Brendan Penny

Providence Falls

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It Fell

Am I the only one in the whole wide world who did not absolutely love this 3 part mini-series? Apparently so. Oh, there were some good things about it, for sure. I liked the actors: 4 new fresh faces in lead roles, an old favorite (Matty Finochio) in a pivotal role, and 2 Hallmark mainstays in small but important parts. Kudos to Niall Matter who played a bad guy against type. The set direction and production values were top notch, and there were parts of the script that were just fine. But the whole thing felt forced and manufactured around a very faulty premise. It didn’t make sense and was just wrong. And I’m not talking about the angels and devils, the dual timeline, the time travel, or the reincarnation. I usually like that stuff. Some of Hallmark’s best movies have been based on those kinds of plots. And part of what bothered me was that they dropped the love story and all the supernatural stuff right in the middle of a police procedural for no reason I can think of that made any sense. Except to stretch maybe 3 hours of story into 6 hours. 

Cora and Liam are star-crossed lovers in 1844 Ireland who met when Liam, a thief and a rogue, broke into her father’s country estate to steal some things. They fell in love and were running away together, when, chased by dogs, torches, and pitchforks, Cora fell off a cliff and died. Liam is miserable and blames himself, but instead of being reincarnated or sent to heaven or, as they call it here, “H.E. double hockey sticks”, he is put in Limbo for almost 200 years due to a clerical error. Doesn’t heaven have some kind of quality control department? That was disturbing. Of course he had to die first and I am afraid I am a little fuzzy on how that happened. He comes to our attention because they are “clearing Limbo out”. Liam is given a chance to make up for cutting Cora’s life short and taking her away from her soulmate (who she barely met) and her important destiny and earn his way into heaven. Somehow, her death is all Liam’s fault, not her own nor the trackers chasing her over hill and dale and off the cliff. Or just an accident for that matter. All he has to do, in the present time, is to get Cora, who has been re-incarnated, back together with her so-called soulmate that she barely met, who has also been reincarnated. Cora is now a newly promoted police detective in Providence Falls, and Liam is a visiting detective (Ha!), her new partner. Her soulmate Finn (Evan Roderick) is an Assistant D.A. and is a good guy and very attractive. But despite Hallmark trying to fool us, savvy Hallmarkies know he is not the one because instead of coffee he drinks tea with sugar in it, is a lot shorter than Liam, and is a little too well-groomed. Also an old cohort of 1844 Liam is back and has been re-incarnated as the police chief. And maybe some other people? I don’t know. 

So we have 6 hours including commercials of Liam getting used to cell phones, cars, and other 21st century things and pushing his beloved Cora into the arms of Finn, who she really is not all that interested in. Just as she did back in Ireland, she has fallen for Liam at first sight. And Finn likes her best friend Suzette. Could it be possible that it is Liam and not Finn who is Cora’s soulmate? Nope, nope, nope, absolutely not. Destiny and Fate cannot be wrong, and Destiny has spoken. Even though against all of the rules in the Destiny Rule Book, Cora has started to remember her history with and love for Liam in her former life. So Destiny is wrong about some things then. But according to the angel Samael, the lady in charge of this fiasco, if she reunites with selfish bad Liam, instead of good and decent Finn, she will not be able to continue to help at-risk youth and keep them on the straight and narrow. Somehow this capable woman cannot do her good works unless she’s with the right man. I think Miss Samael got her centuries mixed up. Meanwhile Liam is proving over and over what a reformed character he is. But no, according to this angel Samael, he is selfish and bad to the end even when he is rescuing Finn from an old mine shaft and throwing himself in front of a speeding bullet to save Cora’s life. Repentance? Forgiveness? Grace? Free Will? Fuhgettaboutit. And all through this, there is a very drawn out murder mystery/burglary/criminal conspiracy to solve that was right out of the usual Hallmark Movies and Mysteries playbook.

