Kathryn Davis

Unwrapping Christmas: Mia’s Prince

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Furoshiki

This is the second one in the gift wrapping series and the business is still burbling along quite nicely. Of course it is, we are still rehashing the week before Christmas from the first movie with the 4 women preparing for the Christmas Gala.  I still don’t have any faith in the long term viability of their gift wrapping shop when it’s not gift-giving season. We will never get to see how the women fare during the barren retail desert of January and February. But thankfully in this one we don’t get even a hint of any of Tina’s stupid woes securing The Alford House as the venue. This is all about Mia who is in charge of the decorating and the catering among other things. I liked this one a lot better than the first one for several reasons. For one, I actually liked Mia and Kathryn Davis did a nice job with the character. She had challenges with getting the decorations right (the idiot vender sent her “Marlins” instead of “Garlands”) and the caterer will cancel at the last minute to provide a crisis and some suspense. But her problems were not self-inflicted and did not suck all of the air out of the movie. They stayed in the background with Mia yelling over the phone and sighing occasionally, but by and large she just handled it with no muss or fuss. The main story was how gentle, romantic, and too sweet for her own good, Mia, learns to stand up for herself and not let people take advantage of her good nature.

Mia is a dreamer and a hopeless romantic who loves to read. Her favorite book is an early 19th century novel called Christmas at Derbyshire. Think Jane Austen but more romantic and cliché. She has been saving for over a year working her little gift-wrapping fingers to the bone to buy a first edition from her local book shop. So right from the start, I liked and empathized with Mia. In the midst of competently preparing for the gala, two things happen. Her sister, who has always overshadowed and dominated her, shows up unexpectedly and steamrolls her into letting her crash at her apartment for several days as she just lost her Chef job. Along with her cat to which which Mia is allergic. This forces Mia to spend the night at the shop on the couch. She is awakened by a handsome guy knocking on the window because of a gift-wrapping emergency. He thinks the store is open because Mia fell asleep reading (awh) with the lights on. It is the prince of … : Mia’s Prince! Or a reasonable facsimile.

Beau Cavanaugh (Nathan Witte) is from a wealthy and socially prominent family. He is very nice with kind soft eyes and is immediately smitten with sweetie-pie Mia. It’s mutual, once Mia realizes the next morning that she didn’t just dream him up and he is a real guy. His mother Claire, however, is a stone-cold (w)itch. And therein lies the drama. Besides Mia not being good enough society-wise for her son, it turns out that she has engineered a forced engagement between Beau and Penelope, the daughter of a prominent white family who has her own secret romance going with another guy. (Very 19th Century!) Beau and Penelope are good friends, but, as Beau explains to Mia, he is really not engaged. Except he is, because Backboneless Beau is too much of a wuss to stand up to his terrifying mother, even when she books the wedding venue and sets the date for the wedding without consulting him or Penelope! Mia, bless her, puts her foot down, tells him off, very eloquently I might add (twice!), and breaks up with him. And guess what? When Beau finally stands up to Claire about Mia, Mom basically tells him, “what took you so long to stop being a wimp?” Lanette Ware, who plays the mother, steals every scene she is in.

As for the Gala, despite Mia’s challenges with the decorations and the caterer, we already know it goes off without a hitch because of the movie last week. The main focus is how Mia irons out her problems with her overbearing sister, and what happens when she finds out that the beloved first edition she has been faithfully saving for gets sold out from under her. I won’t spoil it for you (Hahaha) but it was neatly wrapped up with a pretty bow on top. And a kiss under the Mistletoe. Taking 1/2 a star off for Beau being such a weakling.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Hearts Around the Table: Kiki’s Fourth Ingredient.

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I Didn’t know Whether to Add Stars or Subtract Them.

**Spoilers**

Jenna and Andrew are getting married in 4 days. Will Kiki, the last foster child on the docket, be able to meet, get to know, and fall in love with some man, have a big conflict, and then make up with him all the while preparing to cater her sister’s 100 guest wedding out of a food truck? It won’t be easy, but it’s Saturday night on the Hallmark Channel, so the answer is “yes.”  We see the road forward when we are introduced to Andrew’s best man who just happens to be the executive chef and owner of one of the most well-established restaurants in town. He is played by Torrance Coombs, who has been in a Hallmark and similar movie a time or two. There was one I didn’t like, but one I really did. And it turns out that he was the best thing about this one. He brought a suave and sophisticated mature older-man vibe to the proceedings that I really liked. Even though he was supposed to be the same age as Andrew. Kiki is supposed to be somewhat younger, so it was OK. I bought it.

