and what she sees there shows her that the boys her son has mentioned are none other than her dead husband coming back to help their son and who, in a  kind of spooky jump scare, then appears to her. They talk for 5 minutes.

The kid actor was fantastic with a layered, touching, and authentic performance in a part that could have been annoying. I can take or leave Lucas Bryant, but he made a good match with Ashley Williams.  I liked that when Matthew and Kaitlin felt that surge of sexual attraction, they actually admit and knowledge that to each other openly. That is actually quite unusual for Hallmark couples to do. Usually, they just gaze soulfully or have an almost kiss which is not attempted again until the very end. The owner of the development company that had a signed contract on Kaitlin’s house, did something at the end for no good reason. It was weird and made no sense. Nevertheless, I could watch another one of these Five More Minutes movies with no hesitation whatsoever. It’s a good concept, and so far they have been well done.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Two Tickets to Paradise

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I Like Her Again

I used to be a huge Ashley Williams fan. Her perky cheerful demeanor really energized many of the Hallmarks she starred in. I just couldn’t help smiling whenever she came on the scene. Then I got a little tired of her. Instead of perky, she came across as over-caffeinated and exhausting. Instead of cheerful, she came across as manic. And she started to wield that mega-watt smile like it was a weapon. So I approached this latest Ashley Williams vehicle with caution. I did look forward to how she would pair with one of my fave Hallmark actors Ryan Paevey.

I would like to renew my membership to the Ashley Williams fan club, please. At least on a movie-to-movie basis. She plays a happy bride who is dumped the morning of her wedding. Sitting on the floor of the church toilet stall Boo-Hooing hysterically with Mascara running all over her face, she was hilarious. I never liked her more. “I never should have forced him to watch The Sound of Music!!!!,” she wails to her mother and sister frantically pounding on the bathroom door.  “Best Movie Ever!” they chorus. Out she tumbles from the window of the church in full wedding regalia and meets Ryan Paevey, who has been similarly dumped. They engage in some banter and Ryan talks her into going on her Hawaiian honeymoon by herself. She is taken under the wing of a sweet resort manager and starts having a good time. “ Mango-Lime Mimosa? Sounds Gross. I’ll take it!” Ryan later shows up at the resort himself (Are you following me?”). No, he has a good friend on the island and also needs a break. They become friends, go on adventures, start to recover from their trauma, and the inevitable happens. Yes, that. But also her ex-fiance shows up.

The dialogue was funny and the rest of the scripting was good too. Ryan and Ashley’s relationship develops naturally and they both experience a needed change of attitude towards how to approach life. Ashley really nailed both the comedy and the serious stuff and her good-humored rapport with Ryan was spot on. Yes her too famous for her own good grin was front and center, but somehow it was just fine. Great Scenery, well-played secondary characters, and topped off by a nice satisfying “One Year Later” scene. I love those.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

June 27, 2022

Love, Classified

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All About Emilia (or Trudy or Jan)

**spoilers**

This one started off extremely well. The writing was intelligent, and Melora Hardin (A.k.a. Trudy Monk) delivered her lines with verve and vivacity. It was clear that this was going to be one of the Hallmark 2.0s that the network has been flirting with lately that eschews the usual fill in the template set-pieces and characters. Paul Campbell in a cameo appeared as a bartender who serves to introduce the main character, Emilia, played by Melora. So I was set to enjoy this. We later see an uncredited appearance by Ashley Williams and a welcome cameo by Michael Kevin Anderson. And Steve Bacic is a big favorite of mine as well.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past the mother, Emilia’s, past abandonment of her children after the death of her husband. Yes, people make “mistakes”. But a 5-year absence is not a “mistake,” it is a heartless, selfish, cowardly choice. And while I know that health crises do cause people to rethink the importance of family and old ties, I thought it was significant that she didn’t come back to see her children until she felt personally vulnerable. Apparently, when everything was going well, her children were not very high up on the priority list. And as for self-centeredness, her hurt daughter was a chip off the old block. She was very unlikable. I don’t fault her for her feelings towards her mother, but I didn’t like her childish acting out, especially towards her very faultless and innocent love interest, Her mother’s doctor. Her son, on the other hand, handled everything perfectly. He was cautious about his mother’s reappearance in his life but willing to give her a chance. When she (predictably) was set to run away again, he called her out on her propensity to run from trouble and conflict instead of sticking it out. I liked his anger.

