Hunter King

A Make or Break Christmas

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White or Colored Twinkly Lights?

I hate-watched this one off and on through most of it. But there were glimmers of goodness. There were lots of on-target cultural references:  Lessons learned from Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Iyanla Vanzant, Friends, and Wings, and some so on-target that I am apparently too out of the loop to get them. (Dom Toretto? Fast Five? What’s that?). Even though I have never been a fan of either Hunter King (Liv) or Evan Roderick (Daniel) the chemistry between them was really good. For once, I actually liked a role Evan played, faults and all. He made a character that could have been as annoying as she was in his own way actually lovable. Hunter King, his costar, played a character who was very grating at first, but got less so as she started to redeem herself. Also there was one hilarious scene where Daniel’s Mom gives them a painting representing what she sees as the couple’s future together. It was so funny, I can’t even describe it. Actually I can. Imagine a Margaret Keane sad big eyed waif painting but with a family of cheerful elves and done by a 6 year old.

Liv and Daniel meet at a friend’s Christmas Party and the attraction is sudden and mutual. We flash ahead one year and look back on their year’s courtship in flashbacks. It is now Christmas again and they are definitely together to the point of having bought a huge house together. They’ve known each other less than a year are not even engaged. Yikes. In their first scene in the present, they are making Christmas preparations for their families, including siblings and a grandmother, to visit for the holiday. It will be the first meeting for the two families and their first introduction to the new house. Typically Liv is all stressed out, and Evan is not, which leads to a huge fight and a break up. But in order not to ruin everyone’s Christmas, they will pretend to their families that they are still a happy couple.

 Right from the start, at the party where Liv and Dan first meet, Liv really got on my nerves. Because she is such a perfectionist and control freak she basically takes over her friend’s hosting duties for her friends party in her friends house. She calls it “helping.” A year later, in their new home, Dan has put Liv’s beloved Christmas Village out on display as a surprise for her. Liv is delighted but as they are going over the Christmas plans, Liv proceeds to rearrange all the pieces into the “right” configuration. We can see that this makes Dan feel bad. The planning devolves into an argument where we see all of the problems in their relationship summarized. We learn that Dan is irresponsible, disorganized, and unreliable, and Liv is hypercritical, controlling, and inflexible. Dan does everything to avoid stress, and Liv is all stressed out all the time. All this is symbolized by Dan’s decoration of the Christmas tree. Because of lack of planning, the tree is only lit on the top half and with, according to Liv, “frivolous and unreliable” colored lights instead of Liv’s, according to Dan, “rigid and controlling” white twinkly lights. Although I understood Liv’s frustration with Dan’s ways, it was her behavior and attitude that really got on my last nerve. Everything has to be perfect for Christmas because her mother and father are just like her and snipe at everything that doesn’t match with their personal preferences. As Liv herself says, they are “out for blood.” When Dan forgets to order “The Gobbler Farms Christmas Turkey” which Liv’s father apparently can’t live without, it is the last straw. Although everyone in their two families have their irritating ways and outrageous behaviors, except Dan’s mother who is a dear, Liv’s parents are truly insufferable. But in true “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” fashion, Liv and Dan find themselves uniting in the face of numerous family challenges, and come at last to the understanding that they balance each other out and are better together than apart. They acknowledge their own faults, vow to change, and they love each other. 

The last scenes, which include Dan’s Christmas present to Liv, are actually touching and romantic. And, much like Dan and Liv’s relationship, the last 20 minutes or so (minus a really cheesy speech by Grandma), evened out the annoying parts of the previous 100 minutes for me. So it turned out to be a respectable but not spectacular “7” for me.

On a final note, although it is not spelled out, this Hallmark is notable for having an unmarried couple in the same bedroom and bed, at least before they broke up. Now the couple are not exactly living together full time, which is blamed on him still having a lease on his apartment. But, in truth, it probably has more to do with Hallmark not wanting to cross that particular line. Maybe next Christmas.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Two Scoops of Italy

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Italy and Ice Cream. What Could Go Wrong?

We meet Danielle, our heroine, in Chef’s garb, constructing some fussy, fiddly, fancy Jenga towers of multicolored food that personally, I would be hesitant to eat, although they photograph well. Her restaurant, which is an expensive “special occasion only” type of place has temporarily closed its doors due to lack of customers. She is trying to construct a new menu in order to retain the investment of her rich friend, whose Dad is urging him to stop putting money into Danielle’s restaurant and invest in something safer. But Richie Rich is going to give her one last chance. She has a month to convince him that she can make a success out of her restaurant. Yes, the dreaded Hallmark Deadline. When she gets home to her sister, she flops down on the couch and scarfs down a take out pizza with gusto and decides she must go to Inspirational Italy to get inspired.

