Erin Krakow

Christmas Above the Clouds

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God Bless Us, Everyone

It’s Countdown to Christmas and time for another remake of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. This makes the third fantasy movie this year for Hallmark and half of its offerings so far. And that’s great, if, like me, you enjoy a little fantasy with your Christmas Romances. But you can stop now, Hallmark. This modern adaptation of the Christmas classic was well done. Ella Neezer is the worst sort of scrooge as the C.E.O. of a successful travel agency (Great Expectations Travel). It is in a huge high rise in New York City with a huge staff, so apparently that business model is not as defunct as I thought it was. Her latest crime against humanity is turning down a marketing campaign that highlights couples in love. “Why can’t we see a nice high powered single woman having the vacation of her life without anyone else around?”. This means that her staff has to work through Christmas on a new one, while she flies first class to Australia on a business trip (turning down, once again, her loving sister’s invitation to spend Christmas with her family in Utah.) Spending Christmas on an airplane suits her just fine as she has nothing but contempt for the holiday. But she is dragging along her personal assistant, Bobbi Cratchet (Emily Tennant), stuffed in coach, poor kid. Bobbi not only will not be able to spend Christmas with her loving family, but with all of the last minute duties Ella gives her, will not even have time to say goodbye to her little son, Tim, who struggles with severe asthma.

Once on the flight, she is barely keeping it together as the flight turns out to be a special Christmas edition full of merry holiday making with a relentlessly cheerful (and singing!) flight staff. All Ella wants is to be left alone peacefully wallowing in her solitude. But to her dismay, she finds herself seated next to her ex-fiancé, Jake (Tyler Hynes). 

Let’s skip to the ghosts. The first one, of course, is Christmas Past, the perkiest flight attendant ever played by Faith Wright, who is adorable. We get a glimpse of Ella and her sister Frances’s neglected childhood, her happy college days with Jake, and how they broke up over her workaholism on Christmas 6 years ago. She learns the reason why Bobbi was late for work one morning which caused Ella to almost fire her. She was in the emergency room all night with her son. Bobbie is struggling financially due to the company’s less than generous health plan. Ella starts to show a bit of humanity and remorse. But just a bit.

The Ghost of Christmas Present shows Ella what her employees and her family really think of her. Her employees hate her and conspire behind her back. Although her sister still loves her, the rest of the family is glad she did not join them for Christmas. Even the kindest of the people she comes in contact with only pity her. She sees that Jake, for some mysterious reason, is still hung up on her and doesn’t date. Up to this point, she is only partially seeing the error of her ways. She is still complaining and tries to defend herself (Why didn’t Bobbi tell me her little boy was so sick? Why did she “agree to skip Christmas”?) Christmas Present is like “Oh really?!” and sets her straight.  Enter Christmas Yet to Come. This ghost is played by a big black dude dressed in black complete with sunglasses. Unlike peppy and chatty Past and Present, he is very scary and does not say a word. It is Christmas a year from now and she finds out that she is dead! How? How did she die? We are not told but inquiring minds want to know. Jake is now a lonely librarian “like Donna Reed?!” And also poor little Tim is dead too! Jeez, Hallmark. Needless to say, Ella, threatened with death, finally sees the light, and makes up for her bad behavior.

I have to say that Erin Krakow did a good job in this one. She used to be more of a miss than a hit with me, but in the last couple of years, she has won me over. I am no longer on edge when I see her cast as the leading lady. That cannot be said about Tyler Hynds. He seems to have found a niche of playing tortured weak characters who have a lot of work to do on themselves, ideally in therapy. But I am happy to report that he played a normal good guy in this one and I liked him. The script provided nice dashes of humor both during the ghostly visitations and between them, when she was trying to process what was happening to her and interacting with Jake. On a final note, I have to say that I hated the roomy white athleisure lounge wear Erin wore throughout almost the whole movie. I’m sure it was comfy, but it did nothing for her at all. Despite that outfit however, on the Christmas Carol remake scale, this was a “God Bless Us Every One.”

