Azriel Dalman

All I Need for Christmas

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All is Calm, All is Bright

This is one of those quiet humble Hallmarks that doesn’t try to break any crazy new ground. It’s a very usual type story with little in the way of real twists or surprises. No attempts to swing for the fences or set the Hallmark world on fire. But I really liked it and was engaged in the story and characters throughout. It’s the kind that about a half hour in, you find yourself surprised and say to yourself “This is really good!”

Both of the lead characters have equally important storylines. Maggie Mackenzie is a professional musician whose career is going nowhere. The band she was going to open for canceled her because they wanted a bigger act. To get her career back on the upswing, she needs to write some new fresh songs, so her manager gives her a phone with a series of music apps on it called “Archline” designed to help aspiring musicians with writing lyrics, sound and auto-tuning. Maggie is offended and views such things as phony, ripping off real musicians, and kind of cheating. While she’s at it, she also eschews  social media to promote her career. Since her big gig has been canceled, she decides to go home to Vermont where her parents own a Christmas tree farm.

Dan Jeannotte plays Archer, the developer of the popular app. He is one half of two estranged siblings who grew up with a very toxic father who has recently died. Usually in Hallmarks when a parent or grandparent dies, they reach back from the grave to help their beloved survivor find love and happiness. This father is so awful that he reached out to continue to pit his two adult children against each other and to foster their  unhealthy rivalry.  Piper’s two kids will get trust funds and any future children of Archer will not because Piper “won” by having her two kids “first”. His will also stipulates that whoever’s net worth is greater by Christmas, will get his seat on his  corporation’s board of directors. Piper is ecstatic and gloating because she just had 2 major settlements come in which will make her the winner. This tracks with how they were raised. As Archer tells Maggie later in the movie, “buckle up for this one.” As soon as the two were old enough to start earning money, their parents kept a record of their earnings to the penny and whoever made the most money by Christmas got a boatload of Christmas presents and the loser got nothing. When he was old enough, Archer was wise enough to get therapy and because of that had long since cut ties with his father.  “I couldn’t heal from the damage while he was still trying to inflict it.” Piper, on the other hand, stuck with dear old Dad and is still carrying around a lot of baggage because of that. Her kids are great though so she must be doing something right. Hallmark kid actor Azriel Dalman plays her son, and he is always good.

Seeing a photo of the one happy family Christmas they had in Vermont, he decides to visit the same huge cabin they stayed in and it just happens to be in the same town as the Mackenzies’ Christmas Tree farm. All proceeds as one would expect. Initially, Maggie is hostile towards Archer as she learns right away that he is the developer of the evil apps that she objects to so strongly. But she can’t help but see that Archer is not the devil but a nice decent guy despite his wealth and success. She shows him how to cut down a Christmas Tree (he has never had one before), and he shows her how his app can help whip the pretty awful children’s Christmas choir she has volunteered to lead into shape. Also her father is firmly on Archers side of technology. When he garners 240,000 followers shooting videos of his adorable pet pigs and life on the farm, her harsh attitude further softens. Meanwhile, on a whim he sends his sister a picture of the log mansion he is staying at and to his surprise, she shows up there with her two kids who have made it clear that they want a real Christmas with Uncle Archer and their own tree. The brother and sister have their struggles and ups and downs while striving to repair their breach. Of course, once we get past the inevitable final conflicts and misunderstandings, breakthroughs are finally made all over the place and we have hopeful resolutions for Dad’s farm, (which I assume was struggling, because…you know), the sibling relationship, the seat on the board, the romance between Archer and Maggie, and her career trajectory.