**Spoiler Alert**

The first 5 minutes is a metaphor for the whole movie. To wit, to be a successful chef, she must learn she should cook what she loves to eat: down home Italian food in a setting in which people feel comfortable, at ease, and want to gather. Of course she doesn’t get this until the movie’s 1 hour and 45 minute mark including commercials and promos for Hallmark’s “Merry Movie Week” marathon. And first she has to meet a handsome gelato-obsessed cafe owner, travel around the Italian countryside with him on a Vespa, and hobnob with the local townspeople.

**End Spoiler**

Just to fill in some details. It is Smokin’ McDamn-inetti’s father’s cafe and the old stick-in the-mud refuses to let his son offer unusual exciting flavors of gelato to his clientele. Despite the fact that this is what his beloved dead wife did every summer, he won’t budge an inch and let his son honor his mother and indulge his adventurous side. He was just awful seemingly just for the sake of being awful because I really didn’t get it. I mean, what is the big deal? One of the townspeople is Danielle’s pretty landlord who becomes her wise friend and gives her a memoir of an American tourist who visited their small picturesque town many years ago.  Danielle’s activities start to mirror the activities of the lady in the book. One gets the feeling that this book will have something to do with Danielle’s epiphany and the happy ending! The pretty landlord is the one who gets the requisite secondary romance.

**Another Spoiler**

It turns out the lady who wrote the book is the mother of one of the cafe’s regulars, the archetypal wise old sage,  who gives Danielle some wise advice and sparks her breakthrough regarding the kind of food and atmosphere the new version of her restaurant should have. She wins over Richie Rich via a zoom call, but what about her relationship with the hot lovelorn Gelato-making frustrated world-traveller? One of them is going to have to move. Guess who?

Despite my  world and Hallmark-weary tone, I did like this one, as I’ve liked 2 of the other the #PassportToRomance offerings. (But I am ready to move on to the next theme.) The story was well constructed and Danielle and Giancarlo’s  romantic and career journeys made sense. The Italian small town and countryside settings were fine and the side characters were engaging, except for the awful father. Special mention to the kid who played the 9 year-old “I prefer Strawberry” food critic, Nico. I particularly liked Michele Rosiello who played Giancarlo. He really made me believe his sizzling attraction and love for Danielle despite getting little to no reciprocal help from his leading lady, Hunter King, in my view. God knows why, he was very attractive, and I’ve had no problem with the actress in the past. The character was likable, but I just didn’t feel the romance on her end.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

The Santa Summit

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Finding Waldo was Easy Compared to This

I didn’t think I’d like this one when I saw the previews. It seemed self-consciously goofy and manic. And the idea of a romance movie where the couple spends the whole time apart looking for each other just does not float my boat. Boy was I wrong. Thanks to the funny script, out-of-the-box plot, and the lovable cast, this one was a winner.

The story centers around our main girl, Jordin, and main guy, Liam, played by Hunter King and Ben Hollingsworth, trying to find each other during a big day-long Christmas party/celebration called “The Santa Summit.” Everyone dresses as some version of Santa Claus and goes from fun activity to fun activity throughout the whole day. The two strangers, dressed as Santa clauses meet and during a 5-minute conversation form a real connection. Unfortunately, they are parted before they can get each other’s names and details and end up searching for each other in a sea of other Santas, finding clues along the way, for the whole movie. What makes the search so enjoyable and entertaining is Jordin’s two friends who go with her to the Summit and the people they meet throughout the day. Although Jordin and Liam do not meet up again until the end, there are encounters between Liam, his brother, and the two friends, Ava and Stella, and other miscellaneous coincidences and near misses that contribute to the final happy ending. Ava is a nerdy Lord of the Rings quoting math teacher, and Stella is a grumpy Grinch of a former music teacher. Along with Jordin, each finds love and learns some valuable lessons along the way.