Kiki is rather prickly with Clay when they first meet and she finds out his status in the local restaurant scene. She understandably feels a lot of pressure to make things perfect for her sister and now feels that she and her food truck will be judged and found wanting. And unexpected problems and glitches do seem to be mounting up. And no wonder, because she seems to be doing everything as if she didn’t know she was going to be the caterer until yesterday. Clay is very nice and makes it clear he has nothing but respect for her talent, admires her spirit and creativity, and even envies her freedom to create and serve what she wants.  Mainly, he points out that she is so preoccupied by prepping for the reception that she is missing out on her sister’s wedding and her bridesmaid duties. Kiki conquers her “I-can-do-it-all-by-myself-itis” and she lets him advise and help her. Only one day to the wedding, and they even have time to help out a local food bank.

All proceeds as expected on the romance and professional front until the night of the rehearsal dinner, when all things go to hell in a handbasket. Clay warmly introduces his female friend and colleague, another prominent chef, to the group and praises her skills and her restaurant. He praises Kiki and introduces her especially, and the lady makes some subtle digs at Kiki and her food truck.  Kiki goes on high alert, insecurity rears its ugly head again, and she gets huffy and sneaks out of the dinner. At first I thought she was being overly sensitive and overreacted. But looking at the exchange again, I didn’t really blame her for getting her panties in a twist. But she shouldn’t have walked out of her sister’s rehearsal dinner. She missed all of the drama.

While the Clay and Kiki saga was going on, Angie, the foster mother, tracked down Jenna’s long lost father behind her back as a special treat for Jenna. In the middle of the dinner, in he walks, still in his work clothes. What was the normally wise and caring Angie thinking? Not surprisingly Jenna was not pleased that the father who abandoned her and her mother (It wasn’t my idea!) shockingly intrudes uninvited by her on her happy (except for Kiki) rehearsal dinner. He didn’t even know her mother had died 20 years ago, and that Jenna had been raised in foster care (And why not, may I ask, you Jerk? That $64,000 question never gets answered.) She even turns on Andrew, the fiancé, in her anger and disgust. Uh Oh, SpaghettiOs.

And things go downhill from there! It got very awkward. As awkward as I’ve ever seen in a Hallmark movie. In fact, it was such a trainwreck, I almost gave it extra stars for the entertainment value. I’ll try not to give a play by play, but it mainly involves Kiki chopping vegetables like a maniac in her food truck the morning of the wedding after firing all of her temps instead of being a help and support to her traumatized sister. Also, Jenna refuses to walk down the aisle without the stranger she met the night before at her side (Don’t ask about the change of heart, because I have no idea). She keeps her Groom and his Groomsmen standing awkwardly in front of all of the guests in the pews waiting for her to appear while dear old “Dad” is rounded up.  They stand there quietly panicking and being stared at in silence without even any organ music for at least 20 minutes. They have no idea what is going on! And don’t get me started on Josh’s honey walking down the aisle like a hotdog in the middle of it all to straighten his tie. And the baptismal font in the middle of the aisle which Jenna, Deadbeat Dad, and Angie have to dodge on the trip to the altar.

Anyway, just to wrap up, the wedding happens in spite of itself and Kiki and Clay declare their undying love after knowing each other for 4 actually 3, days during which a good chunk of that time she was mad at him. What was the fourth ingredient? Another question goes unanswered. Stars for Mr. Coombs and all the craziness.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

Hearts Around the Table: Josh’s Third Serving

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Hallmark Takes on ADHD

As an After School Special exploring the topic of ADHD, this was excellent. As a Hallmark movie, it was just OK. And I didn’t understand the title. No third servings to be found. Angie welcomes a new foster to her table as brother Josh meets the new English teacher at his school. Thanks to the charm and good acting of Millie Davis, who played Gina, the second teen foster child to be taken in by Angie, this movie did keep me engaged. She was a star. I did question the wisdom of having two equally attractive unrelated teenagers of opposite sexes living in the same house. But that’s another subject. The romance between Josh and Ella, the new teacher, who also was put in charge of running the extra-curricular music program, definitely took second stage to Gina’s troubles with studying and Josh and Ella’s efforts to raise money for their Track and Music programs, respectively.