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Santa Tell Me

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Hallmark Christmas meets Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

For a long time, I wasn’t all that much of a fan of Erin Krakow, but in her last several movie she has really won me over. When the script has been good, she has delivered her lines with aplomb, and handled both the comedy and the little dramatic moments with expertise. At times she has been downright hilarious. I don’t notice her resting face, which I think of as “wholesome placidity” too much anymore. And she really won me over when, in the last Hallmark she was in, she washed off all of her makeup before going to bed. The last few Saturday night #CountdownToChristmas premiers have been very good, and this one was no exception. The script was amusing with some good lines and good physical comedy, a little mystery and tension, and a bit of paranormal activity, otherwise know as Christmas Magic. The acting was excellent from the whole cast. Although I am not a “Heartie” (fan of the long running Hallmark series, When Calls the Heart) I know that the reunion of Elizabeth, played by Ms. Krakow, and her late and, lately, very lamented Mountie/husband, Jack, played by the male lead in this one, Daniel Lissing, has been much ballyhooed.

Olivia is an interior designer who works behind the scenes on the “Style Home Network.” Classic Hallmark female profession. She is tapped to host a Christmas Special, and if she pulls it off successfully, she will get her own series. Again, classic. However, to her dismay they are putting the creator of a raunchy reality show, “Model Home”, (about many fashion models living together in one house) in charge. His name is Chris, and they immediately get off on the wrong foot and rub each other the wrong way from the get go. Enemies to Lovers. Check. He has the bright idea of choosing Olivia’s dilapidated childhood home for the big makeover, and Olivia reluctantly goes along with it after much protest. While doing some preliminary work on her old home with her sister, i.e. drinking wine (favorite Hallmark drink other than hot cocoa), they see a strange glow coming from a kind of cupboard and hear the tinkling of bells. When they investigate, they find an envelope addressed to Olivia and inside a childhood letter she wrote asking Santa for the name of her one true love. Also enclosed is a blank sheet of paper,  and to her shock words start magically writing themselves in gold saying that her true love’s name is “Nick.” Santa is writing back 25 years later! Remember Harry Potter opening Tom Riddle’s diary and seeing the writing spookily form by itself? That’s exactly what it looked like! Or the writing inside the One Ring to Rule Them All. Or Dolores Umbridge’s blood quill writing on the back of Harry’s hand, for that matter. Olivia declares it poppycock, and throws the magical letter in the garbage! Can you imagine? That’s when I knew that this, despite the cliches, might go purposely just far enough off the rails to be interesting. Because seriously? A glowing tinkling self-writing letter right out of Chamber of Secrets only from Santa, and she throws it in the trash? (Twice?!)

Right off the bat, she “meets cute” with three guys named Nick, two of which are big Hallmark stars in their own right. This is another thing Hallmark has been doing lately. All three are instantaneously smitten, lucky for her. One is a pediatric surgeon with Doctors Without Borders who once had to tame a reindeer to get medicine to sick children (really), and the other is a master carpenter whose work Olivia has always admired. The other one is a hot fireman calendar dude (never a serious contender.) While she is dating all 3 secretly (because now she believes one of them is her soulmate-she just needs to figure out which one) she and Chris get to know each other better and start to fall for each other. But Chris’s name is not Nick so that’s a problem, especially since she has realized that none of the three Nicks is really right for her. It all comes to a disastrous head on live TV during her Christmas Special.

Virtually everyone in the  supporting cast seemed to have a lot of fun with their roles, especially Benjamin Ayers and Christopher Russell as Nick A and Nick B. Jess Brown as Olivia’s sister had some nice moments as did Russell Roberts as a subtle Santa figure. When Hallmark shows they don’t take themselves too seriously by injecting some self-deprecating humor and inside jokes into the proceedings, it always plays well with me. And this one includes a healthy amount of that with the Magic Santa, the names of the male characters, their professions, the meet-cutes (coffee spillage!), and all sorts of little details. **Spoiler Alert** Chris’s real first name is Nick. Chris is his middle name. **End spoiler** No cliche is left by the wayside, but in a fun way. I give this one an “8” and that’s 7 in a row, if I round one up, which is some kind of record.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Blind Date Book Club

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Book It!

I really really liked this. Although in many ways it was a typical Hallmark romance, it was distinguished by the lack of  tiresome crutches tactics that Hallmark typically depends on to advance the story, create a little drama, or motivate change and growth in the hero or heroine. And let me tell you, it was extremely refreshing.

Meg owns a bookstore in Nantucket that she took over when her mom died. She is making a success of it, thank you very much. She is keeping up with the times technology-wise, has promotions, and does publicity like being interviewed by NPR. Most germane to this story, she also has a started a book club where people can bond over books that they buy in her store. And if a little romance or two gets started, well, all the better. But Meg is all about the books not the matchmaking, although it is that aspect that is getting her bookstore some good press. The fact that Meg really knew how to run a bookstore and was making a go of it got my attention right away, to say the least. How original! But wait, there is a “but”. Her aunt, who is a silent partner, wants to sell her share of the business so she can travel in her senior years and Meg has to decide whether to buy her out and keep the store, or sell it and go back to Boston and her previous career as a successful Realtor.