I understand why everyone really liked this. It was a well-done ambitious production for Hallmark, and the trappings were off the usual beaten track, even though the love story was predictable and the mystery was tedious. I just couldn’t get past that damn angel Samael being so blind and misguided: Insisting that poor Liam could not get into heaven despite his proven goodness unless Cora ended up with Finn against both of their wills. I know it was to create tension and keep the thing going for 6 hours. But it was just wrong and flew in the face of what angels are supposed to be about. I couldn’t believe it when the Angel Gabriel (Brendan Penny) showed up to save the day, and he told her what a good job she did! He left Liam’s fate up to her as long as she first finally listened to the one good angel with some sense, her assistant, Agon, Liam’s handler. She should have been fired and threatened with H.E. double hockey sticks.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

Love on the Danube: Kissing Stars

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All aboard the Good Ship Kiss-Con

Love on the Danube: Kissing Stars works due to the always reliable Hallmark stalwart Brendan Penny and his co-star Sarah Power. When I say “works” I mean it’s watchable. Ms. Power has been in a couple of Hallmarks but was a regular on the Hallmark-produced series The Good Witch. Chemistry is always just a matter of opinion with most movie couples (it’s undeniable only rarely), but I think these two kinda had it. Brendan plays Tripp, a rising film star who made a great impression in his first Romantic Comedy movie and his second film is about to premiere. He is up for a continuing role in a trilogy that is scheduled for production but he has a bad attitude towards anything dealing with publicity or his growing fanbase. Savannah is a recently laid off publicist. Clearly these two are meant to be. Now how can we get them together? How about plopping them on a cruise along the Danube? And what if that cruise is the venue for a Rom-com fan Convention called Kiss-Con where Rom-com fans can buy a ticket for the privilege of meeting and getting selfies with their favorite Rom-com stars? Works for me!

Savannah is hired by the annoying little twerp of an entertainment reporter who has set up the event to make sure Tripp makes nice with the fans and doesn’t come across like a jerk when he is interviewed. The thing is, he is not really a jerk. He’s just a small town guy who is shy and reserved. He does like acting, but not the fame that comes with it. You know the type. Savannah explains to him that he is not going to be hired for that trilogy unless he brings his fair share of fans and good publicity to the table. And if he doesn’t get that trilogy, he can’t afford to hire a manager for his aging parents’ Montana ranch. Under Savannah’s expert guidance, Tripp is soon taking selfies like a boss and not saying embarrassing things during interviews. They fall in love against the Viennese backdrop (but it could have been Budapest.) Unfortunately, their falling in love activities cause Tripp to miss a fan event and Savannah gets fired by “annoying little twerp.”

After adding insult to injury by publicly denying his feelings for Savannah while on stage in front of everyone (encouraged by “annoying little twerp”), it looks like the romance is doomed and Savannah will not be meeting the parents in Montana after all. **Spoiler Alert** Needless to say Tripp makes it all OK by the famous Rom-com “grand gesture” with about a minute to go.

This movie was OK, but could have been a lot better. Given that Hallmark holds its own Meet the Stars events like Christmas Con, The Hallmark Christmas Experience, and even hosts a cruise similar to this movie’s Kiss Con, they could have had a lot of fun with this concept and gone a lot more meta than they did. I would have loved to see some cameo appearances by some real life Hallmark actors in this, as they have done so cutely in past movies. References to Captain Stubing and Julie McCoy didn’t cut it.

Rating: 7 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.

The Wedding Cottage

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Nothing to fix except the Cottage

In watching the previews for this one, I was irritated to see that Erin’s eyelashes looked very black and furry. Over-the-top false eyelashes are on my list of make-up “no-nos”. Ahem Natalie Hall. Plus I had already yelled at her a while back for this very issue. However, she won me over pretty quickly and I soon forgot about them. Erin was very good in this and I also appreciated that the upper half of her face helped her convey the appropriate emotions unlike some of her peers. In fact, the whole cast was great, and her chemistry with Brendan Penny could not be denied. I normally don’t talk about “chemistry” because I think it’s pretty much in the eye of the beholder, and it’s kind of cliche, IMO. But to me, those two had “it.”

Erin plays Vanessa, a former Wedding Planner who has moved on to writing wedding guides. To promote her first one she has chosen a deserving couple as the winner of a free wedding of their dreams. They want to be married at The Wedding Cottage in Stoney Bridge, Vermont, where her grandparents were married. To Vanessa’s dismay, she soon finds out that the historic and famous Wedding Cottage has been closed permanently for 5 years upon the death of the elderly owners. Advertising a closed venue in her guidebook and disappointing her hand-picked couple would be very bad publicity and a severe blow to her credibility. She goes up to Stoney Bridge to see what she can do and is further alarmed by the state of disrepair the old cottage is in. The owners’ hostile and grouchy grandson appears and tells her to get lost. He is in a bad mood because he is a famous sculptor, and, like all artists and writers in Hallmarks, is blocked and can’t do his thing. And (of course) he has a looming deadline. I loved Brendan Penny in this. He needs to keep the scruffy beard and do more cantankerous heroes. He was a good foil for cheerful and very very animated Erin. He is dead set against a wedding in the Wedding Cottage but finally relents at Erin’s desperation and her offer to restore the old building to its former glory all at her expense. She has to beg him to take this very sweet deal which seemed a little improbable. It isn’t long before Brendan starts to soften towards Vanessa and the project, and even starts to pitch in to help.