The two teacher’s initial friendly encounter turns to rivalry as Ella’s little music group has the unmitigated gall to practice their rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” outside on the school’s lawn within earshot of Josh’s apparently very unfocused and easily distracted track team. I was firmly on Ella’s side in this dispute, despite the screechiness and lack of musicality of her half dozen little chicks (which include Gina). The alternative to practicing outside on the lawn is to use the music room which is full of toppling junk and infested with (possibly dangerous?) mold. When the two teachers receive the news that their budget has been cut in half, they start competing for money with fundraising, from the PTA, the Board of Education, and the Alumni Association. Josh’s track team needs new uniforms and Ella needs a complete renovation of the dangerous, possibly deadly, music room. Ella gets a tip from the head of the PTA that the wealthy Alumni Association might be interested in funding a new project. Because the decision maker, Mr. Gupta, is a “go big or go home” kind of guy Ella very nicely invites Josh to team up with her to pitch funding sports and the arts together. Their mild flirting is kicked up a notch to include a hug in the classroom (which was kinda weird) and a date in a restaurant. Meanwhile, we spend a lot of time delving into Gina’s ADHD and the reasons why some may be resistant to being tested, the resources that can help them, and some pep talks and words of wisdom in dealing with those challenges. Also we spend some time with Steve Lund (yay!) who is trying to figure out a good way to propose to Jenna.

The big conflict right before the happy ending is particularly weak and manufactured because it depends on Josh losing his frigging mind. He is approached by a sports agent who offers to help Josh secure the money for his track program as he is an old buddy of Mr. Gupta. Josh conveniently forgets to tell the guy that the pitch is for the school music program as well as the track team. He is just shocked when his and Ella’s joint pitch is cancelled because Mr. Gupta was won over by the sports agent to generously fund the track team by itself, as requested. Let me tell you, Ella was shocked as well, to put it mildly. Josh redeems himself by refusing the money unless Mr. Gupta funds both programs. Mr. Gupta kindly declines and neither program gets the money. Hilarious. The whole thing was weird because the also very influential Mrs. Gupta turns out to be a big proponent of music programs and is a musician herself. It was very strange and harsh of Mr. Gupta but luckily, out of nowhere, the PTA steps in to save the day. Perhaps someone important got a whiff of that music room and pointed out the school was ripe for a lawsuit on the grounds of child endangerment.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Hearts Around the Table: Shari’s Second Act.

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Everyone’s Confused. Including Me.

**Spoilers**

Now it’s time for the oldest sister Shari’s story. I really liked Shari in the first one. She was very fierce and sarcastic in protecting her sister against Andrew who did her dirty when they were teens. The movie opens shortly after the first one as Andrew and Jenna are an established couple although Andrew does not appear in person but only on the phone. Shari is coming back home to D.C. after divorcing her diplomat husband in Zurich, Switzerland. It starts off kind of cute as Shari and her siblings are on the phone, each one accusing the other of not going to pick her up from the airport and leaving her to find her own way home with a ton of luggage. When Shari walks outside the airport though they are all there together to pick her up as a surprise with signs and balloons and stuff. Group hug.

As we know, Shari is an artist, and she has snagged a huge commission for a painting, as well as a spot in a very luxurious apartment/studio/gallery for a below market rent called an “Artist’s Co-Op and Studio.” Except she seems to be the only one to ever be there. Except for the GQ/romance novel-cover-model-handsome-caretaker/handyman who turns out to be the owner, that is. It’s a little unnerving. Their whole romance consists of “You Lied to Me!” “I need some space!” “No, I need some space” “It’s a date” “It’s not a date” “Is something Wrong?” “I just got divorced and can’t get involved with anyone right now.” “Leave me alone. I need to chase my own dreams.” “I need some some space and told him to leave me alone but he’s pushing me away. What did I do wrong?” “Maybe he’s confused?” Ya think? The sisters’ advice consists of encouraging her to pursue love with this cute guy and then telling her to back off from any relationships because it’s literally days after she got divorced after hoping for a reconciliation. That last part made a ton of sense to me and I am sure any amateur or professional therapist would advise the same. But this is a Hallmark and we can’t have a happy ending unless that happy ending includes a pair-up. At the end, Evan the cute owner, gets a huge opportunity to repurpose some warehouses in San Francisco. It is the chance of a lifetime. And we have another round of confusion. “I must go to San Francisco to chase my dreams.” “Do you really want to go?” “I’m really happy for you.” “I love you but I can’t ask you to stay.” “This job is incredible. I want to take this job.” “I want to see if we fit”. “Maybe it will lead somewhere. Maybe it won’t.” “You must go. I love you but I can’t ask you to give up your dream job.” “Please stay.” “This is my dream job but it’s missing you.” They decide to take it slow. They kiss. She introduces Evan to her family as her best friend, muse, and soulmate. Yikes. Slow down, girl. It’s been how long? Two weeks? Three? At the end, I really don’t know if he went or not, or if he went, if Shari went with him. I kind of doubt it. Unfortunately for all concerned, I think he stayed.

