Ian Harding

Lost in Paradise

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A Perfect Movie for a Cold and Dreary Winter’s Day

Though unambitious plot-wise, this was a pleasant diversion set on a tropical isle. Two private jet passengers and their two pilots crash in the ocean on the way to Fiji and are marooned on an uninhabited-by-people island. Or so we are led to believe. Yes, it’s been done before. But this is no survival story. Or “Lost.” Nary an anxious moment to be found, in fact. Lacey Chabert, our heroine, and her luggage, including her eye-liner and make-up case, survives the trauma of the ocean-ditching intact, and she and her companions wash up on a beautiful tropical isle not a smidgeon the worse for wear. No blood and not even wet.

Backing up a bit, Sophia (Chabert) is the famous founder of a successful fashion line who learns that her ex-husband and business partner is selling his shares to a fashion firm with not such a great reputation. Sales have flat-lined lately and he has persuaded some of the board members to go along with him. Lacey is intent on saving her company and her quality brand from this takeover. She books a private jet to visit the neutral board members in person to persuade them not to approve the sale. Being that Sophia is played by Lacey Chabert, her character is not a spoiled demanding diva and awful boss that needs to be taught a lesson by being removed from civilization and the internet by way of a plane crash. It is clear from the get-go that she is a really nice person and good boss. The first stop in her mission is Fiji, accompanied by her new summer fashion line. In case you didn’t notice, “Fashion Designing” is the new “Baking” as far as professions for Hallmark heroines are concerned. Meanwhile, we meet the other half of our prospective romantic couple. Max is the assistant chef for a fancy restaurant whose boss unjustly takes credit for his creative and delicious creations. He wants to open his own restaurant but he has been burned by a previous unsuccessful effort and has lost his confidence. Despite being a chef, a profession that historically is chock-full of troublesome personalities, Max is also a very nice person. His buddy, Julian, a pilot, has arranged a meeting for Max with a prospective investor…in Fiji. The catch is that Max must pretend to be a flight attendant for Sophia’s flight so Julian doesn’t lose his job for stowing away his buddy for the trip.. This leads to some amusing banter as Sophia and Max start to get to know each other on the flight. Cue previously mentioned plane crash.

Once on the island (not even wet) Julian and Lance, his co-pilot, conveniently make themselves scarce by getting on a dinghy to explore another nearby island to hopefully discover some civilization and effect a rescue.  TBH, I was sorry to see Julian go because he was charming, funny, and looked like Chris “Thor” Hemsworth’s shorter, thinner brother. Alone now, except for her cute little dog, Gianni, Sophia and Max have confiding talks, spear fish, swim in a pretty freshwater pool (complete with waterfall), and fall in love. Max cooks up delicious food and Lacey uses her sewing skills to construct a shelter and suitable clothing for tropical living. Other than the brief appearance of a snake and shark, there is nothing to distract from the couples relationship building. Until, that is, they do a bit of exploring and run into…Pirates! I will draw a curtain on the rest of the adventure. I will just assure you that nothing bad happens to Gianni despite a predilection for running into the jungle. For those sophisticated in deserted island romantic comedies, nothing will come as a surprise. Or have seen Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson.

Although there are no laugh out loud funny or clever and quotable lines in the script, it is light, fun, and fast-paced. There’s lots of entertaining banter between Julian and Max, Julian and Lance, and Sophia and Max. Ian Harding who plays Max has been wonderful in the 2 previous Hallmark productions I have seen in him. He and Lacey made a good team and a credible romantic couple. After they are rescued, we peek in “One Year Later”. Inspired by their time getting back to basics, Sophia has rediscovered her love of designing and sewing, and has saved her company.  Max has gained the confidence to make his restaurant venture a success. And the two are together. That wasn’t a spoiler, was it? The setting is pretty, bright, and colorful.  I’m not sure this movie would have played as well as it did had it premiered in the summertime, but in cold and dreary January, after the excitement of Countdown to Christmas, it was just the ticket.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

The Magic of Lemon Drops

/ Rebekahrox / 2 Comments

The Roads Not Taken

**Spoilers**

Seems like there has been a lot of fantasy stories on Hallmark lately and this was another one. I was a little suspicious and the title did not set me at ease. But I really enjoyed it. It was well constructed with likable characters and sharp dialogue.  Lyndsy Fonseca and Ian Harding, the female and male leads were wonderful. In fact the whole cast and the characters they played were top-notch.  When Lyndsy does a Hallmark odds are (so far) that it will probably have a fantasy element. She has been nothing but appealing and likable. Stephanie Sly as The Best Friend, and Mariam Bernstein as The Eccentric Aunt were stand-outs. Ian Harding brought a real Paul Campbell vibe to his role which is about the highest compliment I can give him.  Honestly this role could have been written for Paul Campbell, one of my and many others’ favorite Hallmark regulars. Ian Harding played the love interest in Ghosts of Christmas Always. Enough said.