Their were several reasons why this one succeeded with me. First the acting of Dan Jeannotte as Archer and Emily Tennant, who usually plays the romantic lead and nice girl, as the troubled Piper was excellent. I really really liked Archer. He was so nice, normal, and steady,  handling all of the challenges that came his way with grace and humor. And both Piper and Maggie, were both pretty troublesome throughout most of the story. I liked Mallory Janson as Maggie as well. She’s a good actress and made a character that had some very irritating ways and attitudes somewhat tolerable. It was a nice peaceful kind of story, but with enough conflict, tension and anticipation to make it interesting. It was a reminder that as much as I appreciate comedy, surprises, out of the box characters and story lines, Hallmarks “old faithful” type stories can also have their charms. Predictability does not have to be boring.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

The Real West

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A Ranchy Romance

I’m afraid I am somewhat of an outlier on this one. Kimberley Sustad, with her acting and authenticity was a queen, as usual. The script was a good take on 2007’s Steve Carell dramedy-romance Dan, In Real Life with the leading roles reversed. Some funny lines were made funnier by Kimberly Sustad’s comic timing, as always. And when emotions and angst are called for she is always more than equal to that as well. The plot had some good elements, both amusing and poignant. Rebecca’s ( Kimberley Sustad) relationship and banter with her two sons and her mother were well drawn mostly due to the acting of all concerned. But unfortunately, I just couldn’t get over the way the romance part was handled, the behavior of Rebecca’s flaky free-spirit younger sister Cassidy, and how the college issue with her 17-year-old son was resolved.

Rebecca is a university professor and widow with a teenage son and a 9-year-old who is told by her family that she needs to get a life and start dating again. Meanwhile, they are set to join her mother and sister at a dude ranch for a family vacation. When they get there, she learns that her sister has arranged the whole thing to follow a guy she has gotten serious about and thinks might be “The One”. She met him in upstate New York but he works there in Colorado as the horse guy for the ranch. She wants her sister to meet him and give him her Seal of Approval before she takes it any further because she isn’t a good judge of character like her sister is. Also, her mother hopes to set Rebecca up with a childhood friend who has grown up to be a real hunk. To add to the fun,  her 17-year-old son has invited his girlfriend along without her permission or knowledge until the young lady shows up with her luggage the morning of their departure. I’m not even going to go there because it turned out to be a very minor ripple in a sea of trouble.

Rebecca has yet to meet Jake, her sister’s boyfriend, when she goes into town to buy a cowboy hat. She meets a ruggedly handsome cowboy-looking dude there whom she takes to be the store clerk. The immediate electricity between the two just crackles. He flirts with her very seductively including getting all up in her space. This was not harmless fun and jokey flirting, but in earnest. He pretends he is the store clerk and proceeds to help her find the perfect hat because the hat should reflect the inner self. Whatever. The Sorting Hat routine continues as he places 3 hats on her head to choose from, looks deep into her eyes, and spouts off lines such as “Tried and true… When others grow weary, you grow stronger…Tough and tender…and strong enough to ride the land but gentle enough to warm the hearts of anyone lucky enough to know you.” Ick. Now I couldn’t tell if Lucas Bryant was kidding with his performance of a laconic, growly-voiced cowboy type, but I am up to here with every actor who plays a cowboy trying to channel Sam Elliot, kidding or not.  One of the funnier lines was Rebecca’s reaction to his hat-fitting methodology. “Oh. It’s a hat AND a horoscope.” But she is smitten, and buys all 3 of the hats after which she goes out for a 3-hour coffee break with him and they exchange numbers. Later, back at the ranch, her sister’s boyfriend shows up and she introduces him to her family. Guess who. Now I didn’t blame Rebecca at all. She was shocked, disturbed, and embarrassed. But I didn’t like how Lucas Bryant’s part in this was glossed over and ignored. He actively pursued her while still in an at least semi-serious relationship with another woman who turned out to be her sister. And he didn’t seem to care or have any sense of regret or chagrin over his behavior. He was very passive about the whole thing like her sister’s feelings had nothing to do with him. Either he had no empathy which I hope was not the case (because there is a word for someone who has no empathy) or he just didn’t show any. He was pretty inscrutable. He doesn’t break up with the sister until the movie is almost over and after the two boys had grown attached to him and he and Rebecca were hot and heavy emotionally.

Speaking of the sister, she  stupidly and obliviously persisted in throwing Rebecca and Jake alone together so Rebecca could get to know him. It was so bad, I thought that she was trying to match-make between the two having decided he was not for her after all. If only. That would have been fine and kind of funny. But no, when she finally figures out the two are well on their way to being seriously involved, she gets all mad at her sister! When she did nothing but throw them together at every opportunity! Why didn’t Rebecca tell her the truth about him putting the moves on her behind her back and their mutual attraction when her one job was to alert her sister to any red flags she sussed out? No clue.