We have some side stories too. The brother, Coach Josh, helps a troubled teen and his sister. Their father gets some help in the end too. Kiki can’t  decide whether to go to a funeral. Evan’s grandmother, a former artist who doesn’t paint anymore (why?) had to sell off all of her work “for pennies” and regrets it. It is Evan’s life’s work to find one of the lost paintings to give back to her. Grandma must have been pretty renowned and celebrated because one of her paintings is auctioned off to a collector or dealer for $10,000. Questions questions. It turns out one of her paintings was right there at Foster Mother Angie’s house all along. Thank God Shari stopped him from selling his car to up the $10,000 bid. She takes it right off the wall. No charge.

What really got my goat is that Shari never works on the painting she was hired to paint. She claims that she just can’t paint out of nowhere but must wait to be “inspired.” The thing is that Shari is a portrait painter, so she must have been commissioned to paint a portrait. Just paint the damn face. No inspiration needed. She paints Evan’s portrait. At the end, I guess to symbolize that she has finally found herself and her inspiration, she paints about a dozen self-portraits. But she never paints the portrait she was hired to paint. BTW, she is not a good painter. The paintings she painted at the end are not good, in my opinion. I do not see success as a painter in her future.

Shari was not the same Shari as she was in the first movie. If she had been, I would have liked this more. The romance was ill-advised from the get go. Between the dubious viability of Evan’s “Artist’s Co-Op”, and Shari’s half-baked “I have to be free” approach to her painting career combined with her lack of talent (in my opinion), I’m afraid we have another case of what I call “Bad Business.” This is usually death to stars-This a 4, which is bad (swear words were uttered), but with a few bright spots and not actively revolting.

Rating: 4 out of 10.

Hearts Around the Table: Jenna’s First Love

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Second Chancy Romance

First off, Welcome Back to Hallmark, Steve Lund. I don’t know what you did to get yourself banished, or what Hallmark did to you for you to have to take a break (actually I think I do know), but Gosh, it was good to see you again. I guess absence does make the heart go fonder, because though he’s been a favorite for a long time, now I love him. Move over Kris Polaha. Unfortunately, the role he plays in this one leaves a lot to be desired.

Jenna is a former foster child who was taken in by Angie when she was 13-years-old, joining three other children she considers her brother and sisters. She has made a great success of her life which we know because in the opening scene she is strutting confidently down the city street in heels and a trendy power suit talking on a cell phone. She is an “event guru” who is going to a meeting with a tech billionaire about a charitable event he wants to put on. In the lobby, she runs into (Yes, literally, papers a-flying) Andrew (Lund) who is Billionaire Tom Redland’s right hand man and consultant. They have a “What-are-YOU-doing-here?” moment. They were high-school sweethearts who broke up when Andrew ghosted her and went to Paris to study. They will be working together to put on this huge and important Charity event which Jenna handles like a boss. Actually she is the boss, as Tom Redlands, who is a good guy, handsome and short, makes her the lead on the project. Andrew, who is handsome, very fit, and tall, is a good sport about it. He does show that he is a good guy in moments throughout the movie, but he does have a character arc, so he is not supposed to be perfect like Jenna. Unfortunately it wasn’t handled very believably or well, so while Steve Lund’s performance is a positive, the character he plays is a negative.