Lolly works with her father at their little restaurant, The Eatery. She is tired, sad, and frustrated. Her dreams of having her own fun and elegant restaurant in New York complete with love and her own family have almost faded away. John B. Lowe plays her father who  embodies my most disliked Hallmark type: A business owner who will sacrifice everything to save the business except take advice and make the changes needed to give his business a chance to survive. Not an auspicious start. To add to Lolly’s discontent, her ex-boyfriend is back in town. He is a successful doctor because he left her and their small town to pursue his own dream. He is a happily divorced and professionally satisfied single father now, and Lolly is full of regrets over their bad break-up which was her fault. When she voices her frustrations and doubts about how she can get her life back on track to her Aunt Gert, Aunt Gert, who is a truly wonderful character, ends up giving her 4 magic lemon drops.  If she eats one before she goes to sleep, her dream that night will be one whole day living a life she yearns for. When she wakes the next morning, she will remember the “dream,” which will help her choose the best path.  She gets 3 chances. The 4th drop, if she takes it, will allow her to pick one of the 3 lives she dreamed of, and her memories going forward will only be of that one life.

The first life she wants to experience is her professional and creative dream of her own restaurant in NYC. When she wakes up the next morning she reflects on the fact that despite having her Michelin-starred fantasy restaurant, her life was still full of creative frustration and financial troubles. She still had no love life, and in addition she was on the outs with her sister and her father. She is more confused and frustrated than ever, so the next night she wishes her wise and loving mother was still alive to support and advise her. That happens and it is wonderful but it also comes with unlooked for and unwelcome consequences. The last lemon drop is to peek into what her life would be like if she and Rory had not broken up, but are happily married with their own family. And it was lovely. But….

In between the nightly dreams of the alternate lives, We spend the days with Lolly as she starts a little side-hustle business of gourmet frozen fruit and herb pops (‘Lolly-Pops”) which gets off to a promising start. She mends her relationship with Rory and starts to see her Aunt Gert, her sister, her father, and even her late mother with new eyes. All these multi-layered stories weaving in and out of each other and each playing out in logical conflicting consequences yet with recurring themes in common could have been a hot mess. Just like that sentence. But it was done seamlessly. And I was not confused.  I was impressed with the detail incorporated into each dream life and its setting along with her “real” life interspersed in the daytime. Everything kept moving forward at a perfect pace and was tied together beautifully to the littlest detail. They even managed to incorporate a cute dog.

There was drama and surprises. Lessons are learned. And they are good ones. Life is a series of trade-offs both sweet and sour. Find your joy and happiness in what you chose. Best of all, the romance was compelling, fully developed, and mature without the usual silly Hallmark tropes. Gosh, I think I’ll have to give this one an almost 10.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.

Ghosts of Christmas Always

/ Rebekahrox / 8 Comments

“All is as it Should Be.”

There is one word for this Hallmark Christmas movie and that is “Amazing”. I’m amazed at the writing of both the original plot and the clever and funny dialogue. Yes, it is based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens which is hardly original, but I have never seen such a creative take on the story.

For centuries and centuries, every Christmas season teams of 3 ghosts (all of whom died on Christmas) are sent out worldwide to “Scrooge” hand-picked mortals who need to discover the true meaning of Christmas. Charles Dickens was Scrooged in the 1800s and it changed his life. In fact, he wrote a book about it. We meet the 3 ghost team who are the focus: Arlene, a cynical no-nonsense Asian woman (brilliantly played by Lori Tan Chinn), A wise, warm and sophisticated Reginald Vel Johnson (did I hear a reference to Die Hard come out of one character’s mouth?) And the young and beautiful Kat Marley played by Kim Matula.. But this year, something weird is going on. The man they are sent to “scrooge”, Peter Barron isn’t perfect (he is a bit of a coward with his awful father) but he is kind and good and filled with the Christmas Spirit. Arlene (Christmas Past) does her number on Peter, and Kat (Present) comes along to help. Peter and Kat get to know and start to fall for each other. They give Peter the courage to stand up to his father and the 3 ghosts return to headquarters, a little confused, but mission accomplished. But Oops. Charlie, the angel in charge, in a humorous turn by Blair Baker, screwed up big time. It was Peter’s father that was supposed to have been given the scrooge treatment! Or is it? They have to go back, but I’ll stop there with the plot. But it is not until Christmas Future steps in that we are given the final piece to the resolution. There are lots and lots of threads that come together and many layers to this funny and touching tale. The mysteries that wind through are solved in a very satisfying way but with enough clues to give the viewer a fair chance to figure it out on their own.

All of the actors were new to Hallmark, and they were all fantastic. I think it is significant that they didn’t use any popular Hallmark mainstays as a crutch. I’m not sure this would have worked with a Lacey Chabert or an Andrew Walker. I loved the self-aware sense of humor the writer exhibited.  Two of the “Scroogees” know what’s going on immediatelywhen the ghosts come to visit because of all of the Christmas Carol-based movies that they have seen. Scrooged with Bill Murray is a favorite. But also a Carrie Fisher version, that is “highly underrated.” That would be Hallmark’s own It’s Christmas, Carol! Only Hallmark devotees would know this. It’s kind of an inside joke partially because it is rated very low.

The detailed attention to the sets, the wardrobe, the graphics, the casting, the character building, and well, just everything, shows that Hallmark knew that they had something special here and they were proud of it. They have every right to be.

Rating: 10 out of 10.