I liked the relationship-building in this one. The attraction and subsequent falling in love did not come out of nowhere. I didn’t count them, but I bet there were at least 4 or 5 kissing scenes as opposed to the usual lone smooch at the very end.  Although the plot was basically wedding planner theme 101 and very predictable, the script flowed well and made sense with some nice touches (grandma’s paintings), good dialogue (You don’t have to bow!), and funny scenes. Erin and Brendan made the most of these opportunities for comedy. That was not Vanessa wrestling with the leaf blower, but Erin having a ball with it. The new bride and groom were charming and Matreya Scarrwene especially as the bride was absolutely adorable. That smile! The scenery was very pretty. Finally, the plot of Brendan regaining his sculpting mojo by rejecting his old dark urban rebel approach to his art and embracing the peace and beauty of the countryside worked well. His sculpture (in wood rather than metal) was beautiful and even sexy, reflecting his new hopeful relationship with Vanessa. A job well done.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

In Merry Measure

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Right in Tune

The previews of this one were funny and charming and I was so glad the movie lived up to them. I really liked the glimpses of the lead actress, whom I didn’t recognize. It turns out that Patty Murin has been in a few Hallmarks before, but usually plays the not-as-glamorous best friend role. She was adorable in this and her comic timing was tops.  It also starred Brendan Penny, a Hallmark go-to guy, whom I like, as the love interest. They had a great rapport and bounced off of each other naturally with their acting of the often fast-paced dialogue.

Darcy is a former pop star whose popularity has faded and now sings in small intimate venues. When she loses her agent, she goes home to Dayton Ohio for Christmas and ends up coaching a high-school singing team with her high-school rival, Adam (Brendan Perry). How this all comes to be is a very good story. Her widowed sister’s daughter tries out for an opening on the championship choral team and totally blows it because of her lack of confidence. In fact, the coach didn’t even let her finish the audition! Really mean and insensitive. This pisses Darcy off so much, that she gets all of the rejects together to form a competing team. They start out to be awful (and hilarious), but Darcy’s coaching style gives them confidence, and they quickly are just as good as their rivals, if not better. The #1 team recognizes their talent and the kids propose to the two bickering antagonistic coaches that they join forces and form a new group to compete in the county(?) competition. The two frenemies are now co-coaches.

Brendan Penny plays an interesting character. At first, he really is quite an arrogant jerk. He is also whiny and self-pitying. And then he has a dorky nerdy thing going on as well. Not exactly leading man material, but the banter and snarkiness between the two coaches is witty and funny. Thankfully, he learns from Darcy’s more positive and affirming approach with the kids. When he admits his harsh and insensitive methods with the kids were wrong and apologizes, things warm up considerably between the two. They become friends, but it’s not until he shows up at Darcy’s doorstep without his nerdy glasses and a bit of a makeover, that Darcy starts to fall for him. It’s a cliche, but it’s one I love.

After a lot of work and many disappointments, Darcy finally gets a chance at a contract with a big record label. Predictably, she has to choose between meeting the bigwigs and being with the team on their big night. I’m not sure what old Hallmark would have done, but with new Hallmark, she goes to New York with the blessings of everyone to meet the VIPs without a second thought. She gets the contract, but instead of schmoozing the night away, which the powerbrokers want her to do, she risks offending them and tells them she has to go back to Dayton to be with her team. Good for her, and they respected her for it.

Besides the excellent acting, funny dialogue, and good message, this movie featured a really great Christmas song selection and some equally great singing. There was actually an original song, written by our songwriter heroine that was actually really good! Now that Bill Abbott has left, I’m glad Hallmark has moved away from trying to pretend Christmas is not a Christian Holiday and embraced a few Christmas Carols that are actually about the birth of Jesus. Last year, a movie “la-la-la-ed” their way through Joy to the World to avoid referring to the deity. That was a low point. Now Mr. “Christmas is a secular holiday” Abbott has found his inner Christian and left for GAF, far away from all of the scary gay people. But I digress. It all ended with a series of flashback scenes from the movie we just watched. I guess they needed some filler, but it was creative and something different.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

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

Heavenly Match

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A Fresh and Wholesome Romance.