  • He ghosts Jenna after highschool and although he apologizes, he never comes up with a good explanation other than “we were kids.” In fact, he blames his wealthy mother (weak!) for not approving of Jenna’s background and insisting on getting him away to Paris. But when we finally meet his mother she is perfectly lovely and seemingly thrilled that her son is in love with such a beautiful, nice, and successful woman. And she greets Angie, Jenna’s foster mother like an old friend. Definitely not the sort who must have wrapped Andrew in duct tape and thrown him on the plane to Paris to prevent him from saying goodbye and I Will Still Love You Forever to Jenna. And kept him like that to prevent him calling her on the phone. So it makes him look like a liar.
  • When Billionaire Tom invites Jenna to discuss their project after hours at dinner, Andrew acts like a petulant child, jumping to all sorts of jealousy-fueled conclusions. Yes, Tom does seem to be interested in her personally (who wouldn’t be?), but Jenna is pretty clear that it is Andrew who holds her heart in his hands. He goes to the gym to work out his anger and frustration, and he is actually pretty scary about it, suggesting a possible issue there, in my opinion.
  • Thank goodness he didn’t know that Tom proposes marriage to her on their second date which was very weird. Jenna actually is like “Dude. What?” and leaves the restaurant with the intent of talking to Andrew. She finds him sitting on the sidewalk outside her apartment (also weird). He is about ready to confess his love and regret, when Tom’s chauffeur drives up with her purse which she left at the restaurant. For some reason, this triggers Andrew (who already knew she was out with Tom) into stalking off into the night with no goodbye (sound familiar?). Jenna calls out after him “Nice Talk!!” which was kind of funny. God, Hallmark, can you please lose this big last minute misunderstanding trope? He rudely ignores her for the remaining minutes of the movie until, thanks to a pep talk from Mommy, he makes up with her and the rest is history.

Throughout the movie, we are treated to weekly dinners with Jenna’s foster family, setting up the next three movies in this Hearts Around the Table series which will feature Jenna’s three siblings. We also have a little story with Rory, a new arrival Angie is fostering. Angie is played by Mindy Cohn of The Facts of Life fame. She is great, looks great, and her character is very endearing. These home scenes are lively and warm. Older sister Shari seems like a real pistol. She is rightly very suspicious of Andrew, and makes her feelings crystal clear to the point of rudeness. And good for her. The other brother and sister are played by Jake Epstein, a big favorite of mine, and Kathryn Davis. In this one, talented actor Steve Lund conveys all the emotions his character is going through with skill and authenticity, even adding a little welcome humor that might not have been written into the script. Unfortunately I just didn’t like those emotions. I am optimistic about the next three movies, particularly Shari’s story and more of Jake Epstein (and hopefully, Steve Lund). And Mindy Cohn-loved her in this.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Everything Puppies

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Underdog

I admit I didn’t go into this one with the most open mind. The preview did not impress and I am not a fan of the lead actor or at least the type of hero he usually represents. I like puppies but I was suspicious of the sheer numbers of them in the preview. From the beginning, the acting seemed very stilted and I immediately noticed that little tinkling background music that I thought Hallmark had quit doing and which, to me signals what I don’t know, but I always feel like the production company is trying to hide something or they are trying to lull me into not noticing any rough edges the movie might have. The main thing that put me off though, was the wrong season. If this is a “Countdown to Summer” Hallmark movie, and it is, because I checked, why is everyone wearing sweaters and puffy jackets? And why are there dead leaves swirling all about, an orange wreath, and a hay-bale prop for decoration? What was Hallmark trying to pull here? Pitiful! It violates the unspoken Hallmark covenant that we will have spring movies in the spring, summer movies in the summer, Pumpkin etc. movies in the autumn, and Christmas movies all year round but especially at Christmas. Just kidding, but not really.

Anyway back to the movie. Scarlett and her Dad are totally immersed in the dog and puppy business. The dad breeds and sells golden retrievers in his immaculate home.  He is supposed to be a lovely guy and loves dogs but there are so many puppies at his house, it should be a chaotic mess but it’s not. It was an immediate alarm bell. Scarlet holds 20-something patents or patents pending on dog toys, and designs dog parks and dog houses. Her current project is a dog treat that is very healthy for dogs and is also delicious. And dogs do love it. She and her friend and pet store owner played by sometime Hallmark lead, Kathryn Davis,  are trying to get other pet stores to carry it. After a lot of “no”s she finally pitches it to the hunky general manager (Stephen Huszar, our hero, Alex) ) of one store in a national chain. He agrees to carry the treats when his own dog goes apeshit over them. His regional manager, who has a romantic interest in him, agrees to put it in the other stores in the region and if things go well, there is a prospect of national distribution. It really is a great dog treat and Scarlett is in seventh heaven and goes all out investment-wise. This is where the evil villain, the owner of the big powerful rival dog food corporation named “Pup-Chuck” (Yes! Loved it!) pops up. He knows nothing and cares nothing about dogs or what they eat, he is just interested in profits. He is a caricature of the worst sort of avaricious businessman. He threatens Michelle, the aforementioned regional manager of Pets and Wellness Emporium, that if they allow the vastly superior product in their stores he will pull strings and even turn the FDA loose on them. She has no choice but to cancel the large order from Scarlett’s Pup Palate and break Scarlett’s heart.