I don’t want to pile on about this movie because there were so many great things about it. I will only briefly mention the third thing that didn’t sit right with me. What was with Rebecca giving her son her blessing to follow his girlfriend of 4 months to an out-of-town and lesser university rather than stay at home to go to a better school? And one to which he presumably would not have had to pay tuition since she was a professor there? That seemed way too irresponsible and indulgent to me.

Believe it or not this was a good movie with good acting from all concerned except I didn’t know what Lucas Bryant was trying to do. Probably the direction he got. Besides Kimberley Sustad, Lynda Boyd as the mother made an impact despite her few lines and small part. The side plot of Rebecca’s youngest son being obsessed with ghosts was amusing and quirky until we found out what was behind his interest, and then it was poignant. Azriel Dalman as the youngest son was wonderful as always. He is a regular Hallmark actor.

I didn’t see this movie until 3 days after the premiere for reasons I won’t go into but I wanted to love it going by the many glowing reviews and positive feedback. I just couldn’t get past the way the main characters were written. I was disappointed. Oh and by the way, the next time a Hallmark actor says “It’s complicated.” I won’t be responsible for my actions.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

A Season for Family

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No Buddy, It’s Really Not That “Complicated.”

**Spoilers**

This was shaping up to be a decent pull at the ol’ heartstrings usually involving moving forward after a death that Hallmark Movies and Mysteries specializes in. Stacey Farber was charming and refreshingly natural looking (No long ringlet over her shoulder!) as Maddie, the female lead,  and Brendan Penny, the male lead, is always at least good, and sometimes very good. The two play adoptive parents. Maddie is single by choice, and the mother of Wesley, a fairly well-adjusted kid, except he has recently learned he has a biological brother that he longs to meet. It is his Christmas wish. Brendan plays Paul who has lots of challenges in his life. He owns a struggling ski shop and his wife died a couple of years ago. Their adopted son, Cody, who is maybe about 8 or 9 does not know that he is adopted, and his mother on her deathbed and widowed dad agreed not to tell him until he was 10 years old. First, WTH? And, why?  This does not seem like a good idea in this day and age not to tell a child they are adopted. I mean, what is the big deal? If you don’t raise a child to always know they are adopted, shouldn’t you at least drop the truth bomb on him before he starts school? Why 10? Seems a little random with no regard to circumstances and your child’s personality and maturity level. But anyway, all the conflict arises from this peculiar decision, which later morphs into a “promise.” As in deathbed. Right. As we are told over and over, “It’s complicated”.

Maddie and Wesley visit her parents for Christmas in Park City Utah where Paul and Cody live. They meet at Paul’s ski shop. Mother and Father and the two boys bond immediately and it turns out that Wesley and Cody are, yes, you guessed it, biological brothers! What a happy coincidence! Here is Maddie’s son, yearning for a brother, and here is Paul’s son who is shy and timid and needing to come out of his shell, finally making a much-needed friend in Wesley. And here is Paul and Maddie who like each other a lot. But no. It’s complicated. Since Paul is too stupid and cowardly to tell his son about being adopted until he reaches the magical age of 10, everything is hush-hush. And here’s the thing. I won’t go into all of the details explaining, but he will lose his business and will have to move to Colorado because he can’t take advantage of a business proposition involving Maddie’s father, Wesley’s grandfather. Because Wesley and Cody must be separated so Cody doesn’t find out the truth (before he is 10).

Paul’s life, Cody’s life, the life of his sister who has been a surrogate mother to Cody, his best friend, and even Maddie and Wesley and Maddie’s parents are all going to be torn apart or heartbroken because he won’t tell Cody he is adopted (before he is 10). Not to mention all that he is depriving his son of. And believe me, everyone sees what an idiot he is being except him, and isn’t afraid to try to nicely talk sense into him. Too nicely. It was maddening. And to top it off, when he finally takes to heart all of the wise advice he has ignored or anguished over throughout the movie and tells Cody the news, It turns out Cody already knew! Funny stuff!