This, like two other Christmas movies this year was very high energy with quick amusing throwaway lines, running jokes, and clever banter. It was tightly knit and every scene seemed to contribute to the plot or the character arcs of our likable ensemble cast. At least I can’t remember any needless silly montages or boring tentpole scenes that serve no purpose other than to stretch the movie out to its required 88 minutes.  The friendship of the 3 women was front and center, as well as the relationship between Liam and his brother. But the charming sweet romances were not relegated to the back burner in this one. Shy Ava (the always-welcome and talented Amy Groening) has been secretly in love with a fellow nerdy teacher for a couple of years and finally finds the courage during the Santa Summit to confess her love to him. Of course, it turns out he has always felt the same way about her. Stella’s grumpiness is a wall she has put up to protect herself from more disappointment since she hasn’t been able to teach music anymore because of budget cuts. She meets the mysterious stranger Freddy who challenges her to embrace music once again. Stephanie Sy who plays Stella was the star of the show in my opinion. Her sour disgusted tone of voice and facial expressions throughout the day are priceless. And when she finally gets up on stage in public and busts out with one of the most joyful versions of “Jingle Bells” you can imagine, it was the highlight of the movie.

It all came together beautifully at the end with the help of a lovingly constructed Gingerbread House, a silent disco, a hapless mascot dressed as a Christmas Tree, and a Reindeer bicycle taxi driver who never gets paid, but who gives our heroine a stern lecture near the end that provides a wake-up call and restores her hope and joy. When I saw Jeff Beesley was the director of this gem, I wasn’t surprised. The attention to detail was impressive as always. And was that Niall Matter in an uncredited cameo at the end?

Rating: 9 out of 10.

The Professional Bridesmaid

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Harmless Fun

This was light, fun, and amusing in spots. A pleasant diversion, especially if you are really into wedding stories, one of Hallmark’s main spring themes. And what Hallmark fan doesn’t like weddings? The two leads, Hunter King and Chandler Massey, were young, attractive, and appealing, and the set decoration made it nice to look at. The rest of the cast was on point. There wasn’t anything annoying about it. Or even anything even vaguely irritating. There was one “Huh?,What?” moment, but it wasn’t anything big or super stupid. Hunter King seems to be being groomed for a role as a Hallmark regular and I’ve enjoyed Chandler Massey in previous productions with no reservations.

Hunter King plays Maisie Ryder (real name Maggie), an undercover “professional bridesmaid.” She has been hired to make the Mayor’s daughter Alexis’s road to her wedding as easy and as stress-free as possible. I had recently read a book based on this concept so I guess this might be a real thing. As her love interest, Chandler Massey plays Henry, an investigative political reporter who is forced to cover her wedding. He is under strict orders to stay focused on dresses, cakes, and flowers, rather than whether or not the Mayor is going to take a stand on saving a local park from development. But he just can’t help himself because he loves the park so much. Maisie’s job description is soon expanded to include keeping Henry away from the mayor. He is running for office, doesn’t want to commit to a stand on the park just yet, and wants to avoid bad press. Henry falls hard and fast for Maisie/Maggie and is adorable doing so. The feeling is mutual.

There were the usual almost disasters with dresses, the bridal shower venue, invitations, and gift bags, most of them courtesy of the Maid of Honor, a disorganized and flaky young lady trying too hard to make up for past missteps with her cousin, the bride. All were averted thanks to Maisie’s competence and professionalism. I liked the actress, Lillian Doucet-Roche, who played the maid of honor. She had an expressive face and good delivery. I wouldn’t be averse to seeing her again as the head girl. Also kudos to Francesca Bianchi, who played the beautiful and down-to-earth bride.

Much of the humor stems from Maggie’s cover story to protect her identity and function. The bride, put on the spot, came up with her name and cover on the spur of the moment. A champion rider, She names Maggie after her horse and tells everyone Maggie is a wine sommelier or distributor or something. Maggie knows nothing about wine and comes up with some real howlers. The “Huh, What” moment? Henry googles “Maisie Ryder’s” name and she doesn’t exist on the internet. Hmmm. He narrows his search and up comes the bride, “rider,” and “Maisie,” Alexis’s horse. How odd. But it doesn’t trigger any questions or further research on the part of our crack investigative reporter. And it’s such a shocker when Henry learns that “Maisie” is really Maggie and has not been forthcoming truth-wise. Always grounds for temporary heartbreak and temporary conflict in Hallmark World.

**Spoiler Alert**The Wedding goes off without a hitch, Maggie gets her business loan thanks to the Mayor (yes, there’s that), and the reconciliation of the two sweethearts happens. Henry is back on the political beat, the Mayor turns out to be a good guy after all, and the Park is saved.

Rating: 7 out of 10.