Given the subject matter, I was on the watch for the usual ”bad business” scenarios that usually plague Hallmark productions and there were plenty. I am not going to go into all the could-never-happen-in-real-life business stuff, but the highlight was when Scarlett set up a booth promoting their rival product on Paws and Wellness’s private property and right outside their door! Why did they even think they could do that? And the love-struck  store manager lets them! Not surprisingly, higher ups and law enforcement get involved.

There is a good bit of Hallmark’s recurring theme of “work-life balance” tossed into the script and the romance has the usual ups and downs. Really nothing to talk about there. But I love a good David and Goliath story and when the Goliath role is as hiss-worthy as this one was, I couldn’t help but get somewhat invested in the story. When Alex and Scarlett invade his pet store company’s corporate headquarters and crash a big meeting where evil guy is trying to get the CEO to sign an exclusive contract with him, I was on high alert. It turns out that the CEO of the pet store chain was a super great guy and all but told the bad guy to sit down and shut up, he wanted to hear what his store manager and the girl dressed in the dog costume had to say! When he opens the package of Scarlett’s dog treats, his own doggie comes running and pounces on the treat in greedy delight. The head honcho is sold and says, and I quote, “We’ve gotta ask ourselves, what’s more important, a healthy profit line or a healthy puppy? My hero. I really appreciated that the personification of evil and ignorance in the corporate world was balanced by this wise and good man. Can we have a movie about him please?

However, while I appreciated the triumph of the underdog, The vanquishment of evil, and the heroic, wise and good CEO at the end, there were just too many weaknesses and questionable aspects to overcome the positives. It was an unchallenging Hallmark comfort movie full of cute puppies, which is fine for many, but not for me.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

Welcome to Valentine

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Christmas in February

This lost me in the first 15 minutes when struggling artist Olivia tries to corner the gallery owner who is hosting a fancy art gala Olivia is waitressing at. She barges in on the hostess while she is talking with one of her guests in order to show her her paintings on her cell phone. With the help of the soon-to-be love interest, who is an invited guest,  she tips over a tray of soup all over her. Wow. What a clodpole, boorish, unprofessional, and fired.

Since her best friend who has been letting Olivia camp out on her luxurious N.Y.C. apartment’s couch is moving to Chicago and she is no longer employed, she decides to go home and help her sister set up for the big Valentine’s Day parade. Her friend’s cousin (who turns out to be a rich important kinda nationally prominent successful person and who also was the handsome guest at the gallery who bumped into her causing her to douse her potential benefactress with cream of mushroom soup) is driving his Dad’s vintage car to Los Angeles. They all get together to share a ride. But it’s not a road trip romance. First of all, her friend is occupying the back seat, and as soon as she is dropped off in Chicago, they arrive in Olivia’s hometown with over 90 minutes to go in the movie including commercials. In honor of Valentine’s day, her hometown is named Valentine, and it is famous for loving Valentine’s Day and having a parade. It is like a Christmas movie, except in February! I don’t think we’ve ever had a Hallmark set in Nebraska before, and apparently, they say “Hiyah” instead of “Hi” or “Hello” there. It’s a thing. The hero is set to leave for California when his car battery fails. The mechanic screws up the jump start (I mean really?) frying the car’s electrical system. Our hero rightly loses his temper and is rude. I liked him. Since it is a 50-year-old car, it will take a while to get parts, and yadda yadda yadda, you know the drill. It was boring and there was nothing to distinguish this one from all of the other below-average Hallmarks, except it was pretty diverse. Gay pride flag in the diner and lots of black people, which Nebraska is known for (not).

I didn’t like the heroine. Although she didn’t do anything else that was as spectacularly stupid as the disaster at the beginning, she didn’t do anything to win me over from my bad first impression either. And I was not a fan of her false eyelashes or her acting either, for that matter.  I did like most of the secondary characters as well as the hero. Her friend was funny and cute, the hero was as good as the script allowed him to be, and Olivia’s sister was nice and sensible as well. And the diner lady too.