So Paul’s foolishness ruined the movie for me, despite the great job the two little kid actors did as Wesley and Cody, the previously mentioned Stacey Farber, the presence of Laura Solis as Maggie’s mom, and the nice Christmas decorations. In the last 2 minutes, Paul apologizes to Maggie, they kiss, tell the boys the truth, the two families come together for Christmas dinner,  and we leave them at the table laughing like maniacs.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10.

We Need A Little Christmas

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Good Grief!

I may have shed a few tears at the end of this one. Which is a good thing for a Hallmark movie. Although a little over the top for most of the movie, Lynn Whitfield bought it home in the final touching scenes. The other great thing about this one was the male love interest. The actor was so appealing playing a normal-looking guy in his 40s who was popular with and respected by everyone from the rich and influential to the humble and normal people. He was just such a mensch. The actor, Patrick Sabongui, was also a standout in Christmas Sail where he played a similar character.

Erica Durance plays a recently widowed mother of a young son trying to work through her own grief and help her boy with his. Unfortunately, she has the wrong end of the stick as far as her strategy and her son doesn’t want to open up to her because he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings. She runs a small boutique architectural firm specializing in remodeling businesses and homes. She is very disorganized which we see immediately because of the pile of unopened mail on the desk and won’t delegate to her very competent employee who has been with the firm from the beginning. I hated that so she got on my bad side right away. (Her employee takes it upon herself to take care of the mail near the end of the movie and she finds a $5000 check the business is owed!) In addition, I could feel her jealousy of Lynn Whitfield’s closeness with her son throughout the movie. Durance’s deftness in conveying this was masterful. It was very tense and uncomfortable. It was almost a relief when she finally erupts in a very ugly encounter with her over her son’s opening up to her and not herself. She regrets it almost immediately and she did redeem herself in the end. Overall she was a nice woman and good at the creative end of her business, so I did forgive her.

I find it very difficult to watch actresses of a certain age who have sabotaged their ability to convey emotion with facial expressions because of Botox and fillers. Sadly, Erica Durance has succumbed to this common practice and though she was good, she could have been better. Although maybe, in this case, the subtlety of expression was a plus. I know that sometimes these actresses are between a rock and hard place and are under a lot of pressure to take care of that forehead or whatever. But I find it too distracting. It’s all I can look at when it is so obvious and takes me right out of the movie.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

October 27, 2022

Joy for Christmas

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The Mystery of the Lost Plot. Or Was it Kidnapped?

This movie began by ticking me off. Cindy Busby plays a publicist whose boss screws up a booking with their client leading to great embarrassment for her. Then he turns around and throws her under the bus when it was his fault. And apparently, it is not the first time. Now, most “Hallmark” heroines would suck it up and take one for the team, but not Cindy. She ups and quits on the spot! Her boss is horrified because she is his star employee. So as quickly as it made me angry, it immediately redeemed itself.

At a loss as to her next career move, the family business beckons. Her sister is a top executive with the family firm and she tells her that they need her desperately. All of the money meant to fund their big charity of the year has been swindled. Cindy left the firm after her father, under the apparent influence of his second wife and her son, had gotten away from the charity, community, and people-focused ethos begun by her dead mother and is now solely focused on profits. So it’s the two sisters, “the Silver Belles” against the rest of the family. This is shaping up nicely into an interesting story involving more than a hint of family skullduggery with a dose of wicked stepmother and an equally wicked half-brother. And maybe even some justice served, groveling, and redemption on the horizon.

To save the charitable event she recruits a fellow victim of the charity swindler, Sam Page, a famous ex-baseball player. It isn’t easy because he eschews social events and is a famous Scrooge. It seems like a high-cost and low-probability of benefit scheme, and it’s boring. But with only the support of her sister, she finally succeeds in getting his help. Romance proceeds but they fail in attracting enough donations to benefit the needy children. Disappointingly for the intrigue and plot, the stepmother turns nice and helpful all of a sudden.

Cindy and Sam have fallen in love and have shared intimate confidences. At the end of the failed event, her still wicked stepbrother spitefully twists her words about Sam to him which results in hurt, confusion, and a breakup.