Meanwhile, we have Graham Sterling, the other half of our prospective couple. He is a successful author of a YA fantasy/coming of age series. But he feels he is in a rut and has a yen to branch out and write more mature fiction. To  that end, he has written a serious historical romance which he has had privately printed under a pseudonym because all his publisher is interested in is the next installment in the very profitable series he is famous for. He hears Meg being interviewed about her bookstore and her “blind date book club” and likes what she has to say about books. He decides to take his book to her, have her read it, and hopefully get it chosen for the next book club. He hopes the book will find an audience, in spite of his agent (Daniel Bacon) and publisher.

Cue Meet Cute, Instant attraction and Flirting. However, the fly in the ointment is that after Meg reluctantly reads the handsome first-time author’s book, she has to tell him the truth. She doesn’t like it, and tells him why. Openness, honesty, and communication are very rare in many romances, not just Hallmark, because if everyone were open and honest with each other, there wouldn’t a movie (or book), or it would be really short. And the communication continues! He admits to her almost right away that he is famous author Graham Sterling and knows a thing or two about writing a good book. If Meg will choose the book for her next book club even though she doesn’t like it, he will do a signing at her store. Even though she feels kind of bad, because she usually only chooses books she herself endorses,  being a good business woman, how can she refuse? While waiting for the day the book club will discuss his book, Meg and Graham’s relationship develops maturely. They kiss! Meg’s decision about her future looms  as does the pressure that Graham is under to produce the next installment in his series. The ante is upped when the NPR lady announces she will attend the book club discussion and record it. Also, Graham also insists on attending incognito and that he can handle honest and frank criticism of his work. Everything comes to a head on the night and things do not go smoothly. In fact it turns into quite the entertaining shit show.

This was standard fare in many ways but what made it special was what it didn’t have.  No business that needed to be saved,  no last minute silly conflict between the lovebirds, no festival, no flirty antics and tomfoolery, no interrupted almost-kiss, no dead-mom issues, no commitment-phobia, no on-going lies, etc. And, most stunningly, the idea that following your dream is not always the way to fulfillment. In the end, he defers his ambition of writing more serious fiction to continue to give joy to his millions of fans. The romance was just straightforward and mature relationship building set against realistic life and career change decisions to be made. Robert Buckley and Erin Krakow were great together and separately. I really like almost everything about this movie. There were a couple of things that I didn’t understand about the book club, but I really didn’t care. It was well-written and acted and definitely re-watchable. **7 1/2 stars/10**

That’s the review, but I do want to mention a side item that I sometimes have a few things to say about. Stop reading if you don’t care about Makeup/cosmetics.

I sometimes complain about how the actresses in Hallmarks are made up so unrealistically. I am happy to report for those interested, that Erin Krakow’s makeup in this was perfection. When going to an event, she was glammed up, when working in the bookstore, she looked natural and business-like, and when at home she had little to no makeup on at all. In fact, in what I believe is a first for Hallmark, there is even a scene where she actually washes her face  getting ready for bed. Just like in real life!  Call me petty, but for me, this was huge and I added half a star.

Rating: 8 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.

A Summer Romance

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This is a rant about Make-Up. It is Not Really About the Movie.

Erin Krakow plays a ranch woman in this movie who applies her makeup like she is behind the cosmetic counter at Macy’s. She brags that she gets up at 5am to do the chores. And surely one of those chores is getting her face on. In general, I think most Hallmark actresses wear too much make-up. But at least many of the characters they play meet the public as shopkeepers, are on television, or have important jobs in big corporations where professional dress and at least an effort to show an effort to be well-groomed is part of the image you want to project.

But a woman who does physical labor all day outdoors? Who in an average day only meets her 2 employees and their little girl? Why the 3 shades of eyeshadow, lipstick, and heavy blusher? Wasn’t she afraid those false eyelashes put her in danger of toppling over into a haystack? What happened to false eyelashes that looked somewhat natural? The ones these days look like awnings and are so obviously phony they detract and distract rather than enhance. And she has the nerve to mock Ryan Paevey for his inappropriate outfits? And call him a city slicker? Look in the mirror, lady. And what’s with the pretty fitted blouses? Again, OK for some professions, like weather-girl or presenter on ESPN, but a rancher?