There were two imponderables in the script that further annoyed me. The wicked old witch who was the jealous former chairman of the parade disables the main parade float for sheer spite. Throughout the movie, she has been sitting outside the parade headquarters in the middle of February staring balefully at all the activity. Her time to shine arrives and she gives the float’s vintage alternator etc. to George so he can get out of town. This under-the-hood sabotage is discovered on Valentine’s day morning while George is probably well into Wyoming. To solve the mechanical problem Olivia and her sister make the old harridan the grand master of the parade, which miraculously gets the float running again. Huh? Is the old bat the equivalent of the magic Santa only female and mean? Meanwhile, our hero has pulled over to the side of the road to join a conference call with his Dad and the board of directors. He quits the family business or at least turns down the CEO position he has been elected to.  He wants to “follow his heart” and recover the “soul” of the company by going against his father to establish a charitable arm for the business.  But how is he going to do that if he is no longer with the company or at least not in a position of power? Huh? Huh? He heads back to Valentine to reconcile with Olivia with whom he has had a fight over something or other.

One year later, Olivia is a successful artist working out of Los Angeles, New York, and Valentine, Nebraska. She is the star attraction with the same gallery whose owner she assaulted and embarrassed. George is there too. His employment situation remains unknown.

Rating: 3.5 out of 10.

Six Degrees of Santa

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Free the Tense

I will always prioritize movies that star Steve Lund, so I gave this a chance. Also, I wanted to exorcise the memory of the horror that was his other 2022 Christmas Movie in which Steve was dumped by the widow that wasn’t.

I liked the concept of this Lifetime movie and our heroine Steph’s personal Christmas project, Six Degrees of Santa. It’s kind of a Christmas gift chain letter. Santa#1 buys a gift that is meaningful to them and gives it anonymously to a stranger or a friend who in turn does the same. The sixth recipient gets to keep it. Steph’s own Santa#1 gift eventually reaches a tech mogul she despises. But he is touched by the gift which is a book that meant a lot to him as a child. He reaches out to Steph, who is easy to find because her project has gone viral with people all over the world. He wants to find the person who bought the gift originally, thinking that they will have a real connection because of the book they have in common. Steph wants nothing to do with him so she lies and tells him the original buyer is her shallow social media-obsessed next-door neighbor. She sets him up with her.

I loved Steve Lund in this but didn’t care for the actress who played Steph, or her character. Firstly, the choice of cosmetics for this movie did not suit her looks. I read her impressive bio, and Kathryn Davis appears to be a beautiful and multi-talented performer. I even liked her in another movie, but just didn’t care for her or her character in this one. Her delivery seemed anxious, tense, and high-strung. She talked in a too-fast staccato manner. I just wanted to tell her to calm down. As for her character, Steph’s whole relationship with Steve was based on a lie. She started to fall for him and see his true self underneath the surface, but wouldn’t tell him the truth. That premise for a plot is boring and is used far too often. Plus, her character is not too bright about how to make the most of her idea. She was blind and stubborn until the very end. Her mother accuses her of not being able to see the forest for the trees and she was absolutely right. It was too frustrating. I liked her family, including her ex-husband. Full disclosure: I fast-forwarded through much of this because I saw exactly where this was going and I didn’t have the patience for still another “just tell the truth!” plotline. Also, the premise that any single woman, let alone two, would not want to date a handsome billionaire who is also a nice guy played by Steve Freaking Lund was just too ludicrous.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Christmas on 5th Avenue

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The Grinch and the Good Fairy

Eva runs a concierge business and is very busy during Christmas. When one of her most important customers offers her son’s penthouse to live in while he is in Vermont in exchange for decorating and filling his freezer with home-cooked food, she jumps at the chance. But surprise surprise, the grieving reclusive best-selling author shows up unexpectedly. Romance and reclamation ensue.

I’m in the minority in thinking Olivier Renaud’s performance as Lucas was right on the money. He was supposed to be a cold fish, harsh, and stiff. Eva was so perky and sunny that it made a nice contrast and upped the chemistry between them. As the movie went on he started to grow on me. When she made her move and he rejected her it was kind of a shocker. We know he had feelings for her, but his issues ran deep. When he finally did warm up, it made it all the more affecting.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

November 27, 2021