This is a delightful romance between two clergy-persons. Samaire Armstrong as Casey is battling sexism and some hostility among the board of trustees and her own feelings of insecurity and self-esteem. The actress who plays her is very attractive in a “girl next door” way and I liked her portrayal. Her love interest/colleague is played by Brendan Penny who is a reliable Hallmark stalwart. I do have a soft spot for romance involving clergy so full disclosure. I think it adds a certain tension and interest when the parties have to be responsible to a community and maintain a certain standard of behavior that their feelings and emotions might conflict with. The movie does not hit you in the head with Christianity, but also does not shy away from bringing Christian values and church politics(usually the opposite of Christian values) into the story. I was touched by some of the developments.

Adding to the enjoyment is the delightful Leanne Lapp as Casey’s secretary and supporter, Letoya Luckett-Walker as her fellow pastor and wise friend, and Jody Thomson as the supportive trustee. Not to mention Gabrielle Rose as the “baddie” who has a story of her own.

Highly recommend it for Hallmark movie lovers who are sick and tired of the stale Hallmark plot lines but who want a wholesome sweet romance with a little character growth, conflict and suspense. With more and more options to choose from with PixL and UpTV on the scene, Hallmark would be well-advised to stop taking their loyal audience for granted and provide some fresh material and casting as this one does.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

May 31, 2020

Magical Christmas Ornaments

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Jessica-Look at this Movie and do the Opposite

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I don’t want to pile on to poor Jessica Lowndes, so I will say that I quite enjoyed her in Christmas at Pemberley. I mentioned in that review that she had toned down her looks a bit. If Jessica wants to continue being a Hallmark staple, she needs to continue to follow the example in the recent movie. Caught about an hour of this earlier Hallmark movie last night. This one serves as a cautionary reminder of what Jessica should stay away from. Oh my Lord. That eye-liner! She looks like a reincarnation of Nefertiti. I am sure if she ever catches this one herself, she will be wondering what she was thinking. Hallmarks are better suited to the girl next door types, not the exotic beauties, in my opinion. I also agree with the commenter that pointed out her rapid fire delivery which serves to make her seem like a line-reader rather than a thoughtful actress who is really inhabiting her character. She also had the habit of speaking from the back of her throat like she was trying to be a ventriloquist. She must have been studying her craft a bit in the year since this movie, because she has really improved. She is not great, but she is on the right path.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

December 21, 2018

Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe

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A Waste of a Good Idea

This one was a pretty solid effort that kept my interest. it was somewhat multifaceted with some interesting corporate politics along with the usual city girl v. small town Christmas. I liked the pairing of Lacey Chabert with Brendan Penny. Lacey is a solid actress, and with this one, she seems to have tamed, a bit, her nervous giggle tick that she seems to have developed in later years. I liked her family, especially Sherry, who was one of the stars in one of my favorite Hallmark-like romances, This Matter of Marriage, which was actually produced by Harlequin. It was great to see her again. This one did feature the usual boring boyfriend, but it was refreshing that she really just let him go and didn’t hem and haw about it.

Like another Hallmark movie this year, I think it is pretty shameless to try to reel in Jane Austen fans, with the title of the movie, while not incorporating any of the themes in the actual plot or character. It’s too bad, because the role reversal of the heroine taking the Darcy role, and the hero taking the Elizabeth Bennett role could have been great. I don’t recall that that gimmick has ever been done before. Would have been pretty interesting. **7 out of 10**

Rating: 7 out of 10.

December 4, 2018

Summer in the Vineyard

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Cashing in on a Better than Usual Original. Unfortunately It’s Nothing but a Pale Imitation

A pale sequel to the very good Autumn in the Vineyard. The same beautiful landscapes without any of the interesting suspenseful plot points and multidimensional characters of the original. Frankie and Nate are trying to keep their new venture afloat but have conflicting management styles and suffer from a lack of communication. At the end they learn to work together. Thanks to a miracle at the end their vineyard is saved. Yawn. **4 out of 10 stars**

Rating: 4 out of 10.

August 22, 2017