We’ve all rolled our eyes at old-timey historical dramas where the actresses’ hair and makeup ignore the reality of the times and circumstances of their characters. Come on, Hallmark. This isn’t Death Valley Days or Bonanza. We know better now, don’t we? Many popular Hallmark actresses are rapidly approaching or have stepped over the 40-year-old mark. That is not a bad thing, unless they are dealing with circumstances more in line with a 25-year-old character. All the make-up does not disguise their age, it just emphasizes that they are trying to hide something. A natural fresh face=youth, to state the obvious.

Other than that, thanks to the gorgeous scenery and Ryan Paevey, this was a fairly pleasant diversion. Erin was OK. She is a pretty good actress despite her usual mannerisms. The plot was right out of the Hallmark “save the _______ from the big corporation” playbook.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

July 9, 2021

It Was Always You

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Good Hair!

Elizabeth is engaged to a fellow dentist, safe boring George, a childhood friend. They go to their old island neighborhood to throw a party for George’s mother and to prepare for their upcoming wedding. George’s brother David with whom she has had a stormy relationship with is also there. When George is stranded on the mainland, Elizabeth and David are thrown together planning the party.

I did not like the relationship between Tyler Hynes (David) and Erin Krakow who played Elizabeth. Tyler Hynes was his usual rough around the edges attractive self. I really usually like him. But his character in this one was irritating. He was out of line about things that were none of his business. The whole relationship bordered on the inappropriate and stalkerish. She was engaged to his brother and he needed to lay off and leave her alone.

And why did the fiance brother not just get a boat over to the island when the bridge was under repair? Ridiculous.

I disagree with the apparent majority opinion about Erin’s hair. I liked the different cut from the way her fans are used to seeing her on When Calls the Heart, which I’ve never seen, (with the inauthentic modern flowing locks in 19th century Canada). It gave her an edge that improved her usual placidly wholesome look.

I did like the end. I’m a real fan of the “One year later” endings. I like that Erin followed her dreams of travel. Tyler’s childhood note to Erin was really sweet and romantic. And I liked that the stick-in-the-mud brother had finally loosened up with the right woman.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

March 2, 2021

A Cookie Cutter Christmas

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Watch this for One Hilarious Scene

There is one scene in this movie that makes it worth watching despite its problems. Or better yet, when it comes up again on TV, fast forward to around the last 45 minutes.

Two elementary school teachers have been engaged in a rivalry since childhood when one horned in on the other’s song solo. From then on, whatever one does, the other one has to better it. Each cannot stand the other to be in the spotlight. It’s fairly harmless until a handsome widower with a daughter comes to town. The story is mostly told through Erin Krakow’s character, so we know that she is the one we are supposed to root for with the actress’s trademark sweet, gentle, and sincere demeanor. Despite her questionable behavior throughout, we know she is a good person at heart. Her rival is effectively played by Miranda Frigon best known for playing the grumpy police chief in the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries.

Skipping to the scene in question. Miranda has invited all of the festival (there’s a festival) volunteers to a party at her home and is forced to invite Erin (“Your invitation will be shoved in your In-box”) Miranda is very proud of her singing ability and announces that she is going to favor the group with her solo rendition of Silent Night, snagging the handsome widower to accompany her on the piano. She has no shame, but as soon as she starts singing Erin starts sneaking up to her side as if she is under the Confundus charm and joins in. I’m like, “Oh no she is not going to….” But she did! Silent Night gets louder and louder as the two try to drown each other out, to the total befuddlement of all the guests, and the horror of Erin’s mother. When they get to the last line “When Chri-ist was born”, “Christ” comes out so loudly and aggressively as each of them vies for supremacy, that it’s almost sacrilegious and totally hilarious. Then Miranda ends with a pose like she is the Madonna cradling Baby Jesus in her arms. It is the most irreverent and intentionally funniest performance I have ever seen in a Hallmark movie.

It provides the turning point in Erin’s journey. She walks out of the party with her deer-in-the-headlights look that she does so well, thoroughly shocked at her own behavior. She has finally gone too far. After some skullduggery on Miranda’s part to get through, the two former friends make up, and Erin gets her man.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

November 5, 2021

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 overbearing 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 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 worldviews, 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 Ferrars 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: 10 out of 10.

December 3, 2019