Ok, it’s all shaping up as usual and I was all set for the misunderstanding to be cleared up, the charity saved at the last minute, and best of all for the bad stepbrother to get his comeuppance. Then the story just falls apart at the seams. I don’t know what happened but either the writers either lost the plot or the powers that be in charge of family values at GAC tampered with the script. Without warning or explanation, the stepbrother’s firmly established conniving bad-guy persona gets abandoned and he’s suddenly all about goodness, family values, rainbows, and unicorns. The charity and the romance are rescued in a non-related plot development and the bad guy is as happy as the rest of the family. It was downright insulting. So this was an 8, got demoted to a 6 or 7 during the middle, and ended up a 1. I’ll be nice and up it to a 3 out of respect for Cindy Busby and Sam Page who were great together.

Rating: 3 out of 10.

December 29, 2021

Time for Them to Come Home for Christmas

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A Road Trip to Remember

Amnesia stories usually provide rich material for a nice story, and this one is no exception. Jessy Schram, a favorite of mine, plays a young woman who gets dunked in a river after being bumped by a car. We next see her in the local hospital near the Canadian border with amnesia. Her luggage has been lost. The only clue to who she is is an ad for a Christmas Tree lighting in Charleston, SC that she left behind at a local diner. It has a handwritten message on the back saying “Please Come” and signed “Mark”.

“Jane Doe” is an immediate hit at the hospital due to her friendly, spirited, and outgoing nature. Jessy conveys all of that with the underlying vulnerability that she is so good at. She makes a friendly connection with a nice nurse, Paul, who offers to drive her to Charleston as it is on his way to his family’s home. It is almost immediately apparent that Paul is hiding some secret pain as he is very conflicted about going home. Jessy and Brendan are perfectly cast and their performances are spot on. I like that they made Paul a nurse instead of a doctor, thus it made sense when he drives her in an old dilapidated car that conveniently breaks down on the way. A doctor would have flown.

On their road trip, they have a positive impact on all of the people they meet along the way. Including Alison Sweeney in a brief cameo appearance! This is a real thing this year. This is the third movie I have seen in which other Hallmark stars appear briefly in another movie not their own. I think it’s really cool. And very smart given the competition other networks are giving them for the attention of the Christmas movie-viewing public.

The movie keeps you engaged at all times what with the mystery behind Paul’s sadness and conflicted feelings going home and Jessy’s real identity. Jessy starts having flashbacks which hint that she may be married and have a child! Why would she leave a husband and child? Is she a bad person? Is he a bad person? It won’t be a spoiler to reassure you that she is not a bad person and her future lies with the nice and attractive Paul.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

November 29, 2021

Sweet Carolina

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Tragedy sends big city marketing executive Josie back to her small hometown to become guardian to her niece and nephew. With help from her ex-boyfriend Cooper, she and her family find a new way forward, together.

Hallmark Takes a Daring Step Forward

It’s not often Hallmark actresses get to portray anguish on camera. Luckily they have a real pro and bona fide actress in Lacey Chabert, who did a very credible job. I can think of very few in the stable of regulars who could have pulled off the scene where she learns her beloved sister and brother-in-law have been killed. I cried. The whole ensemble handled the story very well. You can tell they pulled out the “big guns” to meet the challenge of a script that actually called for a range of emotions: Gregory Harrison and Teryl Rothery as the parents, good ole Peter Benson as the city boyfriend who gets dumped for the small-town coach, who was played by the always welcome Tyler Hynes. I appreciated that they got a normal-looking kid who could act to play the introverted son.

There were very real problems and conflicts that had to be resolved. The father was a good guy, but too controlling. Gregory Harrison managed to keep him likable. I groaned when they were setting up for the customary Hallmark food fight ( or snowball fight if it’s winter) but it was actually funny, thanks to the performances.

It was good to see Hallmark break out of its own box a little bit. Fear not, most of the usual templates were still in place, but baby steps! Kudos.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

May 17, 2021

P. S. I just noticed that Lacey Chabert was actually one of the writers. You go, girl! **8 stars out of 10**