As the movie went on, Melora Hardin’s performance started to grate on my nerves more and more. Her over-the-top emoting was just hammy. Her speech at her book signing was just cringe-inducing. The self-involved airing of all of her bad behavior and embracing her children’s successes was not an apology to her children, it was another “all about me” TMI performance. So, what promised to be a more sophisticated (lesbian romance front and center instead of a brief hint in the background) version of family-friendly fare, just fizzled, for me. Stars for the good things about it.**6 out of 10**

Rating: 6 out of 10.

April 24, 2022

Sister Swap: Christmas in the City

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Energizer Bunny

This one fell flat primarily because I already knew the plot from watching the companion movie a week ago. There were a few elements added that we were not aware of and some more details, but they were not enough to save this for me. In fact, it made it worse. I really thought the Ashley character was way out of line as she tried to take over her sister’s successful, smart, and sophisticated restaurant and proceeded to make it over the way she thought it should be. She just steamrolled over everybody with the small-town homey vibe she wanted to project. Some of her ideas worked out, but that wasn’t the point. She was a loose cannon. Because of the first movie, I knew a crisis was coming and I couldn’t wait for Kimberly to yell at her.

The other reason was that I am just so tired of Ashley Williams, and I take no pleasure in saying that. I used to think she was a breath of fresh air. But now she comes across like a manic-depressive without the depressive. I really wanted the depressive. A few times she stopped smiling and bouncing off the walls but the respite didn’t last long enough. It’s probably not about her as a personality and actress but the parts she has been cast in lately. She needs to play a serial killer or something. Actually, she probably would be good at that.* Especially if was one of those clown ones.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

December 13, 2021

*In re-reading this, I just remembered she did play a murderer in an episode of Monk once in an early role. And she was good.

Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa

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Take a Chill Pill, Jill

**Spoilers**

Jill Wagner is usually very natural and believable in whatever type of role she takes on. She is always a beacon of maturity and balance. Not so much in this one. She was a bit over-caffeinated and somewhat exhausting. Could it be the influence of being in holly jolly Evergreen?

Lisa, a big city real estate stager decides to briefly go home to Evergreen, the Christmas capital of the world, or at least of Hallmarkland. She is disappointed to see Daisy’s Country Store out of business and up for sale and learns that the VIP citizens of the town are scared that a big conglomerate will buy it and put up a McDonald’s or something in the middle of their picturesque little Christmas village. Haven’t they ever heard of Zoning laws? And how to use them? Lisa decides to stage the store to make it a more attractive investment for someone who will keep it the way it was. And presumably, everyone else who won’t as well? She hires handsome Kevin, a famous contractor, who is visiting his morose Dad in Evergreen to help. They transform the dilapidated store, but the prospective buyers fall through. Eventually, she gets her and Oliver, her business partner and BFF’s number one client, Polly, to visit and hopefully buy the store. Polly OOhs and AAhs but doesn’t bite and wants Oliver and Lisa to work for her exclusively. They are thrilled at the opportunity. Kevin hears about it and decides to leave town. Also, Kevin, who doesn’t realize Oliver is gay, thinks Lisa and Oliver are “together.” Of course, Oliver’s sexual orientation is not stated because it is way back in 2018 before Gay people existed in Hallmarkland. But when Lisa falls in a snowbank laughing hysterically (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! NONONONONONONONO!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!) at the prospect of her and Oliver hooking up, we get the idea.

Anyway, Lisa and Kevin reconcile and Lisa buys the store herself. Christmas miracles abound but not without the help of the magic snow globe (see movie #1) a mysterious key to something or other, and a 25-year-old letter to Santa that went astray and didn’t make it to the North Pole.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

December 10, 2021